I've decided to give up on publicly anticipating and announcing WHEN (by time or mileage) I will need to do specific maintenance, like I have in the past. I think I said in December I would need to replace my pads by the new year..... and they are still on my bike. It seems they are wearing slower than they did at the start, which is likely mostly due to a little better braking technique as I learn and gain experience (more efficient engine braking now).

As most of you know, the manufacturer's service limit on the pads is 1mm. Back when I was arbitrarily "predicting" my service dates and milage, I didn't have a reliable way to measure the pads either.... I was just eye-balling them, guessing, holding up a ruler (that didn't have metric measurements), etc. Now my tool chest has a NEW member in the family.... a brand new caliper micro-meter thingy (I think that is what it is called). Here is a link if anyone is interested... http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100651811
So, now I KNOW that my pads are actually currently at 2mm (average between them, they are pretty close though).

Sorry to be so long winded getting to my actual question, but here it is....
Since the bike is my daily commuter, and I do have to "time" maintenance since I can't take it out of service 15min. before I have to leave for work, should I start thinking about changing the pads anytime between now and 1mm if I have sufficient free time, or am I good to wait until 1mm and hope I have time and money that specific weekend?
I would like to go for a 100-200mi ride this Sat (if my visiting friend's bike isn't kaputt like we suspect), and assume I am still safe, but that just got me thinking about this.

how thick are brand new pads in comparison to what you have left?

worded another way, how much pad material have you used to date?

I haven't picked up a set of replacements yet.... so I am totally going by memory here, but I am pretty sure when they where new they were defiantly thicker that the metal backing plate itself....(the backing plate is ~3.25mm by itself) so maybe a new pad was~ 5, likely even a little more???
The dealer said I probably had ~500 - 1000mi. left on them before they needed replacement, which was almost 500mi ago. Now at that time, when eye-balling it, the pads where roughly equal to the backing plates. So if I went off the past 500mi. estimates I am running through ~1mm per 500mi. (rounding that off quite a bit). However, I have ~7500 mi. on the bike (original pads), so that would mean if all things where held constant (they never are), the pads were ~15mm when new... can that be right!!??

dunno, but if you are thinking of changing the pads anyway, why not buy the new pads to have them on hand now?

rate of pad wear is dependent, obviously, on how you ride the bike.

I'd buy the new set of pads now and change them when you have time next. You can always keep the old pads around as a backup in case your new pads fail for some unknown reason.

unless you are planning to sell the bike shortly, I see no reason to wait at this point, though there is no hurry to get them done as it would be if you waited till they hit the limit.

when you do the pad change, consider bleeding the brake fluid at that time, too.

However, I have ~7500 mi. on the bike (original pads), so that would mean if all things where held constant (they never are), the pads were ~15mm when new... can that be right!!??

I don't think the pads were 15mm when new. I've got some brand new Galfer HH+ pads here for my 10R sitting on the desk, and the pad material itself is almost exactly 5mm thick (half a centimeter). The backing plate is about 3 mm thick, so the whole pad together with the plate is about 8 mm thick. Best guess is that your pads were about 5mm thick when new as well, brake pads are pretty similar in the scheme of things, and that means you've used 60% of them so far (5mm --> 2mm). By my math, that means you're scheduled to hit metal around 12,000 miles. But I wouldn't wait that long. Though I wouldn't be panicked right now either. If your measurements are correct, there is no way you're going to be out of pad in 500 - 1000 miles, you've got quite a bit more than that left.

That sounds good, I'll continue to monitor closely, but won't stress about it.

Turns out I burned through my entire front pads by 7200 miles.

relevant link (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=46048&postcount=22)

8,000 for me today, and still good aparently....
I have been using a LOT of engine braking. I may pull away from cars at lights, but frequently they ride my butt coming to a stop..... hey, gotta save those pads (and decrease those wheel lock-ups).