matti ghofen Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I've read quite a bit about the poor front brake on these bikes... mine is the same. Has anyone successfully modified theirs.... lengthened the hub cam brake lever maybe? Does anyone know if the front brake & hub from another bike would fit? Regards, MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collyolly Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 It depends on what you are comparing it with, as a brake from the period I do not remember it being criticised, compared with a modern front disc, well you know the answer ! One easy trick for an old brake drum / shoe combination is always hold the front brake on with a bungee or similar around the brake lever when tightening the front wheel spindle , this helps to ensure the assembly is centralised and both shoes are in contact when the brake is operated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 They are no better or worse than any other small drum-brake, time spent setting it up correctly will pay off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony27 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Take the shoes out & have a look at how much of the lining is actually making contact with the hub when applied, clean the surface of them & apply marker pen then reinstall & use the brake a couple of times then remove & see where the marker has been removed Ideally the lining should make contact over it's full surface for maximum power, this is where having an old set of shoes relined with thicker material machined to the same size as your hubs is an advantage as then the lining matches the curve perfectly, also allows you to get a softer more powerful compound of friction material used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matti ghofen Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Thanks folks. I think my problem is pad material, possibly a worn drum liner and the brake cable. The cable seems to squeeze under full pull. The metal outer cable end at the handle bar end is collapsed too.... trying too hard to stop? Tony, I am going to try your suggestion of the re-lining with a trials appropriate material matched to the diameter of the hub liner. I have had the following reply from another line of enquiry; ' if you have the 'waterproof' grooved shoes it needs 2 weeks written notice if you want to stop! There are 2 solutions, one cheap, the other can be expensive. Cheap option is to have your shoes relined by Villiers Services with a decent material suitable for trials. They do a lot of these so will know what lining you need. They do various thicknesses of lining so you can ensure you get your shoes as good a fit as possible even with worn drums. Expensive option is to fit another hub or even the whole wheel from a PE175/250 or a RM125/250. The very expensive option is to fit the twin leading shoe hub from a RM500 but a front wheel with brake plate could set you back upwards of £300. I had a Cub with a worn front hub, I fitted new 'waterproof' shoes and it was hopeless. I even snapped the front brake cable trying to stop on a descent in Belgium! I went to the expense of having the hub relined to match the shoes and it was no better! I had the shoes relined with a decent material and it was like a disc, I could actually do stop pies' Thanks MG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htrdoug Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Twin leading shoe brakes don't hold rolling backwards due to becoming twin trailing shoes in reverse direction. Shoes machined on lathe to drum diameter makes for the best possible brake on any brand of hubs. You can't possibly sand the surface accurately enough to measure up to properly arched shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beta evo andy Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Ive had issues with my front brake as well, once it is getting good pressure at the lever the lever in the drum would slip round and the brake would loose all breaking pressure, ive replaced shoes and the brake works now but the lever still comes the full way in,would like to just replace front wheel as seems cheaper than messing around with my wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony27 Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 How is your cable if you're still getting lots of lever movement? If all your adjustment is getting used up move the lever on the brake plate 1 spline further from the bars, the angle of lever to the cable when the brakes are working has an effect on the amount of power, too far from being at a right angle & your leverage applied drops Your description of the brake cam going over centre means your shoes must have been very worn, have never seen anything like that happen before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beta evo andy Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 My problem was if i adjusted the lever on the brake plate further down the lever would pull in building up pressure then then would almost collapse and the brake would loose all pressure, the new shoes mean it works now but the lever still comes the full way in and the more i tighten the brake up it begins to rub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony27 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Sounds like you need a new cable then or that the pivot bushing is worn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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