big red rear drum brakes????

[wolfspider]

hi guys
i need help, i fitted new rear drum shoes to a 87 big red, i shamferred the ends of the shoes, fitted them and put it all back together, when i took it down the road for a test, the brakes are now worse than with the old shoes, i made sure all the parts were oil free and clean before fitting. where did i go wrong??? any suggestions greatly appreciated.
cheers steve:wondering

[bigredhead]

Did you re-adjust the adjusters ?

Make sure the cable is routed correctly and not snagged.. etc..

Did the new shoes have more meat than the old one's.. have you laid them side by side to compare ? ( i would assume they do.. but if you got the wrong pads.. it might be aparent this way )

Did the old shoes have spacers where they mount to the tabs on the backing plate ?

[bigredhead]

There are 2 places to mount the cable on the backing plate.. you got the lower one right ?

the other one is for the hand brake. do you have the hand brake on that thing ?

[wolfspider]

hi thanx for the reply, i`ve got everything in place, according to the manual, all the cables are ok ,no snagging. new honda shoes, it stops the bike but won`t lock up the rear? just seems to pull me up very slowly.
if i rev it it won`t hold back with the brake on.

[bigredhead]

I'm willing to bet you have grease or oil on the drum and pads..

clean it up with minieral spirits.. varsol.. rubbing alcohol .. windex if you have to... but wipe down the drum and shoes good.. make sure you don't touch them with greasy fingers..

Even go over the surfaces with an 80 sand paper to rough the surface up some.

[wolfspider]

ok i`ll pull it apart again tomorrow, and clean them up to see if this cures it thanks for your help.

[bigredhead]

And sometimes a few good HARD stops get them seated and broken in...LOL>.

[Rasuel]

I had the same problem on my '85 and bigredhead is on the money. Once you break 'em in a little they'll stick a lot better. You dont need to slam the breaks, just give a little bit of break and troll around the yard in 1st for a couple min.

[MTS]

Try taking some emery cloth to the inside of the drum, take the glaze off, it will help a TON....

[Banage]

your drum might be glased, try sanding it a little, if they goe overworked and hot, this happens

[wolfspider]

thanks guys 4 the answers, i`ve been full of cold so haven`t done anymore to the red, i think you`re right about the drum being glazed though, since before putting the new shoes in it was binding on a bit.
cheers guys

[ATCnut]

The other problem you might be having is that the drum is worn and ovesize. I have had to put a couple of wraps of pop can on the round pin that the one end of the shoes push on, to make them go out a little more.