Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Brake pad life

I'm sure this varies considerably with riding style so I'm not going to ask how long pads last. The manual says .040" is the minimum friction portion of the pads. I just did my 6 year annual service at 31,886 miles and figured I'd check my pads beyond a quick glance, looks good, sort of inspection. The front measured .135". The back measured .095". Not knowing where they started, I have no way of knowing what percentage of the pads I've used up. I plan to keep an eye them, especially the back. Out of curiosity, what kind of life do others see on these OEM pads? I fully expect what's left to go more quickly, as it would seem to me, they can't dissipate heat quite as well as they get thinner. Thoughts?

Good to know about the less expensive pads if they work as well. Also good to hear I'm about in family with other users. I do like the feel and performance of the stock pads. From what I understand there's a small metal clip that you need to replace when replacing the pads. Did those come with your aftermarket pads or did you have to go to BMW or, no, you don't actually need to replace the clip?

If you have the stock pads, just look for the mid-pad gaps. As Long as you can see those gaps, you're good.

My fronts reached the wear limit at 48.5K. Replaced all pads at that time with EBC sintered pads. Easy, but dirty DIY job. About $40~45 per caliper.

If you lose one of the double hairpin clips, your local autoparts store likely has a rack of Dornan aftermarket clips and pins. The assortment pack has something that will fit.

Relative to wear, while I reached the end of the wear bars on the front pads at 48.5K, the rear pads had 3MM (0.12") of remaining depth.

BTW - if you're doing the brake job yourself, clean the calipers and parts with soap and water (I used Simple Green). An old toothbrush is the perfect size to get between the pistons.

When we traded our 2016s I had 58,000 miles and Debbie had 55,000 miles.
Plenty of front brake pad remaining on the front of both bikes.
I replaced the backs early because I had new rear pads sitting on the shelf.
Replaced my back brakes at 49,000 miles and the remaining pad material was 3.3 mm and 3.5 mm
Replaced Deb's rear brakes at 42,000 miles and the remaining material was 2.6 mm and 3.1 mm
The new pads were 4.0 mm

49,000 miles rear.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

I'm a big fan of simple green. All brake jobs are filthy jobs at best. I usually wear rubber gloves, too. I'm thinking that when next year's annual service time comes around, I'll also be due a brake fluid flush. That might be a very good time to change out the pads. As usual, thanks all for your help and wisdom.

I’ve always gone until the wear lines are about gone. Unless one does real aggressive riding (heaving braking), pads can last a very long time.

I've gone through the rear pad in 2 years, 22k (ok to 25k) kilometers - I commute through the city an use it frequently when low speed filtering/maneuvering through congestion, also on trips 2up to ease the stops for the pillion.
At the 2nd year service the bmw tech showed me the pad had some 2-3k left and if I wanted it replaced now or come back, our big trip was coming up so I just replaced it.

The front was still >50% left to be worn, both stock that shipped with the bike

Around 17k for fronts & rears were an MOT advisory at 18k. I bought the bike at 11k & the next 6k included 3 x track days plus a skills day which included learning how to brake hard from speed. A few 2 up trips away as well, so being fully loaded It'll get through the pads a bit quicker.

After several track days and a ton of trail braking, my fronts were beyond wear limits by 20,000 miles