21 inch Mini Brake Drum Chopper Wheel Locking up

Surfrat28

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Hey guys,

I am adding the final touches to my chopper build of a 1979 xs650SG and I have added a springer front end and ended up getting the 21" mini brake drum chopper wheel from lowbrow. I have it set up and trust me I know that this brake doesn't have great or little stopping power. however, I keep running into that it wants to lock anytime I touch the brake. Do I need to make my own torsion spring to fix this or did I miss out on a part I could have bought?? Any help would be awesome to help me get this thing is working condition.
 
pics of the set up? Have you looked inside the drum? how do the shoes look, lots of brake dust? how does it act in the air hand spinning the wheel up to speed then braking? Hint a 6" buffing disk on a drill makes a good tire spinner upper.
 
How, where is the wheel end of the cable clamped?
AfterlightImage.jpg



I don't have a picture of it up close its still work in progress. Everything is a brand new set up. When braking it locks up and compresses the whole springer front end. I could loosen the cable but it doesn't seem like it wants to retract once pulled.
 
Is this the wheel?

https://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/cycl...ake-drum-chopper-wheel-3-4-inch-bearings.html

21-inch-mini-drum-brake-chopper-front-wheel-6.jpg

You'll probably want to disassemble it and lightly grease the brake cam.
Also lubricate the front brake cable.

If the shoe springs are too weak, you may need to fashion up some sort of external return spring, connected to the brake lever. Some bikes use a spiral return spring that wraps around the brake cam boss, like this return assist spring (#36) on the XS1.
FrontBrakeSpring.jpg

This has nothing to do with your brake lockup, but you may want to review your brake stay method.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/springers.53186/
 
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What springer is that?. Springer has lots of pivots, movement can amplify the the brake action unintentionally, any sloppy joints? Just riffing. may need to play with length of the arm the cable attaches to to adjust the ratio.
I've heard even late model Harley springers are maintenance pits, the pivot bushings need replacement "frequently".....
 
What springer is that?. Springer has lots of pivots, movement can amplify the the brake action unintentionally, any sloppy joints? Just riffing. may need to play with length of the arm the cable attaches to to adjust the ratio.
I've heard even late model Harley springers are maintenance pits, the pivot bushings need replacement "frequently".....

Its a DNA narrow 22" springer. The whole front end including the wheel and tire are brand new.
 
Does the brake sometimes not work well and sometimes locks? There could be grease or other liquid on the shoes. I fixed brakes on a car and a pickup that did just this. The car had leaking brake fluid and the truck had grease on the shoes. In my cheapskate experience you cannot merely clean the shoes, they must be replaced.

Tt
 
Did you solve the problem? The torque arm shown in your photo is wrong, it will work against the action of the fork and, as you describe, tend to lock the wheel.
 
I'm with 45Brit---I think the wheel/brake assembly should be flipped to the other side.....it is not a real brake, just a hill holder.....

tim
 
No, it needs to be either tangential from the axle, or flexing in parallel to the movement of the rockers.
 
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