Author Topic: Rear Brake Wierdness  (Read 2099 times)

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Craig McClure

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on: May 24, 2013, 07:04:16 pm
Went for a nice ride yesterday, down the mountain, through town, to pick up a few items from Wal Mart. Every thing seemed fine untill I got stuck behind a slow car climbing back up the mountain. When they turned off, I could not get the revs up enough to shift into a higher gear( it usually pulls the hill fine) in the last half mile to home. At home, I noticerd the rear brake binding when I pulled in the clutch to shift into neutral. I put the bike on the center stand to inspect this, & noticed the rear drum & brake plate smoking. Sure enough, the brake was dragging. I have the snazzy wing nut brake adjuster, which I loosend. I got the wheel to turn freely, but noticed my chain had more slack than normal. I will put it on my lift, & figure this out.  I'm wondering did the wheel move during my ride - OR did some miscreant tamper with my Brake rod Wing Nut while unattended in the parking lot ??   HMMM....
Best Wishes, Craig McClure


Mcurrier

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Reply #1 on: May 24, 2013, 07:23:39 pm
I had the same thing happen the other day with mine. I noticed the bike dragging hard and when I pulled over the brake was smoking.  I don't have the wing adjuster (I ordered one the next day) and my tool bag was at home(smarts) so I gave it a good kick and stomped on the brake pedal and it freed up.  I haven't had a chance to inspect it but I'm changing my rear tire Monday so I'll take a look then. Let me know what you come up with.


barenekd

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Reply #2 on: May 24, 2013, 07:26:57 pm
Check the "Chain Adjustment" thread right under this one. There are instructions on how to recenter your brakes while adjusting the chain. As for the chain, if you still have the stock chain on your bike, now would be a good time to replace it. The stock chains are junk. They have a bad habit of breaking up internally, and looking like chain stretch. With the extra load the tight brake put on it, I would imagine it's done for. You didn't mention which bike you have, but get a good chain by Tsubaki, D&D, or other good chain manufacturer. If you have a C5, you cant swap an Oring chain, tight in. If you have a G5 or B5 and want an Oring chain, you need to put an 18 T sprocket in instead of the 17T it comes with. Anyway an Oring chain will work quite well from one of those suppliers.
Give a close look at your sprockets and make sure they are still good. Bad chains can take them out quite quickly, especially the countershaft sprocket.
I put the 18T and Oring chain on my G5 and was very happy with the regearing and result.
Don't expect any great change in performance or mileage. it ain't there. It does move some vibration levels around and give a more pleasant ride.
Bare
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hortoncode3

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Reply #3 on: May 25, 2013, 02:15:45 pm
YES on a chain change...and NOW not after the chain starts to wear. It is crap. I ruined both my sprockets by letting it go too far. As far as the brake issue goes, make sure the wheel is in alignment...perhaps one snail let the wheel back off on the brake side, thereby snugging up the brake rod a bit too much. I think the wing nut idea is great, I'll have to get one!


Ducati Scotty

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Reply #4 on: May 25, 2013, 03:16:57 pm
The wing nut is the best $13 you can spend. 

Scott


Bulletman

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Reply #5 on: May 25, 2013, 06:13:53 pm
The wing nut is the best $13 you can spend. 

Scott
Scottie, what's the "wing nut" where do you buy it, why do you need one?
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barenekd

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Reply #6 on: May 25, 2013, 06:21:47 pm
I had an old BSA one. I had to drill it out and tap it for the RE brake rod, but it worked great. Adds a bit of class and gets rid of the unhandy nut setup. NFG does sell them, too. They just aren't as cool as the BSA one.
Bare
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foggy95

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Reply #7 on: May 25, 2013, 07:54:05 pm
Got my brake rod wing nut from Hitchcocks - about 12 items down from the top of this page. Looks the business when installed and replaces the regular nut, so you can adjust out on the road without tools, if need be.

http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-frame-brakes
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mattsz

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Reply #8 on: May 26, 2013, 12:28:11 am
I've never used a tool to adjust the nut on my brake rod - never needed one.  Push the brake pedal, by hand - it pulls the cam lever forward.  Hold the cam lever, by hand, in the forward position, let off on the pedal and there's enough tension removed to allow me to spin the nut with my fingers.  Is this a bad thing?

BTW, with my swing arm repair and tire change, I finally correctly followed Bare's advice for centering the brake shoes when adjusting.  Took the bike for a spin and was fairly easily able, riding solo and unloaded on my new sticky K70 tire, to lock the rear wheel...


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jartist

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Reply #10 on: May 26, 2013, 04:37:38 am
There's a few things that will cause the rear brake to drag. One is that the axle moves in the swing arm; back on the left side or forward on the right which will pull on the brake rod.  Another is if the anti rotation bolt on the brake backing plate sheers off- usually this allows the plate to rotate enough that the brake locks up.  If the rear brake is adjusted too tight it may seem fine when it's adjusted up but expands and drags when it gets hot.  I have also heard of people tampering with the wing nut adjusters to do you the favor of tightening your brakes while you're away and making them too tight. I think the wing nut may be too much temptation to fiddle.

I like to leave a good amount of play in the rear brake adjustment as a bit of a safety measure. The brake centering thread bare quoted is good advice and I too find it easy to adjust the brake by hand with the stock nut.