Larger diameter brakes

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I asked a while back if there was any feedback on the 8" brakes. It occurred to me that Bruce Main-Smith had fitted 8" brakes back in the 60's to his (at the time) dustbin faired twin, so I looked it up in FYO. Standard braking was not to his liking. It would lock the front at 80 mph, but after three successive 90 mph to 30 mph applications, fade became evident. Yes, well I expect it would! I wish I'd had HIS problems, instead of my own...
Anyway, he fitted Gold Star drums to Vincent hubs, using the Goldie brake plates with one operating lever reversed, cable stops on the plates as BSA practice, and reported that the fade had gone. He didn't say anything else, or at least if he did it wasn't included in FYO.
FYO makes interesting reading: there really IS nothing new under the sun, particularly with regard to brakes. Earlier in the same section is a note on how someone knocked up a set of 2ls brake plates for himself and his mate. In 1959.
 
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Graham Smith

Guest
I'm led to believe that someone who has just taken delivery of a set of these brakes is going to write a technical article for MPH.
 
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