H: Hubs, Wheels and Tyres Play in front brake drum

[danno]

Hi
I’m just setting up the front brakes on my Rapide C and the RH brake plate knocks when the lever is applied.
While the LH plate is solid, the RH one rotates about 1/16” due to a slight gap where the peg
sits in the fork slot.
Maybe just worn but looks like it needs something to take up the play.
Any help appreciated.

 

[Bill Thomas]

I would not worry, There is a bit of slack there, Sounds like either the solid axle is not tight or the thin nuts
that hold the brake plates are not tight, Even if everything was tight if you put the brakes on going forward and then going backward, You often get a clonk.
Just make sure the pins in the brake plate are tight, I think they are riveted over ?.
Cheers Bill.

 

[danno]

I would not worry, There is a bit of slack there, Sounds like either the solid axle is not tight or the thin nuts
that hold the brake plates are not tight, Even if everything was tight if you put the brakes on going forward and then going backward, You often get a clonk.
Just make sure the pins in the brake plate are tight, I think they are riveted over ?.
Cheers Bill.

Thanks for the reply.
Everything's tight, just that the peg moves
in the fork slot. There's nothing else to stop it rotating under braking.
Other side is locked in.
A thin metal sleeve would fix it if clonk
is too much.

 

[Bill Thomas]

Maybe get someone to look at it, Local section ?, But the main thing is forward motion,
Once you have braked going forward, It won't move again or clonk, Unless you wheel it back and brake ?.
Unless it's something else ?, You can sometimes get a clonk from the front Hydraulic damper,
The pivots wear a bit, But it does not bother me.

 

[danno]

Once you have braked going forward, It won't move again or clonk, Unless you wheel it back and brake ?.

Does it on each brake so the plate is rotating back. Has probably done it all along but have only noticed it working on the front end for the first time.

 

[Bill Thomas]

Sorry I don't understand, The thing is if it was too tight, It would be hard to put the front wheel in ?,
Being as you have to line up the 2 pins at the same time to get the wheel in,
I am getting a bit worried you have taken on too much ??,
And that you should maybe seek help from someone local,
These are tricky Bikes to look after and we don't want anyone hurt.
Cheers Bill.

 

[danno]

Sorry I don't understand, The thing is if it was too tight, It would be hard to put the front wheel in ?,
Being as you have to line up the 2 pins at the same time to get the wheel in,
I am getting a bit worried you have taken on too much ??,
And that you should maybe seek help from someone local,
These are tricky Bikes to look after and we don't want anyone hurt.
Cheers Bill.

It’s all back together and have set up brakes as per the article in the July 2020 Journal.
Doesn’t want to be too tight I know. Thing is it’s loose and the other side isn’t.
It’s ok. Just that I’m new to British bikes and Vincents. I’ve inherited the Rapide
but have maintained bikes for over thirty years.

 

[Black Flash]

Hi Danno

Buy a Strip of shim material, you can get it on a spool with 5 meter ( I don't know how many feet that is) in various thicknesses, usually 1/2 " wide. it's like the blades of a feeler gage.
Judge the play there is and buy a thickness accordingly so you can make two full turns to create a coil and push it over the peg into the gap, you will probably need 0,1 mm (4 thou thickness).
It is a typical bodge that will last for many years, always carry spare material in your toolbox in case you need to remove the wheel while you are away from home.

Cheers Bernd

 

[Bill Thomas]

Sorry Danno, I don't know your age or how much you have done,
Vins can still be tricky. Cheers Bill

 

[Gary Gittleson]

I had a similar problem with my Vincent Speet brakes. Long story, but I have a very early version of those brakes. The stop peg was mounted slightly out of position and Vincent told me to just remove the peg (both pegs actually) and grind them into an oval until they fit. I did that and ran the bike that way for a while but experienced the same clunking problem. In addition to that, sometimes when I came to a stop the brakes didn't want to fully release. If I pushed the bike back a few inches, it would free up.

Then if finally hit me. I just loosened the solid axle, applied the brake hard whilst pushing the bike forward, held it that way and re-tightened the axle, thereby forcing the pegs hard against the fork blades in the forward-stopping position. A little help from a friend is useful here. No more clunk. No more partial locking.

Gary