es2 front brake shoe replacemet

The poor(er) stopping is most likely down to a 'bedding in' period being required. I'd say give them a chance and ride carefully until they're settled. The chamfer on the linings is to reduce the grabbing action on the leading edge of the leading shoe mainly so isn't really necessary elsewhere -in my opinion, that is. (You don't say specifically which brake you've got, in my head I see a 7" SLS half width type) If you do chamfer the lining, use a method that doesn't raise a cloud of dust, I used a rasp carefully so as not to fragment the edge. And still use a mask. Also, do the process of of having everything slack, holding the brake ON before doing up the spindle nut etc, this should centre the shoes in the best position to ensure you can stand the bike on its nose when you brake. You wish.

I had a similar issue after replacing mine. They did bed in a bit but I don't think they have yet reached the standard of efficiency they had reached before. I sent the old ones off for relining. Perhaps they are at their best when on the point of being worn out.

Google "brake shoe arcing" to understand the remedy for your/our problem!

Mike

Hi Charles,

Go onto youtube and enter Norton prepare for the Isle of Man TT races 1948 and there is some footage of the Ferodo engineers machining a Manx front brake. What they are doing isfixing the cam partly open and turning the shoes down tothe exact size of the individual drum. None of this is recommended unless you have industrial protection and your best bet is to take out the shoes and rub down the high spots, and you might need to do this a couple more times to make a difference. Although you should wear a mask, a good way of restricting the dust is to spray the shoes with water or even do the job outside in the rain if you are using hand tools.

Regards, Richard.

Don't take any risks with the ghastly stuff. The fibres are to small for masks to be safe. If you do it in the rain, make sure the dust goes straight into the sea! You don't want it blowing round the garden the day after.

If I get to my late 80's I'll set up an asbestos removal firm. Job applicants must all be over 85. Preferably in the early staged of dementia.

But my 16H brakes are really rather good, and I'm sure it's because they are original asbestos.

Previously David Cooper wrote:

Don't take any risks with the ghastly stuff. The fibres are to small for masks to be safe. If you do it in the rain, make sure the dust goes straight into the sea! You don't want it blowing round the garden the day after.

If I get to my late 80's I'll set up an asbestos removal firm. Job applicants must all be over 85. Preferably in the early staged of dementia.

But my 16H brakes are really rather good, and I'm sure it's because they are original asbestos.

David.... We're surrounded by the stuff, the water tank in our loft is made of asbestos/cement and I've lived here 50 years !!

I've seen people suffering with mesothelioma caused by asbestos and it is not a pretty sight. The fibres are generally only released when the stuff is machined or otherwise disturbed so existing linings are probably OK (but don't get anywhere near the dust).

For my part I won't go near the stuff. Despite popular theories, it's possible to get excellent quality linings eg from Villiers Services.

Previously charles_collins wrote:

Got asbestos shoes....a nice pair. Cleaned drum carefully with brake cleaner. It stops worse than before! I see the old vintage shoe had slight decreased circumference on the top and bottom of each shoe end. I can carefully grind down the lining on the ends using a breather mask. Would this help before I put it back together for the second time? Thanks all!

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Hi Charles, I've replaced the linings on all my bikes with modern friction materials; no more asbestos exposure to worry about and significantly better stopping power.

I use Phoenix Friction; http://phoenixfriction.ca/

They were mentioned in the various USA Vintage BMW postings as a company the specializes in bonding modern friction material to vintage shoes. AND it turns out they are 20 miles from me here in Toronto. I hand them my old shoes and they bond the best friction material that current technology provides.

The first time I gave them the shoes only and I had to take down the material considerably to fit. Now I give them the wheel too so they get a reasonable fit to the available space in the drum.

The service was cheap and fast and I found that after a few minutes of aggressive braking that they were nicely bed-in.

I've done this on my 51 ES2, 51 BMW R51 plus three BMW R27s and each time noticed some rear brake improvement and dramatic front brake improvement. Plus very little brake fade on long hills.

You should be able to find a similar service locally. Apparently the material they use on bikes is a German made product.

Hope this helps

Grant MacNeill

Toronto

If you really use your bike the shoes will soon wear in an uneven way. The leading shoe does most of the work however well it was set up. If possible swap the shoes round so that the thickest shoe becomes the leader .I do this regularly and it takes a little while to bed in again but the brake is better for it and the MOT inspector is always impressed with my brakes.