Rear brakes are cack on my trike

[willie]

Hi I have a CX500 trike with a reliant axle.Ive fitted new brake shoes and new brake pipes as the trike as been parked up for awhile before I brought it.The brakes work put you have press hard on the pedal for it to work ..It passed the mot brake test but I would like it to be easier to press any ideas what could be wrong.

Cheers
Willie

[harry]

Hi Willie,

New shoes not bedded in yet?

pedal lever ratio wrong.

Brake master cylinder bore too big.

Don't expect too much those brakes were fitted to many cars in the 60s and 70s but were never that good.

Hope this helps.

[Pablo]

Try the rear wheel cylinders with the bigger hole, there are 2 sizes and the larger on pumps the fluid out quicker and better.
I don't know off hand what the sizes are but my Harley 1340 trike has the big ones and it will stop on a sixpence. (God, sixpence! that makes me feel old)

[Beano]

Bed them in and when you get a chance change to discs.
Odie talked me through the conversion which is very easy ! :D

[yellowmelos]

Leverage...

Where the brakes ever any good ???

had the same problem on mine ( they were shite when i got it )... Swapped the master cylinder but did not make any difference .. converted to disks but used the same master and leverage setup... still as shit as ever.....

completely changed the leverage system.. now just keep hitting me bollocks on the tank.

have a look through...
http://www.trikedoctor.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=4783&highlight=crap+brakes

There are some piccy's.

leverage on the pedal should be around 7 to 1.... if you are on sure what we mean be this.. just ask ( some folk think they know but get confused )

[zillah]

Hi I have a CX500 trike with a reliant axle.Ive fitted new brake shoes and new brake pipes as the trike as been parked up for awhile before I brought it.The brakes work put you have press hard on the pedal for it to work ..It passed the mot brake test but I would like it to be easier to press any ideas what could be wrong.

Cheers
Willie

hi there willie,
got the same set up on my xs1100 tricycle! i fitted new shoes and pistons and they are still crap (i might glue some disc pads to the bottom of my boots!). I noticed that only one shoe on each wheel is operated when the lever is pressed. apparently you can remedy this by fitting later unreliant back plates\shoes etc................in a laters Z

[harry]

hi there willie,
got the same set up on my xs1100 tricycle! i fitted new shoes and pistons and they are still crap (i might glue some disc pads to the bottom of my boots!). I noticed that only one shoe on each wheel is operated when the lever is pressed. apparently you can remedy this by fitting later unreliant back plates\shoes etc................in a laters Z

The cylinder is supposed to slide in the back plate.
Once the piston has pushed the first shoe against the drum the cylinder moves 'tother way pushing the other shoe against the drum.

[robbo]

if ya had to turn the axle over then the leading edge of the shoes are facing the wrong way,remedie is to swap the plates over,:)

[zillah]

The cylinder is supposed to slide in the back plate.
Once the piston has pushed the first shoe against the drum the cylinder moves 'tother way pushing the other shoe against the drum.

ahh! Z

[odie]

if ya had to turn the axle over then the leading edge of the shoes are facing the wrong way,remedie is to swap the plates over,:)

With a CX the axle stays the right way up, 99% of trikes with the output shaft coming out of the right hand side of the engine do not need to have the axle flipped to go in the right direction.
So no, you do not need to change the backing plates over......unless some-one has done it before you got it.
Hope this helps
Odie

[harry]

Also see this thread....

http://www.100-biker.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=42703

[devon-tony]

there is no leading shoe on reliants so you dont need to turn the plates round etc etc

my reliant axles have all used bike masters, and all have been able to lock up the rears, with 15" rims and 50 profile tyres

look at the simple things like leverage and ratios before buying more parts

[willie]

Thanks for the replies I`m thinking it is leverage as the mini master cyclinder is on opposite side to brake pedal and and the rear brakes and pistons are all new.So as soon as this crappy weather clears off I will have a look.

Yellowmelos I dont understand what 7 to 1 leverage is can you explain please

Thanks

Willie

[devon-tony]

its the ratio of leverage

for example, take your brake pedal, it has a pivot point, ie where the bearings or bushing is

7" away from that will be the peg that you push on with your boot to stop the trike

and 1" away in a different direction will be the hole for the linkage to the brake master

there for, you get 7 times the travel at the pedal that you get at the other bit

hence the 7:1

[yellowmelos]

7 to 1 ratio...

measure from the the pivot point of the pedal to the center of the rod that pushes the master cylinder ( say for example that is 1 inch )

now measure from the same pivot point on the pedal to the end where you press your foot... should be 7 time longer ( so should be 7 inches )

but the greater the number... the more leverage you will get.

this is providing you don't have other levers in the system else were as this will change the ratio.

see attached pic