'53 Model 7 Front Brake

Hi Colin,

I have a similar bike. I have read that the front brake is a little on the weak side but won't have the pleasure of testing my one for quite a long time as I am in the (Slow) process of it's renovation.

A 7" brake should be acceptably powerful, but the trouble is not being able to get soft enough linings. It would be very nice if someone could help, but perhaps check the "services" page here as you could be in trouble for asking!

One fairly simple way to increase brake shoe pressure is to reduce the tips of the actuating cam. in effect shortening the lever action. This has the same effect as lengthening the brake arm. You can either file it or grind it. but make sure both end up with the same length and curvature.I once did this on an MZ TS 150 brake with very good results. Negative is that the lever movement will increase. but careful lever adjustment will help.

Another thing that always improves brakes is to make sure the cable is very well oiled, and the actuating cam and it's bush and the endpivots are all free and greased. Sometime I have wondered if the return springs are over powerful and restrict the self servo action on the leading shoe.

I agree with you as regarding the working of this message board...very poor IMHO. No sign of it ever changing though.

By the way, I recently joined the YAHOO group. "Nortonmodel7"

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/nortonmodel7/

Very easy to join and free. The response from everyone is excellent and very friendly and enthusiastic, much more so than the very weak or sometimes non existant response I and others have hadon this NOC site. I am very disappointed by this apparent tardiness.

Best regards.

Les H

Another thing I forgot to suggest is that you try to recentralise the brake plate. As the brake is a single leading shoe the leading shoe will wear much faster tha the traling shoe. As the pivots and fulcrum pins are in a fixed positon on the plate and the brake plate is clamped rigidly by the front forkspindle being clamped, any wear resultss inthe unbalance of pressures appied to the brakeshoes.

To picture this, you will see the leading shoe wearing down more quickly, leaving the trailing shoe in effect touching the drum first andrestricting further outward shoe movement. As the pivot pin is fixed in relationship to the brake shoes and plate, it cannot turn anymore and apply more pressure to the more worn leading shoe. The leading shoe does most of the braking so you can see why the performance will drop off quite quickly. What is required and it could perhaps be engineered into the brake plate is to have a very loose fitting cam spindle.

By allowing the cam spindle to move over slightly it will automatically compensate for wear and go on to apply the same pressure to both shoes independantly of their differentstates of wear and thickness.

To see if this could be an effective mode, first doa brake recentralisng job, I.E: loosen wheel spindle nut, apply brake hard and tighten wheel spindle nut keeping the brake applied. If the braking power is increased, then there is some potential for the "floating Spindle " mod.

I hope this gives you some ideas.

ATB

Les H