Drum Brake Efficiency

I am not happy with the performance of the rear brake (drum)
on the DR BIG. The CX rear was heaps better... I have new
shoes in there but figure there may be something else
wrong.

I plan to disassemble the back end to see how much contact I
have between the shoes and the drum (make sure the whole
surface of the shoe is contacting). I believe that this can
be adjusted (to compensate for actuator wear and drum wear)
with shims/spacers?

What else can I do to improve drum braking performance? Do I
need to de-glaze the inside of the drum? Is it just a matter
of getting in there with some coarse abrasive?

I remember an article from years back that suggested cutting
angled groves in the face of the brake shoes (mainly for
dirt bikes, to help remove water and mick quickly). Would
this help overall braking efficiency?

Any suggestions (other than "replace the back end for a disc
setup") or links would be appreciated.

This thing is bloody huge... so is my bike!
DR750, (CX500, KL, KLX, EL, XR, IT, GSX and XL 250s, CB360)
ICQ# 5662270 - http://www.baconplanet.com

 

In aus.motorcycles on 19 Oct 2003 19:55:16 +1000

Single leader? Double?

Take the whole wheel to a drum brake man and get it skimmed. He'll
match the shoes to the drum for you.

Zebee

 

Single leader? Double?

Err... pardon my ignorance... but what's the difference?

Do I need to get the drum measured to make sure it hasn't
worn/stretched/distorted beyond useful tolerances?

Zebee



This thing is bloody huge... so is my bike!
DR750, (CX500, KL, KLX, EL, XR, IT, GSX and XL 250s, CB360)
ICQ# 5662270 - http://www.baconplanet.com

 

In aus.motorcycles on Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:46:01 +1000

In single leading shoe, only one shoe is activated, and takes the other
with it. IN double, they both are, so setting it up is more complex.

If you only have one actuating arm, it's single leader, if your brake
rod connects to one and that one is connected to another by another rod,
you have a double.

Twin Leader is not all that common on rear brakes, my T has it , and
I've seen it on a couple of others. It's most often used on late front
brakes.

That's what the brake man's for. Take the whole wheel to him, including
shoes and brake plate, and talk to him about condition and options.
He'll probably have good advice about setting up too. If you are
planning on keeping the bike, then a chat to a good brake man is very
worth while.

TO find him, find a shop that specialises in old Brit bikes. Union Jack
or Modak in Melbourne are probably worth a call. In Sydney the bod
is Dave Blisset and he can be found on the Parts and Services page at
http://aigor.org. NOt sure about elsewhere.

Zebee

 

Thanks for the advice. I am probably not planning on keeping
it for *that* much longer, so I may just open her up and
have a bit of a dig around in there myself for the time
being.

In aus.motorcycles on Mon, 20 Oct 2003 07:46:01 +1000
Dr Big Maggot

In single leading shoe, only one shoe is activated, and
takes the other
with it. IN double, they both are, so setting it up is more
complex.

If you only have one actuating arm, it's single leader, if
your brake
rod connects to one and that one is connected to another by
another rod,
you have a double.

Twin Leader is not all that common on rear brakes, my T has
it , and
I've seen it on a couple of others. It's most often used on
late front
brakes.

That's what the brake man's for. Take the whole wheel to
him, including
shoes and brake plate, and talk to him about condition and
options.
He'll probably have good advice about setting up too. If
you are
planning on keeping the bike, then a chat to a good brake
man is very
worth while.

TO find him, find a shop that specialises in old Brit bikes.
Union Jack
or Modak in Melbourne are probably worth a call. In Sydney
the bod
is Dave Blisset and he can be found on the Parts and
Services page at
http://aigor.org. NOt sure about elsewhere.

Zebee