Rear Brakes

[David Bo]

That's ok... BTW, my rear brakes were working fine before I did this. I just noticed a very faint noise coming from inside that grey hub. With the engine off, I would roll the bike a little bit and I could hear a grinding sound. When I rolled the bike and slowly pressed the rear brake, it would get louder and louder until the bike stopped. Now, that sound has disappeared. I'm glad it cleaned all that crap out of there.

[dannylightning]

Originally Posted by David Bo

That's ok... BTW, my rear brakes were working fine before I did this. I just noticed a very faint noise coming from inside that grey hub. With the engine off, I would roll the bike a little bit and I could hear a grinding sound. When I rolled the bike and slowly pressed the rear brake, it would get louder and louder until the bike stopped. Now, that sound has disappeared. I'm glad it cleaned all that crap out of there.

at least you realize strange noise from the breaks are bad. some will just let stuff go untill it tears every thing up or quits on them.

i need to do my front breaks soon. im gonna wait till my new tires come in and i get them installed just in case i run in to a problem. hopefully the tires will show up today.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by David Bo

I probably will not replace them until next year.

I don't know if you know, but there's a "brake shoe wear indicator" on the rear hub. This will tell you when you need to replace the brake shoes.

[David Bo]

Yeah, I saw that... How the hell does it work??? It's kind of hard to figure out. Is it based on movement? If you adjust that little nut thingy on the end of the adjustment screw it limits the movement on the dial... I think the best way to tell if you need new shoes is to get in there and take a look.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by David Bo

How the hell does it work???

If you look at the end of the splined shaft that the brake lever fits on, you'll see a straight mark (like a saw cut) On the drum itself is an arc. So long as the "saw cut" is pointing anywhere in the arc, the shoes are o.k. If the "saw cut" is past the end of the arc, then the shoes need replacing. Check this while someone applies the rear brake for you.