New rider new miss THEN Brake issues

[chudies]

hi all

i am a new rider and thought i would share my first near miss
not a major one but enough to scare the bezimbers out of me!
basically, at 40 mph behind a white van man who broke quite hard (in hindsight i was probably too close behind!)
i hit the brakes, and the whole bike went wobbley to say the least
thought i was at the rodeo!
thouught i was heading straight into back of him!
however, managed to steady the monster and calm myself down!
learned - stay further behind, use more front brake
ok, probably a small near miss compared to you experienced riders!

anyways, i am after some ADVICE now please
basically, since my ordeal, the rear brake has felt weaker
and i now hear grinding (metal on metal?) when i use the rear brake
the bike hasnt done 4000 miles yet, and thought the rear brake would last longer
do you all think i need rear pads replaced already??
or, as i was told by the local shop, there is some "grit" that needs to be worn out? thing is that it was worn out after 100 miles!

any advice gratefully received!
cheers

[eddie munster]

You were lucky then...good to have a scare to start with and not a smash eh!

I like to keep my distance behind anything I cant see in front of...:) If it's wet every now and then I like to lock up the back wheel in my street before I head off just to see how greasy the road is...better there than in traffic.

I have a rule to myself about tractors too lol, i see one coming up in either direction I slow the hell down

If your back brake is grinding take it off as soon as...replace the pads they are cheap enough, make sure your reservoirs are topped up with dot 4 brake fluid too....no shop should advise to leave a disc grinding. :fou:

If its grinding your wrecking the disc...your bike is in pain :(

[chudies]

tell me about it, better that i had a scare and not a mash up!

i only think it was "grinding" from my years on the road as a car driver, but wasnt sure

will get down to daytona kings x tomorrow to get fixed

cheers matey

[Nickj]

Like eddie says get it changed now as the rotors are cast iron and real soft, if there is something embeded in the pads it'll score the disk.
I get big miles out of the rear brake as I only use them occasionally, mostly round town, got a big brake in the engine to slow the ass and two chunky discs up front that do the biz for me. Rears usually reserved just for low speed control

[JerryXt]

Best not to use it until it's been fixed or given the OK. Pop round if you want and we can have a quick look.

BTW, I went through the rear in about 4K on the Xt - riding it is different to the monster tho and I use far more rear brake than I would ever do on the rs.