H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres Norvin - Brakes

[Pushrod Twin]

Wasn't it a 230mm Ceriani which Greg Brillus fitted to his racer? I'm wondering if that would make a good choice for a road twin
Paul

Im using a 4LS Grimeca. I find it really nice, progressive, on my 230Lb Egli replica. It has a speedo drive. When I smashed my first one, I found it difficult to find another, it appears there were a batch of repro ones made but they have all been swallowed. Several outfits advertised them on line but were "out of stock" I eventually found one at the swap meet at Imola race track during the 2015 International but discovered it had an odd brake plate one side, maybe to fit a Loop Frame Guzzi. A Canadian member of this site helped me out with a pair of plates for which I am grateful.
I recall Greg also had a Suzuki Waterbus brake in his racer early on, what was that like Greg?
They also have a speedo drive.

 

[greg brillus]

Yes still got that wheel/brake assembly laying around somewhere, it worked very well but it struggled to get rid of the heat build up in the hub. The center section has very shallow fins and no slots from memory. We spent quite a bit of time shedding weight off it, and it still weighed in more than the Ceriani. With all the polished alloy and the chrome levers, they are a smart looking brake and look great on a bike, plus the speedo drive as you pointed out.

 

[Nigel Spaxman]

That late '60s BSA / Triumph 2ls is a really nice brake - I fitted one to a BSA Super Rocket. I am informed that the brake plate fits easily into an alloy Norton hub shell but must be rather more work to make it fit a Norton fork. I suspect it isn't enough for a Vincent. Two of them in the front wheel would be good.....

If you are fitting a Ceriani 230, I suppose we may expect to see some specially-cast or CNC brake plates with bosses to fit the Girdraulic?
Paul

I just fitted a Norton hub with a Triumph TLS brakeplate (modified) to my Goldstar. The Triumph brake is quite a bit better than other drum brakes. I think what makes them so good is that the shoes don't pivot on a pin. They float on a flat plate on one side and the cam on the other side. That way the shoes can center themselves. This brake was enough for Triumph Tridents so I guess it would be enough for a road Vincent as well. I think for a Norvin you need something more exotic though.

 

[Pushrod Twin]

Yes still got that wheel/brake assembly laying around somewhere, it worked very well but it struggled to get rid of the heat build up in the hub. The center section has very shallow fins and no slots from memory. We spent quite a bit of time shedding weight off it, and it still weighed in more than the Ceriani. With all the polished alloy and the chrome levers, they are a smart looking brake and look great on a bike, plus the speedo drive as you pointed out.

So I would assume then it would be a good option for a road bike. I recall that back in the day there were mixed attitudes to the Waterbus drum, but then the poor old buffalo probably weighed in at around 500Lb, and I also recall people saying that getting rid of the original Japanese banana skin linings and replacing them with Ferodo helped.

 

[greg brillus]

I only ever had the linings from Vintage Brake in the States, and these seamed to work very well. I built up a complete new front wheel with the replica ceriani in early 2016 and replaced the Suzuki brake....... I don't think the performance changed a huge amount but it shed the heat better. I now have the same brake in my Norvin single racer which was 130 kg's when I last checked its weight with the ESO engine in it. It worked very well with that bike, and I could easily out brake others with heavier machines......My guess is the weight will increase with the Comet engine, perhaps another 5 kg's if i'm lucky..........

 

[Pushrod Twin]

Which reinforces the point that the weight of the bike has a huge effect on how a brake performs, or how we perceive it's performance.