Front Left brake pads wear 50% faster than right pads, why?

Is this because of the vfr's integral brake system (combined front left to rear braking system) ?

We have some excellent mechanics here. I'll be curious to read their answers. If I had to guess: The right brake is not really working for some reason (seized pistons?) with the result that the left side is doing most, maybe all, of the braking. I can't think of any way that the linked brake system could account for this.

The only way the linked braking comes into play on the 5&6 Gens is when the rear brake pedal is pressed. On the 5 Gen essentially the same thing as the 6 Gen except that the 5 Gen does both the left and right center pistons on each caliper, where as the 6 Gen it's only the left center piston. If the rear brake pedal is pressed, it could be adding more pressure on the left caliper (6 Gen) than it would be for the right. It would also depend on how hard one uses the front lever and rear pedal, but ultimately the rear pedal could add more pressure to the left front than the right. I can see of no other reason than perhaps the added drag the SMC could be adding to more wear but I don't see how.

Brakes need service? :wink:

If you use the back brake a lot and the front brake little, then a 6th gen left caliper would get a lot more use than the right, and the pad wear would be proportionate to that. The same wouldn't apply to a 5th gen however.

You would also get uneven wear if some or all of the pistons in one caliper were seized to their seals.

If a pair of pads were wearing differently to each other then a seized sliding mount would be likely. 

Its been the same unsymmetrical behavior of pad wear for the last 10 years on 2 different 6'th gen VFR800 (the first was fully serviced at Honda central).

Left caliper is clearly hotter than the right side ( Don't try this at home- it gets really hot- could get burned especially with sintered pads- use wireless thermometer or slight tap of the hand or gloves)

Yes I"m always using the front + rear brake, shouldn't I ?

I"ll compare the temps of the right and left disc again but now without the rear brakes.

Duc2V4, 10/12/2016 at 4:47 AM

The only way the linked braking comes into play on the 5&6 Gens is when the rear brake pedal is pressed. ...

From service manual  (6 gen) its understood :front and rear brake are unconditionally combined all the time : (front brake will stop the read even when rear not pressed and vice versa) :

" BRAKE SYSTEM INSPECTION
This model is equipped with a Linked Brake System. Check ...  as follows:
...motorcycle on its centerstand shift to neutral. Push the left front brake caliper upward by hand.
Make sure the rear wheel does not turn while the left front brake caliper is pushed.

Apply the rear brake pedal. Make sure the front wheel does not turn while the rear brake pedal is applied "

4 hours ago, pzpz

Not exact (for the 6 gen at least) !!!

From service manual  (6 gen) its understood :front and rear brake are unconditionally combined all the time : (front brake will stop the read even when rear not pressed and vice versa) :

" BRAKE SYSTEM INSPECTION
This model is equipped with a Linked Brake System. Check ...  as follows:
...motorcycle on its centerstand shift to neutral. Push the left front brake caliper upward by hand.
Make sure the rear wheel does not turn while the left front brake caliper is pushed.

Apply the rear brake pedal. Make sure the front wheel does not turn while the rear brake pedal is applied "

The remark was in reference to your post "is this because of the VFR's integral brake system...". I was referring to why your left pads would be wearing down more so than the right. If you were just to use the front brake lever only, your left rotor would only have two of the three pistons operating and only the rear center. So yes it is always active but technically only when the bike is in motion. 

O.K got U now. :beer:

15 minutes ago, mattindenver

I just went through this. Welcome to the wonderful world of linked brakes that only apply one side of the forks when you apply pressure to the front lever. It will close only one side of the front and the rear. If you apply rear only then the right front applies. I am a bit dyslexic so the right and left might be mixed but in the end that about sums it up. 

This is incorrect for the VFRs. When applying the front brake lever, the front on both 5&6 Gens does both left and right front calipers. On the 5 Gen, only the two outer pistons get actuated on each caliper in this instance. The rear pedal is what applies the center piston of each caliper.

On the 6 Gen, again using the front brake lever, the right caliper gets all three pistons actuated but only the two outer pistons of the left caliper. The rear pedal triggers the center piston of just the left caliper. The rear pedal on both Gens does the outer two pistons of the rear caliper and the center piston of the rear caliper when the Secondary Master Cylinder (SMC) on the left caliper gets actuated. This will only happen if/when the front wheel is in rotation in the forward direction.

For more detailed info, if this wasn't enough, download the Honda Service Manuals that are in the forum download section.

Duc2V4, 10/14/2016 at 1:46 AM

On the 6 Gen, again using the front brake lever, the right caliper gets all three pistons actuated but only the two outer pistons of the left caliper. The rear pedal triggers the center piston of just the left caliper. The rear pedal on both Gens does the outer two pistons of the rear caliper and the center piston of the rear caliper when the Secondary Master Cylinder (SMC) on the left caliper gets actuated. This will only happen if/when the front wheel is in rotation in the forward direction.

Clear enough,

I would add : interaction between front and back is only present when both are applied (tested this empirically - its probably the Secondary Master Cylinder (SMC) on front left caliper functionality(coupling the F & B) ).

Empirically Tested :

___ - Apply front brake only- both front disc have the same Hot temperature, rear disc is Cold.

___ - Apply rear brake only - both front disc are Cold ___________________, rear disc is Hot.

___ - Apply both R+F brake - All disc get Hot - Front Left is noticeably Hotter than right.