MOT bullshit, dishonest garages

[colin1]

My sports 600 recently failed an MOT. I was surprised and was a little concerned that I had apparently been riding it with pads that were on there way out.

I am a bit nervous of attempting mechanical things myself, but with korns brake cleaning guide from the workshop, and after consulting my pdf manual, I bravely had a go.

First look the pistons in the caliper seemed a bit dirty and corroded and at first i was a bit stumped on getting the pads out, but I managed to push them out.

I had a fairly good go at cleaning the pistons too using korns guide and actually it turns out they are fine and can be moved in quite freely by hand.

However I am pissed off that the pads are completely fine. Im not too surprised as they were replaced in march. They have about 3.5mm on them and mot fail is about 1.6mm i think. They are certainly nowhere near even 2mm.

I have taken the old pads out, not because they need repalcing but because I have a good mind to complain to the MOT place.

I know this wont achieve much but it pisses me off that i consistently get bad service from every bike place I try.

Is there a way of reporting dishonest MOT places ? (yeah i know its unlikely)

I am often the type of idiot who would have just handed over cash and ordered parts for them to fit to get through the mot, but as i knew the pads were new in march, i smelt bullshit and i had some new pads at home anyway that i had got off ebay.

Ok in winter maybe they need to try to fleece everyone to keep the cash flowing, but I'm still pissed off.

The thing that bothers me more, is if i cant trust them to check things when they are safe, can i actually trust them to test things or do things that could be dangerous ? Obviously not. Fuckers

Now I cant legally ride my bike unless i pay them more money for a retest, or I go somewhere else. Im tempted to go somewhere else further out of my way and pay the full fee again out of principle but i will probably get the same bullshit from another place.

[McJamweasel]

You can lodge a complaint with VOSA, but as you have 'repaired' the bike now there is going to be very little that they can do.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[colin1]

thanks. I took a pic before i took the old pads out, would that help ? I probably wont make a complaint, but i like the idea that i could if i could be arsed. I know that nothing would come of it.

[tintin]

How do you know it was just the brake pads? It might have been sticking calipers that caused the failure.
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The older I get the better I was

[Pte1643]

Must be just you Colin.

Maybe the bloke recognised you from BCF and immediately thought of '98 R1's, and the fact they need SUPER brakes in order to stop them from the obvious light speeds they travel.

[MattEMulsion]

What does it actually say on your failure sheet? You can't actually get a fail because 'the brakes pads are on there way out'. There should be a properly worded reason as to why it was failed.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[colin1]

they told me it was the pads and that they needed replacing

they said they did a 'visual inspection'

its quite possible that the pistons were sticking, but they didnt say that

on the mot refusal it says
"front brake pads less than 1.5mm thick [1.3.1a]"

[MattEMulsion]

There you go then, they failed it because they thought the brake pads were below the minimum requirement.

If I was you then I would be tempted to take your bike back for a retest with the old brake pads in hand. I would point out to them that the brake pads should not have failed and make a point that you are not happy.

Ask them if they are going to charge you for a retest and if they say that they are ask them for VT17 appeal form and I bet that will get their backsides twitching.

I reckon that they will give you a pass certificate without any further hassle and without charge. I would then be tempted to put it down to experience, rather than kick up more of a stink about it.

Okay you have wasted a bit of cash on some brake pads you didn't need yet, but you would have had to replace then in the near future anyway.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[colin1]

[MattEMulsion]

Don't forget to report back as to how you get on when you take your bike for its retest.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[MattEMulsion]

Oh and if anyone is wondering, they can only fail it on the pads being too thin (less than 1.5mm of material) if they can see them without any dismantling.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

How were you measuring the brake pads to gauge the depth?

[meooo]

you cant lodge an appeal after repairs have been carried out.
All mot stations get complaints, most appeals go to support the tester, although he usually gets a "word" in his ear.
If the pads cant be seen clearly without dismantling, the tester would be correct to fail the vehicle, subject to further investigation...with the owners agreement...and then advise you/pass/replace parts as required.

[stinkwheel]

[MattEMulsion]

[carvell]

Can you post a photo of the pads?
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Yamaha TDM 850

[colin1]

[stinkwheel]

Just a quick thought. You have changed the right set of pads haven't you? You've not changed the front ones when it was the back ones that failed or something.

I only ask because this is Colin we are talking about

[colin1]

cheeky bugger

no it failed on the front pads, and its the front pads that i have changed

[Jebus]

well 3.5mm on your pads aint a lot of meat mate, they are well past best now.
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2nd time around CBT: 8/9/11
125 Varadero

[Walloper]

Don't take it to seriously.
As has been said. 3.5 is not far from a change.
They recommend 1.5-2. So a change at 3 is prudent.

Maintenance is more..... Do it when you can.
As opposed to do it when you need to/have to/to late to.

Sometimes the saving of a couple of pounds is not worth it if the bikes is down for a service, may as well re-line the brakes etc.

I am not being critical of your regime. Just how I look at it.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[colin1]

they only have about 4-5mm to begin with

so at 3.5mm they dont need replacing yet
certainly nowhere near the 1.5mm for MOT min

no point replacing pads if there is plenty left on them

i dont believe that 4mm pads work any better than 2mm thickness of pads

the 1.5mm is just a safety margin so that you dont end up with metal on metal

[Rookie]

[Jebus]

well, thats true but they will be past there best as 2 perforamance that they can give, a strip and clean always a good idea but still the mot regs are the bare minimum you need to not be dangerous. ok 3ish mm about half worn, you could of just cleaned them up refitted them kept them in the bike and inform them that they are within limits.

And the more the pads get used the less they perform, they will get glazed over a bit the heat cycling on them will affect them as well, might not be much but still frest pads are better than worn ones once they bedded in
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2nd time around CBT: 8/9/11
125 Varadero

[colin1]

somehow i dont think they would take my word for it