Hello. New member here in the States. I own a 1949 Norton ES2 that turns out my second Cousin once removed (never met him) had brought over back in the late 1970's. It had lived its former life around Plymouth according to the log book.
Seems the brake plate may be bent possibly from a hard stop? The two retaining bolts for the brake shoes had the heads worn down. Can these plates be bent back and how to best do this? Any help appreciated. Thank you! - Chas.
Is the brake plate ally or…
Is the brake plate ally or steel?, It may have been bent from a front crash in the past or perhaps the wrong bolts fitted or spacer /narrow bearings incorrect. Wrong axle pulling legs together, shoe ends too wide ,mixture of parts from later bike, keep an open mind.
Its a steel plate. I don'…
Its a steel plate. I don't have a picture. Gets me thinking that maybe upon a prior assembly the felt washer may have gotten in the way. I did notice the springs were not properly attached and the locking washer was present but not employed.
On early brake plates the…
On early brake plates the shoe pivot posts are not linked and heavy abuse via the brake pedal can actually push the ends of them together. Commando etc have the pins linked which is something I would always advocate.
Steel plate/pins can be straightened. A good way is to make a 'dummy' spindle and collar on a decent sized lathe. Fix the centre of the plate firmly and revolve on the lathe to see how badly its bent and 'adjust' using a 'tyre iron' or similar until the whole plate is straight. You wont get it spot on but they probably never were!
Find a piece of tube which fits nicely over the pins and CAREFULLY move them about until the shoes point in the right direction (ie parallell with the plate and flat on the cam). Make sure you dont loosen the pins in the plate. Finally tie the posts together as Commando etc for a stiffer set up. Careful of clearance at back of drum. I hope this helps. I have done a few with good results.
This bike has the linked p…
This bike has the linked pins and locking washer. I wonder how it was able to run. Brake plate must have been replaced at some point and the person reversed the outer distance piece on the spindle leaving the brake plate floating, then at some point it was reversed so it interfered with the drum and did not fully check the work done. Driven many miles with the pivot bolts wearing down and heating the brake plate. I am thinking of a thrust washer under the inner distance piece and maybe using thread lock instead if the lock washer to gain clearance. Maybe not good to use thread lock because of heat if brake is used a lot.
Can you supply a photo?