Any tricks to make drum brakes stop better?
Lee W. Glenn
XS400 Special II has drums front and rear. Any tricks to help the bike stop
better? Of course the obvious answer is putting disc brakes on. However,
my forks and wheel do not have any way of mounting the caliper or disk so
that would mean new forks, wheel, etc. So is there any tricks or
recommended shoes, etc?
thanks
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Kaybearjr
>> recommended shoes, etc?
You could look around for some softer brake linings which have a higher
"self-energizing" effect. I would be surprised if any of the "lead guitarists"
in your local motorcycle store would know what "self-energizing" means though,
but that's what it was called in the days back before disk brakes.
Soft linings, that's what works, that's what wears fast.
As you would apply the drum brake, it would work better, and better, until
sometimes it would lock up and
launch the rider over the handlebars if the material was too soft...
On the other hand, you could look for a harder, semi-metallic lining which has
lots of little pieces of metal in it, and then you would have to remember to
warm the brakes up by dragging them when you start out in the morning, and your
brake drums would wear out rapidly.
You could drill some holes in the backing plates, and mount airscoops to cool
the hot drum brakes, and we used to do that, putting a screen over the scoop to
keep gravel and german shepherds out of the brakes...
But one thing you can do that helps drum brakes is to regularly clean the dust
out of them. Accumulating dust from the linings interferes with braking, and
you can lightly sand the linings to knock the shiny glaze off the shoes, too.
And you can reposition your brake lever on the handlebar to get the most
leverage possible out of it, by gripping it closer to the end, this works best
if you have big hands.
You can also take as much slack as possible out of the brake cables and rods,
and make sure that the rear
brake operating lever doesn't hit the rear axle before you get full rear
brakes, I had this problem on my Suzukis, so I had to reposition the arm on the
spline at least once every 5,000 miles.
Some sidewalk commando was watching me move the
rear brake arm one tooth backward on the spline, and he was scratching his
head, wondering what I was doing...
So I explained, and he still didn't understand.
Disk brakes. That's the solution for those that don't understand...
# * 0 * #
^
bob prohaska
the pivot points, as well as the cable. Made a huge difference on
my drum-brake-equipped TLR200.
hope this helps
bob
Lee W. Glenn
start. I figured there was no "magic" but I wanted to be sure.
thanks again
Andy Woodward
>XS400 Special II has drums front and rear. Any tricks to help the bike stop
>better? Of course the obvious answer is putting disc brakes on. However,
>my forks and wheel do not have any way of mounting the caliper or disk so
>recommended shoes, etc?
A well designed and well set up drum brake should lock the front. You dont
need any more from a brake than that.
Things to do in order of ease and cost.
1. Lube all the pivots
2. Replace teh cable with a good qaulity nylon/teflon lined one. This
transformed the braking of my Vespa from useless (hte brake would come on OK
then fade to uselessness cos teh cable outer compressed ad teh cable inner
stretched) to quite adequate.
3. Run hte cable in as smooth a curve as you can - sharp corners create
friction and absorb braking force (rnning hte cable of teh Vespa outiside th4
bodywork last time it was apart allowed me to lock teh front wheel at
30mph on a dry road even using hte old OEM rubber cable, whereas on its
normal run inside teh bodywork thru 4 right angles, it was the worst brake I
have ever used.
4. Get softer brake shoes.
Drum brakes are more than adequate for street bikes and have teh advantage
that in bad weather they dont corrode and seize requiring at least one
stripdown per winter, or vary in effectiveness depending whether its wet or
dry.
mrdancer
Mike ' Hurricane' Hicken
right angles to the direction the cable runs as that is the position of
maximum leverage, if you can understand what I mean.
--
Mike 'Hurricane' Hicken
www.hicken168.freeserve.co.uk
"mrdancer" <mrdanceratcamalottdotcom> wrote in message
news:8qa96...@enews3.newsguy.com...
> Get stickier tires.
>
>
Redryder
on the brake shoes would help. It seems that the brake drum can get glazed.
I believe the drum glazing, but I haven't tried the grinding compound. My
friend
claims he has and it works. This is second hand though me.
John
Kaybearjr
>on the brake shoes would help.
Sandpapering the shoes would work better. I have visions of somebody putting
valve grinding compound,
mixed with oil, on his brake shoes, installing the wheel, and attempting to
ride the bike...
I actually saw a situation where a teenager assembled a Bultaco engine with
valve grinding compound on the
cylinder head labyrinth seal because a mechanic had advised him to lap the seal
with valve grinding compound...
Les
>I actually saw a situation where a teenager assembled a Bultaco engine with
>valve grinding compound on the
>cylinder head labyrinth seal because a mechanic had advised him to lap the
>seal
>with valve grinding compound...
Makes you wonder how many "laps" he was able to make while it was still
running.
Les
"oktr6r"
--
'70 Triumph
'63 VW trike (Some assembly required)
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**
Support Eddie Kieger III at
http://eddiekieger.com
Bruce Brodnax
Lee W. Glenn <l...@stoneattic.com> wrote:
>I am the unfortunate owner of a drum brake equipped bike. My 81 Yamaha
>XS400 Special II has drums front and rear. Any tricks to help the bike stop
>better? Of course the obvious answer is putting disc brakes on. However,
The only real trick I know is for old off-road bikes that where likely to
make water crossings & hence get water inside the drums: take a hacksaw
blade & cut a notch in the leading edge of the brake lining at a slant to
guide water on the drum to the outside (backing plate) side of the drum.
DON'T cut all the way thru the lining; just down to where you'd replace
the lining as too worn anyway...
Also, get some modern brake linings put on; they've made some pretty good
progress in brake lining compounds in the last decade or so since your
Bike was built, and every little bit helps.
Ciao,
B. Brodnax
Burnout
wrote:
>Thanks for all of the responses. I think a general "going over" is where to
>start. I figured there was no "magic" but I wanted to be sure.
>
>thanks again
>
After you perform all of the tasks suggested, except of course the
lapping compound technique, when you install the wheel I do have one
trick.
With the axle only lightly snugged, spin the wheel and hit the brakes
a couple of times. The last time you spin the wheel and hit the
brakes, hold the brakes on as you tighten the axle. If the brakes
still feel spongy, loosen the axlle and repeat the procedure.
Good luck
Burnout
Hoyt McKagen
>
> "Lee W. Glenn" wrote:
> >
> > I am the unfortunate owner of a drum brake equipped bike. My 81 Yamaha
> > XS400 Special II has drums front and rear. Any tricks to help the bike stop
> > better? Of course the obvious answer is putting disc brakes on. However,
> > that would mean new forks, wheel, etc. So is there any tricks or
> > recommended shoes, etc?
>
Look up Michael 'Mercury' Morse at Vintage Brake. He should be on web and
searchable but you can also find him on the Vintage road race list. He
has a shoe compound that will snap your head forward.
Regards,
Hoyt McKagen
Belfab CNC - http://www.freeyellow.com/members/belfab/belfab.html
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Animals have fleas and ticks but I have minions
Hoyt McKagen
>
> Back to the topic, I agree fully, first make sure everything is
> correctly adjusted, and the cables are in good shape (I assume the
> front brake is cable and not hydraulically operated).
The axles hould be loosened, the brake applied hard and held, and the
axle tightened again. Do this on both ends. It centers the brakes to the
degree possible and it will make them work probably 50-100% better.
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