I'm sure that, as you say howlindawg, the pads in the front and rear would have gone on for a while yet. At the last service (2,000 miles ago) they were given a "green" for wear. However, I suppose that at my usual rate of around 4 - 5000 miles per year on the touring bike, I would need to replace them at some point soon and then not for a very long time, so I thought that I would have it done before the summer.
A very attractive price from the dealer helped, too!