Total Motorcycle Community Forums

ok im about to change my rear pads and i read that i need to wet sand the rotor before putting the new pads on. is this really needed? if its better then ill do it but if its not a big deal ill skip tha ha. also what grit sand paper should i use? how much do you sand? is it just to get off any resedue or do you need to ruff the rotor surface up a bit?

also i read that you shoul duse light braking for the first 60 miles or so, what does 'light braking' really mean?just touch the brakes with no real stopping preasure, just enough preasure for the pads to touch at slow speeds?

I think what they want you to do is to sand them smooth. Most rotors tend to get slight grooves in them as the pads wear. The old pads have worn tiny ridges in themselves to match the grooves on the rotor. When you change pads, you'll now have a flat pad surface that won't make full contact. The pad will ride on top of the rotor's grooves.

What I usually do is take the rotor to a machine shop and have them turn it. If the rotor isn't badly grooved, it will take off just the tops of the grooves and leave you with a smooth surface. Last time I did it, it only cost around $12-15. Beats wet sanding any day.