Front Leading Shoe Brake is not performing too well.
Ive installed new shoes,return springs,expander cams and brake cable from RGM. Cleaned inside of drum with 600 grit.
Intalled wheel, spun wheel, applied both expander cams with adjuster rod disconnected and tightened axle nut while keeping cams under pressure.
Connected rod and cable, adjusted cable, taken off centre stand, applied brakes and depressed forks 1 or 2 times, locked pinch bolt on fork
Final adjustment-- Removed bottom clevis pin on rod,applied both expander cams fully
and carefully adjusted rod so linings still in contact with drum.Replaced clevis pin. Adjusted cable.
I got all this information from the workshop manual.
On the road the rear brake is till more effective than the front even after small tweeking of adjustment rod.
Why is this ? Do the shoes take a long time to fully bed in so that all the shoe is in contact with the drum when the brake is applied.?
Thanks in advance for your help.
John
Hi John, In my experience…
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Hi John,
In my experience and with new shoes, it can take about 1000 miles before the shoes are fully bedded in.
What I do to accelerate the bedding in process is to ride the bike in top gear with the front brake on and a large handful of throttle for maybe 20 seconds or so - try to release the brake before you think brake fade is going to occur due to the heat build up in-case you do actually need the brake. I repeat this process (after allowing time for the drum to cool down) maybe 10 - 15 times during a 50 mile ride out and adjust the cable if necessary. Then back at home I take out the front wheel and remove the brake plate, you will easily see the contact areas on the shoes and if less than 50% I take a large bastard cut file and file away the areas that are in contact. Refit the brake, rinse and repeat until happy.
The rear brake will always be more effective at wheel locking on a norton due to the massive leverage on the rear brake lever and the amount of force one can apply by 'standing' on the brake. It is the front brake though that provides the stopping power.