Hmmm, i have never been told to ride gently on new pads/discs.

What i have always been told is to ride up to a good speed, say 60-70, then brake progressively harder each time going from the 60-70 down to about 30....Never stop.... the brakes at this stage need airflow around them. Do that a dozen times and your brakes will be brilliant.

New pads only though will be a bit different as you dont have the surface area stop. The ridges , or peaks .....imagine a snow capped mountain.....thats what new pads are rubbing against at first (the snow at the top)....thats all you are using to stop with.....until they bed in and gradually more of the said mountain is in contact with the pads until you reach the valleys below.....now you have the most contact you can have, and more than new discs and pads have, which is why the method on a new bike applies......

i think i will stop rambling now                                                                                                                                                                                 

I'm really confused  Any new tyre I got I just took it a bit easy for the first wee while.  Is it better practice to scrub them and if so what with?  Thank you                                                                                                                                                                              

Bobcat,   "Is it better practice to scrub them and if so what with?"   Tarmac is best, just take it easy for the first 50-100 miles to take the shine of the release agent off. No need to use angle grinders or anything else. Thats the way I've always scrubbed new tyres in.                                                                                                                                                                             

a nice dry warm day also helps. if its a hot day then its GO from the off almost!                                                                                                                                                                             

Bobkat,just keep doing what your doing,take it easy 50-60 mile,its worked for you hasnt it?gradual wear, same with brakes mind, dont hammer them,gently does it,you dont get a new bike and screw it in every gear. Dunno what this never been told to ride gently with new pads is ,anywhere you get new pads- tyres tell you to take it easy. Where Ive been anyway.                                                                                                                                                                                 

I tend to progressively increase acceleration, braking and lean angles over the first 100 miles - seems to work ok for me.                                                                                                                                                                             

Angle grinder! lol!  Bill can be an odd one at times lol!

I just ride gently for the first fifty miles or so.                                                                                                                                                                             

thank you geoff, i rest my case !!!                                                                                                                                                                              

Think bill ment a sanding pad in grinder not a cutting/grinding wheel                                                                                                                                                                              

Sanding pads right JP, only just marks the rubber, you can ride the bike as you allways do with no scrubbing in, if i only save 1 person from falling of than the posting been worthwhile,                                                                                                                                                                             

"if i only save 1 person from falling of than the posting been worthwhile"

Fair enough!  Can't argue with that logic.                                                                                                                                                                             

Aren't there tyres that don't need scrubbing now? I think Michelin do a few. They use a different method of extracting them from the mould or something....so no slippery residue.                                                                                                                                                                             

