Posted by Datesfat Chicks on August 29, 2011, 9:14 am
>A metallic scraping sound when I applied my Sportster's front (disk)
>brake indicated that the pads were worn out. So I took it to a local
>Harley dealership (which need not be named), parked by the service door
>and asked to get it checked out.
>In short order a mechanic emerged with a flashlight and examined my
>front wheel. "The pads are brand new," he said. "They just have to
>wear in a bit to match the rotor."
>So I rode away happy... for a short time, until I hit the front brake
>again. Still that ominous scraping sound.
>I felt tense. Classic symptom of Cognitive Dissonance, where the advice
>of a professional expert clashed with the evidence of my senses.
>Which to believe? Who was I, mechanically challenged, to dispute
>the word of a certified Harley mechanic? In other circumstances
>such as an inquest or a trial, his word would carry far more weight
>with the court than mine. And yet the scraping sound continued.
>The pads were sure taking their time wearing in, I thought.
>Finally I took the bike to a backyard wrench; non-certified but with
>a good deal of real-life motorcycle experience. It took him only
>a short time to discover that the pads were totally worn out.
>Where any pad material remained it was paper-thin. Luckily the rotor
>is still in usable shape. The Harley mechanic had apparently
>mistaken the bare backing plates for new pads, with the piston
>fully extended.
>Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.
Yes, but this applies only to motorcycles.
Not to auto mechanics, piloting an aircraft, or medical diagnoses.
Professionals in these other fields do not make similar mistakes.
DFC
Posted by Snag on August 29, 2011, 11:11 am
sean_q wrote:
> A metallic scraping sound when I applied my Sportster's front (disk)
> brake indicated that the pads were worn out. So I took it to a local
> Harley dealership (which need not be named), parked by the service
> door and asked to get it checked out.
> In short order a mechanic emerged with a flashlight and examined my
> front wheel. "The pads are brand new," he said. "They just have to
> wear in a bit to match the rotor."
> Finally I took the bike to a backyard wrench; non-certified but with
> a good deal of real-life motorcycle experience. It took him only
> a short time to discover that the pads were totally worn out.
> Where any pad material remained it was paper-thin. Luckily the rotor
> is still in usable shape. The Harley mechanic had apparently
> mistaken the bare backing plates for new pads, with the piston
> fully extended.
> Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.
> SQ
Just one more reason I do all my own maintenance .
--
Snag
Posted by High Plains Thumper on August 30, 2011, 8:27 pm
Snag wrote:
> sean_q wrote:
>> Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.
>
> Just one more reason I do all my own maintenance.
Yup, agreed.
--
HPT
Posted by Rob Kleinschmidt on August 29, 2011, 12:25 pm
> Where any pad material remained it was paper-thin. Luckily the rotor
> is still in usable shape. The Harley mechanic had apparently
> mistaken the bare backing plates for new pads, with the piston
> fully extended.
> Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.
Depends who you're calling an expert.
You really could have made that eyeball check yourself BTW.
I'm surprised you took it to a shop.
Posted by Eiron on August 29, 2011, 6:19 pm
On 29/08/2011 14:14, Datesfat Chicks wrote:
>> Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.
> Yes, but this applies only to motorcycles.
> Not to auto mechanics, piloting an aircraft, or medical diagnoses.
> Professionals in these other fields do not make similar mistakes.
No car mechanic would make the mistake of telling a punter that a worn
part is new.
It's compulsory to tell them that pads are worn and need replacing,
no matter how new they are.
But the accident reports are full of pilots' and mechanics' errors
and the cemeteries are full of people who died of medical misdiagnoses.
--
Eiron.
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>brake indicated that the pads were worn out. So I took it to a local
>Harley dealership (which need not be named), parked by the service door
>and asked to get it checked out.
>In short order a mechanic emerged with a flashlight and examined my
>front wheel. "The pads are brand new," he said. "They just have to
>wear in a bit to match the rotor."
>So I rode away happy... for a short time, until I hit the front brake
>again. Still that ominous scraping sound.
>I felt tense. Classic symptom of Cognitive Dissonance, where the advice
>of a professional expert clashed with the evidence of my senses.
>Which to believe? Who was I, mechanically challenged, to dispute
>the word of a certified Harley mechanic? In other circumstances
>such as an inquest or a trial, his word would carry far more weight
>with the court than mine. And yet the scraping sound continued.
>The pads were sure taking their time wearing in, I thought.
>Finally I took the bike to a backyard wrench; non-certified but with
>a good deal of real-life motorcycle experience. It took him only
>a short time to discover that the pads were totally worn out.
>Where any pad material remained it was paper-thin. Luckily the rotor
>is still in usable shape. The Harley mechanic had apparently
>mistaken the bare backing plates for new pads, with the piston
>fully extended.
>Sometimes even the experts get it wrong.