Warning about Drum Brakes (Please Read): Sprockets forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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July 5, 2010 5:00 p.m. sanyarcosean Reader

There has been a lot of talk about Brake Shoe De-lamination on other boards. When I replaced the tires on the Seca I rebuilt the brakes, and found no problems with the rear shoes. Today when I went to put tires on the Bobber, This is what I found...

One pad had completely removed itself from its shoe, and the other came apart in my hands. I hate to think what would have happened if I had ridden the bike any distance like that and had a shoe wedge at speed. If it has been a couple years since you took a look at your rear brakes please do it! I would hate to see a repeat of some of the stories from other boards....

On a lighter note.... I had a hard time getting the bead to break on the front tire... Normally if I stand on the tire it will release. No way with these so I used my MINI bead breaker.....

Worked like a charm!!

Happy Riding!!!
July 6, 2010 5:36 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

If you find yourself in a similar situation with an oddball car or bike, there's a local outfit that will reline your brake shoes. They remove the shoes, blast and paint, then apply new material. I recently sent a guy there with a 1953 Mercedes, not exactly NAPA's thing.

Dan
July 6, 2010 9:21 a.m. knb13 New Reader

that sucks man... glad you caught it when you did.

I'm generally not a fan of drum brakes on bikes... granted, I'm biased since I'm really used to the disks on my F4i and anything else seems mushy to me.
July 6, 2010 11:50 a.m. sanyarcosean Reader

It wasnt a big deal, I had new brake parts for it anyway, Its just one of those things you dont think about until you see it first hand.
July 6, 2010 3:07 p.m. 44Dwarf HalfDork

BTDT except i was on the bike.....still have the scare.
July 6, 2010 4:35 p.m. Osterkraut Dork

Wait, people use REAR brakes? My mind is blown.
July 6, 2010 8:01 p.m. 44Dwarf HalfDork

mine was the front on a 74 mx175b yamaha
July 7, 2010 11:35 a.m. Jensenman SuperDork

That happened on my last Hodaka's front brake. Grabbed a handful, it felt funny and then the lever dropped all the way back.

I cleaned and sanded the metal shoe and the back of the lining, coated it with Yellow Peril (3M weatherstrip adhesive), let it tack up, then stuck the hub back in the wheel and used a zip tie to hold the lever back tight, forcing the shoes against the drum. I then left it to dry for about a week, worked like a champ.