Right, I've been reading this since the opening post & thought 'I'm not getting drawn into this' Guess what ?? - - - I failed.   Everything below is FACT,   Any arguments, take it up with the people who produce these items. You know, them that have spent tens of thousands of man hours, tens of millions of euro's, pounds yen or Dollars on R&D to develop the tyres. Swas, JJ900, Ian, Etc Spot on ..       Prior to moulding, m/c tyres used to be sprayed with a solution. This would help the rubber flow during the curing process and reduce defects.This solution could also make the tyre slippery when new. Avon now uses water based solution or in many cases, no solution at all. Water based solution dissolves into the rubber and will not have any effect on a new tyres grip.Avon m/c tyres do not now need scrubbing in due to moulding solution. This may not always be the case with other manufacturer's tyres but many are reducing or eliminating this solution, often refered to as tyre dope (not the sort you smoke!).However, all tyres should still be scrubbed in. If too much power or load is put through a new tyre, large tears can appear on the tyre's tread surface. This is called low frequency graining. These tears will remain larger than normal and the tyres grip and mileage will suffer. If the tyre is scrubbed in properly, these tears will be much finer and mileage and grip will be optimised (high frequency graining). This same effect can happen if too much throttle is used when the tyre is cold. This is called cold graining i.e. the tyre surface will tear up as the compound is trying to grip before it has reached its optimum operating temperature.Putting new tyres through a heat cycle also helps. In simple terms this basically breaks down the tyre at a molecular level and lets all the molecular strings reform in a more neutral state. This eliminates soft and hard areas of the tyre, effectively conditioning it.Best regards,Peter J McNallyM/C Technical Product Manager01225 357753www.avonmotorcycle.com  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solutions are often used on tyres during the curing process. This solution helps rubber flow and reduces defects. It is designed to blend in with the rubber. However, it can reduce grip if applied in large amounts. Most manufacturers have eliminated the use of this solution however. In simple terms, the surface of a tyre needs to be broken to help the tyre grip. This is where running in tyres is important. If power is applied too early i.e. before the tyre has warmed up, large tears can appear on the tread surface, this is called cold tearing and reduces the mileage of the tyre. Tyres can be 'scrubbed' in wet conditions but it takes much longer and is not advisable due to the initial reduced grip. When tyres are first run, many of the long chain molecules break down, when the tyre cools, the molecules reform in a more uniform way, the tyre then runs cooler and is less likely to over heat. Our official line at Avon is - When new m/c tyres are fitted, they should not be subjected to maximum power until a reasonable 'running in' distance has been covered. 100 dry miles (160km) is the recommended minimum (discount any wet miles covered). Best regards, Peter J McNally M/C Technical Product Manager, Avon Tyres  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Running tyres in The best way to scrub tyres in is to simply get out and ride on them. For the first mile or so keep the bike as upright as possible. This will give you a good area within the central portion of the tread surface that is scrubbed-in. From here you want to increase your lean angle a little at a time, always keeping a portion of the scrubbed-in tread in contact with the road as you scrub-in a fresh part, leaning further and getting ever closer to the tread's edge as the miles go by. Make sure this is done on both sides of the tyre. One mistake that a thankfully small amount of riders make is when leaving the dealer's premises within the first few metres of having the tyre fitted. When turning onto the road some riders lean the bike more than they should and then accelerate into the traffic, causing the new tyre to slide or spin up, dumping them in the road. ( ie the riders being Stella Actatwat .. GT )During the scrubbing-in process, tyres should not be subjected to maximum power, sudden acceleration and braking, or abrupt and/or hard cornering until a reasonable running-in distance of approximately 100 miles has been covered. This will permit the rider to become accustomed to the feel of the new tyres or tyre combination and to gradually scuff the tyre's surface from edge to edge in order to achieve optimum road grip. The surface of the tyre can actually be scrubbed-in in less distance than 100 miles but this doesn't mean that the tyre is fully run-in because the tyre also needs to fully seat itself on the rim - a process not completed simply by the fitting of the tyre. The seating of the tyre's bead on the rim is separate to the scrubbing-in process. It takes longer and this is one of the reasons tyre manufacturers state that new tyres should be run-in for 100 miles. After 100 miles have been completed the tyres should be left to cool for at least one hour and the inflation pressures checked for any leaks that may have occurred during the running-in period. Because water acts as a lubricant, in the wet the scrubbing-in process can take two or three times as long. This is not helped by the fact that road riders rarely lean more than 28-30 degrees in the wet, meaning that the tyre will not be scrubbed-in from edge to edge. As you would anyway in the rain, extra caution with acceleration, braking and cornering should be taken. Leave the scrubbing in of the tyre's edges until the roads have dried out. Heat cycles A tyre's heat cycle refers to the process of heating a cold tyre up and letting it cool back down again. Cold to hot to cold again equals one heat cycle. Heat cycles appear to be a hot topic (sorry) at the moment, but for road riders on road tyres there is no reason to be concerned about heat cycles reducing a tyre's life or performance. Road tyres, even those designed for occasional track day use have many, many heat cycles designed into them. After all, why would tyre manufacturers design a road tyre that exceeds its designed number of heat cycles when only half worn? Word would soon circulate that a certain tyre's performance degrades rapidly before it has worn out and that tyre's sales would plummet. However, there are tyres that don't have loads of heat cycles designed into them. Race tyres are designed to be used once - one heat cycle. If that surprises you it really shouldn't. Nobody said racing was compulsory and nobody said racing was cheap and race tyres are designed to give maximum performance for one race. A little like a crash helmet, where, when it's done it's job of saving your life you throw it away, a race tyre has given its all in the race and its performance will now reduce the more you use it. The reality is that race tyres will give pretty good performance for another one or two more races, but after this they really are junk. Ever wonder why tyre manufacturers advise riders not to buy second-hand race tyres? It's not a global ploy to get you to buy new tyres. It genuinely is because the tyre's performance will be reduced. After all, ask yourself why would a racer be selling a perfectly good tyre? I hope that helps. All the best Bryn Phillips Product Support Manager, Motorcycle Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd       Brake pad run in. The ridges , or peaks .....imagine a snow capped mountain.....thats what new pads are rubbing against at first (the snow at the top)....thats all you are using to stop with.....until they bed in and gradually more of the said mountain is in contact with the pads until you reach the valleys below.....now you have the most contact you can have, and more than new discs and pads have Must tell Ron Dennis, Oops, Martin Whitmarsh now, to fit scored & grooved discs to his McLarens. Mungy, whoever told you that wants their bumps felt mate. Apply these strategies to that statement !!! Coefficient of friction, Temperature differential, Structural integrity, Heat treatment, Minimum thickness, Adhesion properties .. . (Friction material to backing plate) Love from GT x                                                                                                                                                                               

Brillant post it tells me a lot, means I can bin the sanding disks now althought I do use Bridgestones, would be interesting to se what they say                                                                                                                                                                             

Thanks GT it's all very clear now it helps everyone to understand what is going on under there rim and may help get a few more miles of good riding out of there rubber                                                                                                                                                                              

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4adZEf0f9wo

                                                                                                                                                                             

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd_PtFJW3_g&feature=...re=related


but what do i know                                                                                                                                                                              

For those of you that like sandpaper 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apcgP-9lHLk


Interesting to see the water beading on the edges where he obviously has not used yet.                                                                                                                                                                             

and what happens if you dont scub them in 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9zNUPDmnz4&NR=1


                                                                                                                                                                             

and another

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPfw9cUfp3g&feature=...re=related