[Chuck D]

Took a 70 mile ride on Friday and ended up at work just before the rain hit. A true soaker, that lasted several hours. So far every thing was fine. Parked the bike under an overhang where she remained quite dry. By 11pm quitting time the rain had tapered off to a light mist. Now, I'm still a relatively new rider but this is not my first time riding in the rain and I make the necessary adjustments to my riding; slower, lower gearing, more anticipation, etc. But by the first red light I was nearly on the ground. No matter how carefully I applied the front (drum) brake it would lock up immediately and this went on the entire four mile trip home with me riding about ten mph. and waving traffic on as it built up behind me. It's been 5000 miles and I haven't dumped the bike yet but this night I truly believed my luck had run out. I'm not a prayin' man but I said a silent word of thanks when I got home.

[t120rbullet]

Might want to let a bit of air out of the tires and not get into the front brake so much.
The old 70/30 rule doesn't apply when your on wet pavement, if in doubt don't use the front brake at all.
Living in Michigan gives me a golden opportunity to hone my wet riding skills.

[Chasfield]

Was that front brake grabbing? TLS units have a bit of a self-servoing action. Mine doesn't feel like it would spit me off in poor conditions but I haven't really put it to the test yet.

Chas

[cyrusb]

That is scary, I'm betting,like mine, the back brake barely works. Is this so?

[Chuck D]

Point taken T120, about tire pressure. But as I stated I do have a bit of rain experience but this was a first. The front brake would grab immediately at the slightest feathering and actually compress the fork as the rear end did a shimmy on the wet pavement. Actually, Cyrus, my rear brake works quite well for a rear, and definitely makes it's contribution felt under routine braking. The next morning (clear and dry) I took a few experimental laps around the block. Same thing at first but cleared up and worked normally after about 15 minutes. Any theories?

[jdrouin]

Can drum brakes get wet like discs? Maybe it took some time for the drums to get wet and slicker, and therefore less grabby on the wet pavement.

Glad you're alright.

Jeff

[Leonard]

The front brake drum will accumulate rust rapidly.  After a rain you might want to try the brake while pushing. You can usually get rid of it by riding a block or so with the brake carefully applied. 

[Chuck D]

Leonard, thanks for confirming my suspicions. Rust huh? I was thinking of it as more of a glaze because I was able too ride it off the next day but it didn't occur to me that rust could form THAT quickly. Next time the bike sits in the damp for any length I'll do as you suggest, either pushing it or slow riding it (off street!) to dress up the brake. Jeff thanks for the well wish. I can't very well walk you through you first oil change from a hospital bed.

[t120rbullet]

To add a bit to what Leonard said,
It might help to pull it apart and clean it out real good. Sand the shoes and the drum a bit and bevel the leading and trailing edges of the shoes with a file quite a bit more than the factory does. 

[Chuck D]

To add a bit to what Leonard said,
It might help to pull it apart and clean it out real good. Sand the shoes and the drum a bit and bevel the leading and trailing edges of the shoes with a file quite a bit more than the factory does. 

  Yikes! Not the dreaded take it apart and actually get to the bottom of things routine!

[Slider]

TLS units have a bit of a self-servoing action.

What's a TLS unit?

[mitchell]

whenever i got a brake job done in india, the first thing was they always filed off the pads. but, your pads arent new. maybe some wd40 near where the cable ends at the wheel on the adjuster?

[t120rbullet]

What's a TLS unit?

Twin Leading Shoe

[Chuck D]

TLS units have a bit of a self-servoing action.

What's a TLS unit?
 TLS or twin leading shoe is the type of front drum brake supplied wit the Bullet classic models (including the Sixty-5's).  The "twin" refers to the two cams, each actuating it's own brake shoe. With this arrangement, each shoe can contact the lining with its leading edge. With a single cam operating both shoes one of the shoes by necessity contacts the lining with its trailing end ' reducing its effectivness.

[Slider]

Gotcha. Why do the edges need to be beveled?