Rear brake chattter

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Rammy
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Rear brake chattter

#1

Post by Rammy »

Author: rammy

Has any body had the rear brakes grab and just howel ?My 51 dose that if you come on to them to quik . the shoes and drum all look good . I did reline the shoes with the rivit on type shoe , they worked good for some time. ???

Post by billy

Sounds like they are "Glazed" A bit of sandpaper or Emery cloth should de-glaze them. IMO

Post by rammy

I sanded the shoes and drum , that worked for a while now it`s doing it again . Maybe taiwon shoes I don`t remember . I will try another set this winter. not to much to go wrong in there , few moving parts . maybe the cam bushing has to much slop in it also

Post by toymaster

Try 'sanding' a chamfer [45* angle] on the leading edge of the shoes.. that works for car drum brake shoes that chatter/squeal sometimes..

Post by billy

I agree Toymaster-
a nice 45* should do the trick.. ;)

PS: you should be wearing a mask to prevent breathing ANY brake dust. Asbestos has been banned. But some aftermarket & NOS still have large stocks of these.
Just a "Safety First" thought. Why take any chances??
Same for clutch linings...

Post by rammy

I`ll try that... ;)
Thanks

Post by rammy

I got into my brakes and found the shaft and bushing were worn a bit to much . I replaced them and put a taper on the shoes . works great .

Post by billy

Happy Days are here again. ;D
Gotta have good brakes.. :o
rancherojef
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Re: Rear brake chattter

#2

Post by rancherojef »

I've had exactly the same problem you've described on my 50 Pan's rear mechanical brake. The brake would "chatter" now and then. "Chatter" I could put up with, but I've had TWO rear brake failures within the past few months.
On the first failure the cam which actuates the brake shoes actually broke inside the brake assembly with a piece of it lodging between the backing plate and the shoe, causing my rear wheel to lock up as I was coming up to an intersection with a red light. Luckily all of the cage drivers saw that I was having a problem and waited until I slid through the intersection.
I popped the clutch and powered past the locked brake to get out of harm's way, and ended up in a parking lot with no harm done, other than to my backing plate.
It spun the backing plate out of the normal position and almost ripped the tab that holds it from spinning in the frame. When AAA and I got it home and I took it apart is when I found the broken piece.
That was the FIRST rear brake failure.
I got a new backing plate and installed my ORIGINAL brake actuator shaft into it, thinking that the OLD ORIGINAL metal was better'n the new shaft's metal would be.
I have ridden with that assembly for several months now and only a couple of times did I experience really heavy "chatter". I immediately readjusted the brake shoes with the adjuster nut on the backing plate loosened up, thinking that maybe the shoes weren't centered on the drum.
This past weekend I experienced my second rear brake failure. I had almost come to a stop at an intersection by down gearing as I had seen the light turn red in plenty of time to slow down.
As I applied the rear brake I got a really bad "chatter", which I had NOT been having. Then BAM!!! The brake pedal just flopped forward and the rear wheel locked up for a fraction of a second.
I was able to stop with my front brake as I was only doing about 5 miles per hour by then. I looked back and saw that the brake lever was no longer attached to the backing plate.
At first I thought the nut that holds the brake lever onto the backing plate had come off, even though I knew I had installed a self locking nut to be certain THAT would never happen.
NOPE... the shaft had broken off cleanly where the shaft exited the backing plate. Looked just like a perfect crystal fracture.
SO... NOW I'm going to be installing a cast iron brake drum instead of the pressed steel drum that is stock. Local shop tells me that the 58-62 drum will fit, with some possible minor shimming or spacing issues. We'll soon see.
I will DEFINITELY chamfer the edges of the shoes also.
Has anyone else gone this route, with the cast iron drum?

You can email me at rancherojef@yahoo.com

Great website.

Ride safe,
Jeff
58flh
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Re: Rear brake chattter

#3

Post by 58flh »

Whats-up! To your ? YES I had the same problem happen to me.---I bought a new backing-plate brake-shoes,that had brakes already riveted to them!. Everything fit like a glove in the drum. I put it al;l back together took her for a ride and bam as soon as I touched the pedal the rear-brake locked -up!---Heres the funny thing I rolled the bike back about 2 feet,and she was free again!. GO-FIGURE. So rolled her home in 1st gear,put-her up on the lift-took it all apart-but before I took it all out!. I Rotated the wheel a few times to look for scuff-marks.After I took it all down ,i found a few scuff-marks,also I figured i had the brake adj. a little to tight!. What I did was filed around the whole radius of both shoes--and went over what i originaly did & 45 them better about 5/8 up from the end of each pad. Also i filed the scuff-marks not to much because of the tight adj. on the brakes to begin with. The new backing-plate ,brakes& shoes& springs came from J&P Cycles--they have parts for scoots from 1917 to present!!! The parts were of top quality, there were welds were my stockers did not have. AND EVERYTHING FIT GREAT!. Now that I readjusted the rear-brake ,she rides like a dream! I have about 1-inch play in the pedal then it starts to stop real good after that.(backing-plate was $112.00 black-powdercoat,the shoes/with pads on them already were$36.00 & the 2 springs were $$2.98---you could get the backplate in chrome to for $20 more but I figure who sees it once covered with oil from the chain & the leather saddlebags!. Also any order over a$100 is free delivery anywhere in the U.S. mine came in 2-days.9good-luck---remember keep it upright in 4th gear wide-open & enjoy that bad bike) 58flh
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