drum brakes
- Thread starter brsteele
- Start date
Breeze3at
Experienced Member
Without going into inspecting the condition of the shoes, springs,cams etc.
There should be an adjuster built into the cable. Front wheel should be off ground. Spin wheel and turn adjuster out until brakes start making contact at about 1/4 of the lever travel. Tighten adjuster and make sure brake is not dragging when lever is released. Loosen axle nut, and the brake shoe pivot stud (tab on lower L. fork). Spin wheel and apply brake, this centers shoes to drum. Without releasing lever, tighten axle nut and pivot stud. Recheck adjustment.
Go for a ride, you'll be amazed. It feels just like you have no front brake.
(that was a dig at how bad HD's drum brakes were reputed to be)
There should be an adjuster built into the cable. Front wheel should be off ground. Spin wheel and turn adjuster out until brakes start making contact at about 1/4 of the lever travel. Tighten adjuster and make sure brake is not dragging when lever is released. Loosen axle nut, and the brake shoe pivot stud (tab on lower L. fork). Spin wheel and apply brake, this centers shoes to drum. Without releasing lever, tighten axle nut and pivot stud. Recheck adjustment.
Go for a ride, you'll be amazed. It feels just like you have no front brake.
(that was a dig at how bad HD's drum brakes were reputed to be)
Breeze, your funny...make it sound like they were "Fred Flintstone" quality brakes...:bigsmiley30:
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
Breeze has you covered here H D drum brakes were poor at best JMO
Get a Good Factory Shop manual for the Early Shovels. If your going to keep the Drum setup and want your brakes to work as good as an Early disc brake go look at vintagebrakes.com The guy who owns this shop has dedicated his efforts into Old Vintage Drum brakesand there are a lot of us out there with Street and Race bikes .......After having him restore and rebuild my F&R Drum Brakes I can lock my front drum brake @ over 35+ MPH unreal stopping power and the bike LQQKS Stock !