the front drum brake on my gp150 is rubbish. i have the cable adjusted up as best as i can get it. i was wondering if its possible to adjust the brake shoes up to the drum? and if you can how do you do this
thanks alot any help is much appreciate
lambretta front brake drum
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marktheskin
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- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:15 pm
- Main scooter: SIL GP150/vespa when its broke
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Not sure I know what you mean but:
If the cable is pulled through enough, and bolted up firmly enough in the clamp you should be able to lock the shoes against the hub by winding the adjuster in. This shortens the effective length of the inner cable, rotates the cam that the shoes rest on which in turn pushes the shoes outwards to the brake lining. If the cam can rotate right round and the brake shoes hardly touch the brake lining then the shoes are very worn or they're the wrong uns. Or something else weird is going on.
Most scooter front brakes are pretty p1ss poor at best. This looks like a good trick though, will be trying it on my series 1 (with a series 3 front hub): http://scooterotica.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=23258
If the cable is pulled through enough, and bolted up firmly enough in the clamp you should be able to lock the shoes against the hub by winding the adjuster in. This shortens the effective length of the inner cable, rotates the cam that the shoes rest on which in turn pushes the shoes outwards to the brake lining. If the cam can rotate right round and the brake shoes hardly touch the brake lining then the shoes are very worn or they're the wrong uns. Or something else weird is going on.
Most scooter front brakes are pretty p1ss poor at best. This looks like a good trick though, will be trying it on my series 1 (with a series 3 front hub): http://scooterotica.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=23258
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marktheskin
- registered user
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:15 pm
- Main scooter: SIL GP150/vespa when its broke
- Contact:
i can wind the adjuster enough to lock the wheel but when i have it adjusted so the wheel rolls free if im travelling at anything quicker than 20mph the front brake is about as useful as chocolate fireguard. however, i have heard somewhere that if reverse front pull the brake isnt it more likely to lock up on its own due to the way it wears? or is this just a mistake?
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marktheskin
- registered user
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 9:15 pm
- Main scooter: SIL GP150/vespa when its broke
- Contact:
also, i know with some types of car brake shoes they can "dry up" if the vehicle has been stood for a while. by dry up i mean the shoes go hard so that they loose the stopping power becaause they dont create as much friction as new ones?
make sure the drum is nice and clean on the inner surface, and rough it up a bit with some course emery cloth. rough the shoes up with a file, and put some diagonal cuts in them also, helps to get rid of dust and water. use a nice thick cable , with a good outer with flat twisted coil, not the round twisted type (the flat style doesnt compress as much). you can make an effective front drum brake this way. it wont be as good as a hydraulic disc, but will work. re furb it every couple of thousand miles to get rid of dust and glaze, like you would service the motor, service the brakes as well.