2012 Racer

[davidd]

David
The levers on the front brake plate appear longer than usual. Is this effective? Are they available or did you make them?

They are relatively easy to make. 1/4" plate. Cut the rough strip and place the serrated steel washer in a press to impart the imprint in the plate. As long as it is full depth I have not had one slip. Finish and install. the cable attachement is a bent piece of flat SS with a keyhole slot for the cable end. I safety wire it so the cable cannot come free.

The pivot to pull distance is 3.37" if I remember correctly. I have forgotten what the stock one is. If you go longer remember your lever will come closer to the bar as you do so. Make the cable stout. For racing I do not use the brakes much out of habit, but they work well. I could not get the brakes to work properly with the sping as installed in the photo. I took it off and the brakes worked perfectly. These are the 8" brakes.

David

 

[vince998]

The brakes look pretty awsome!!!
Are the 8 inch brakes a big improvement over the standard setup?

 

[vince998]

I´m pleased with my 7 inchers as well
You guys have the big advantage of comparison

I am very pleased with mine

 

[davidd]

The brakes look pretty awsome!!!
Are the 8 inch brakes a big improvement over the standard setup?

The brakes are quite good and I have a lot of confidence in them. There are several reasons that I chose to use them. Phil Irving said once that the ratio of the drum diameter to the tire diameter was lower than ideal. The shoes are much better, wider and stronger. The drums are new, which is something I like to do on the front brakes of any racer. Finally, they do not have the geometry error found by Clever Trevor that is in the stock brake plates.

I believe that with careful preparation you can make the 7" brakes work nearly as well, but there is quite a bit of work and a lot of testing (and in my case I would have to purchase two new 7" Shadow drums.)

On the negative side, the increase in drum diameter causes a huge weight increase and it is all unsprung. This is fine on the Girdraulic, but I would not put one on a Brampton that is un damped if you like spirited riding. I could offset the weight penalty by going to 18" alloy wheels with Dunlops. My tires weigh quite a few pounds less than the 19" Avons, but it would be lovely to have some alloy drums.

Four leading shoe brakes are not legal in the class I run in. These brakes are very good for my application.

David

 

[davidd]

Here is a shot of the 8" brake shoes. The stock shoe is sitting on top for a quick comparison.

David

 

[vince998]

Thanks for the info David.
Looks like a done deal then!!! (i require new drums as well)

 

[Mark Fisher]

David, I hope you are well, as you know I have the same brakes fitted to my shadow since 2009 and I'm very happy with them. When I first fitted them I didn't think they were much better than the originals but after a few miles they got significantly better, 14k miles later I wouldn't want to be without them. However I have just recently run into a small issue with them. Two weeks ago I fitted a 21" rim for tyre choice reasons amongst others, but this week I've noticed a "clunk" when braking hard (ok maybe its a clonk!) this is caused by the brakeplates moving and hitting the stops on the girdraulic leg. It didn't do this before, any thoughts on cause or cure (other than tightening the axle to the nth degree)? Obviously I changed something when I changed the wheel, not sure what though.
thanks
mark

 

[davidd]

Mark,

I have the same issue on my racer. It is the brake plate anchor working in the fork blade anchor hole. This could be caused by an undersized anchor stud on the brake plate, but is more like due to metal shaping happening on the Girdraulic. You can check for this by rolling the bike backwards and applying the bakes. This will move the anchor stud in the fork. If you roll the bike forward and hit the brakes the stud will slam to the forward position in the fork blade making a "clunk." Knowing your bike, you may have simply allowed the paint to come off the inside of the fork anchor hole which could have increased the clearence. I think this is common on the Girdraulics. I have not cured it on mine yet, but I thought that I should look closer at it to see if the hole is round (which might allow an oversize anchor stud) or oblong, which would requrire a different fix. I will send you an email.

David

 

[riptragle1953]

A very tidy job indeed! Thank you for the photos of your work.

 

[bmetcalf]

Does the axle nut come with the kit or did you make it?

David