alloy brake plates-differences?

1660bob

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VOC Member
Hi, Me again....
whilst I`m at the computer, here are some nice piccies of my alloy brake plates.They seem to be of good quality. I sourced them on Fleabay, so i do not know who made them originally.Can anyone identify them?.They have nicely bushed cam bosses and decent stainless fittings save for the crappy "cut to size" piece of wire gauze for the air scoops.There`s even fingerprints in the alloy from the guy who fettled the moulds!!
My observations are:

1) no clearence between the spring box lower FF16AS and the edge of the brake plate- (judicious filing of the plate will sort it)
2)mudguard stays need to be spaced outwards 1/4" or so to clear rear scoop and retaining nut for shoe pivot pin (expected)

3) mysteriously, the cam bush bosses are unequal length?-one is a tad short -leaves end float in the cam to be shimmed out, and the other too long by 1-1.5mm,(see piccy) would jam the cam if nut tightened.Am I missing something here? i.e. is it for a longer cam to provide clearence around air scoops/speedo cables etc, or just poor finishing?

4) the redundant boss on the nearside plate,(blue cross in piccy) used for the speedo drive mount on the other side, is hard up against the inside of the fork leg when wheel is fitted to forks-will rub off paint at very least-I intend to remove metal from it to achieve some clearence-any observations ?
 

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Bill Thomas

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VOC Member
Hello Bob, I don't know what ones you have , But I bought some early Roger Slater one's from the 1970s that drove me mad !! Only a third of the shoes touched, It worked out the Hole in the middle was well off !! Good luck Bill.
 

nobby

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VOC Member
When I bought the Comet in 1994 the same plates were mounted. I had them powder coated and needed many many hours to get them on the bike the way I wanted it. One of the mods was to attach the lower mudguard stays with bushes to make it wider.
Last week I had the front wheel out for a check (because of Festival of 1000 Bikes) and had big problems fitting them again. I could not get them turn in line and had the same effect, although less, then you had. I never used the speedo gears in the front wheel, until recently. Since that moment I have nasty sounds from the front wheel and the wheel turn is more resistant. I altered the speedo gear box in different ways but no satisfying result until now.
I need to use a washer at the insides of each forkblade to get the plates not touch the drum, maybe you should try this too...

Question for the expert: are there any tricks while mounting the wheel gears?
 
Last edited:

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I have PV brakes, and when I spun the wheel first I heard a singing noise. At first I thought this was the natural musicality of Dutchmen (I know they dance, why not sing too? OK, Nobby, joke...) then realised something was touching. It was the speedo gear kissing the return springs. What I did was take the speedo gear off and turn a 45 degree chamfer about 1/8" wide on the outside corner. Eureka! A tomb-like silence ensued. And the nylon (on my bike) gear still has about 80% engagement.
Getting two bites at the cherry, I went from steel plates to ally Lightning ones, and the brakes were every bit as bad as they had been before. I won't bore you with the skimmed drums, oversize linings turned to suit, AM4 (green) linings, single cable, twin cable experiments I tried. Just note that once I fitted the PV brakes, brakes disappeared off the "things to do" list. Later I realised that unless the brakes are perfectly aligned and centred, the very LAST thing wanted is a stiff brake plate, because a stiff plate prevents the shoes aligning and centreing themselves.
I think I did have to put 1 mm spacers inside the PV plates (as I did the Lightning plates) to stop them touching the drum, but since I haven't looked at them since the last time I renewed the front tyre, can't remember! Which is how I like it...

When I bought the Comet in 1994 the same plates were mounted. I had them powder coated and needed many many hours to get them on the bike the way I wanted it. One of the mods was to attach the lower mudguard stays with bushes to make it wider.
Last week I had the front wheel out for a check (because of Festival of 1000 Bikes) and had big problems fitting them again. I could not get them turn in line and had the same effect, although less, then you had. I never used the speedo gears in the front wheel, until recently. Since that moment I have nasty sounds from the front wheel and the wheel turn is more resistant. I altered the speedo gear box in different ways but no satisfying result until now.
I need to use a washer at the insides of each forkblade to get the plates not touch the drum, maybe you should try this too...

Question for the expert: are there any tricks while mounting the wheel gears?
 
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