Brake Rotor Minimum Thickness

[scra99tch]

I appreciate the replies. 

I understand the risk implications of running past manufacturing specs.  I also figured sometimes there are safety factors applied when they engineer these things but who knows what the engineers were thinking. Hell even my grinding wheel supplier nudges me to run wheels up to 1.25 times the MAX running speed of the wheels because they test them at 1.5 * max RPM when they ship them out (its and enclosed machine).  I have even found pockets of air in my grinding wheels, who knows how they get there.  You should see the size of the hydraulic press they have when they manufacture these things down at Norton in Worcester MA.

Its also interesting to note the different specs on new rotors being below the recommended spec, and even the casting imperfections.

I'll refinish the surface and at least paint and install the disks with new pads and when I get the chance, I'll end up upgrading to floating or standard cast when I get the chance.

   

[EldoEVert]

Brake pads are on a metal backing plate. That metal backing plate transfers all the rotational thrust through its leading edge which rests against a shelf machined in the caliper. The two pins are primarily to keep the pads in the proper vertical location, not absorb braking thrust.

When the disks get too thin and you have a pad missing most of the friction material there is a very real possibility the metal backing plate could jump the step and jam between the disk and the caliper body.

That's a good reason to run proper thickness disks AND make sure your caliper is properly shimmed so that the disk is dead center between the two caliper working faces.

THIS.

[wirespokes]

It seems to me that since we all know for a fact that tyres and brakes are the main things that stand between life and death on a motorcycle, that it is irresponsible and stupid to consider cutting corners in any way on these items. If that makes sense then any advice to the contrary should be taken as just plain idiotic.  Just because some people get away with something doesn't mean they should or that they were in any way justified, particularly if that entails advising others to do as they have done.
That's the common sense approach guys. I really don't know why the moderators haven't stepped in here. We wouldn't want anybody to be injured or killed as a result of bad advice now would we? Life's too short and dangerous as it is without adding moronic reasons to the list.

A viewpoint like that is probably what leads to replacing a bike every year.

Actually, there are ways to recognize and filter out bad advice whithout having known the answer beforehand. I think it's easier to recognize good advice than bad.