SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look

This is why I keep on about going through these old classics from top to bottom and front to back when you resurrect them.

This bike only has 7100 miles on it but look what happened from sitting all that time: (I'm referring to the fact that both shoes are delaminating big time.)



If you put one of these bikes back on the road and haven't looked in your rear brake, DO SO NOW.

Can you imagine the result if one of those came all the way apart at 75mph on the freeway? Or even at 45mph in rush-hour traffic? One of our members has a reference to a low-speed lockup in his sig, caused by this. He was lucky.

Are you prepared for your rear brake to lock unexpectedly AT ANY MOMENT?

PLEASE TAKE A LOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T YET.

 

Re: SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a l

That's the first time I've ever seen the coating come off the brake shoes. I'm wondering how the bike was stored and if that made the shoes deteriorate like that? Could excessive moisture be the problem that could cause that? I always take mine apart and look at them before riding it every spring, and never seen that in any vehicle I've owned.
I'm wondering is you shouldn't take it to a Yamaha dealer and see if it's a recall issue with those pads and maybe they'll replace them for you? If they are factory shoes, it would be a safety issue and they should be concerned (ya never know)
Thanks for the heads up!

 

Good heads up.

I have new drum shoes on the way from Chacal now. Mine were not delaminating but were well past the 2mm min thickness. And about twice the dirt/soot as your pic.

 

My rear brakes were comming apart on my bike when I bought it. It had been sitting for 7 years. I was going to replace them even if they looked good. My front pads looked almost new, but I figured it's best not to skimp on brakes, so they were replaced too.

 

Excellent advice!!! Both XJ's I purchased needed new shoes. The first bit me on the way out the driveway (where were you then?), the second I caught while going over the bike after purchasing it. Any "new" bike should have its brakes inspected, regardless of what the previous owner tells you.

 

D- I highly doubt Yamaha is going to stand behind 25 year old anything. The bike sat for two different periods of time, once for about seven years and then again for 4 more years after being back on the road for as best I can tell maybe a couple of years. I believe I am only the third owner.

It came with 10-year old replacement tires. Those are the original brake shoes, lots of evidence the rear had never been apart other than the tire change.

The bike was NOT horribly corroded, or stained or anything; it had been stored inside as far as I know.

My whole point is to never leave anything out when resurrecting a 25+ year old bike. Just because something isn't WORN out doesn't mean it is fine. Too many new riders assume since a bike looks spiffy and has very few miles that everything is "like new." It's NOT and you HAVE TO CHECK EVERYTHING or wind up skipping down the pavement on your butt.

 

Re: SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a l

Yup agreed! Point taken.
It's just nice to have that kinda info before it's too late. These forums are great for just that kinda stuff.

 

Working in the auto parts store, delaminated brake shoes is a more common problem than you would think. We get about one set a month of our overseas made shoes come back because of delamination. And even occasionally we've had whole runs of a particular model recalled because of that problem. Its sort of scary when you think about it :S

 

Convinced me to replace mine.

Thanks BF

 

Another item on the "to do" list......

 

Hey, Bigfitz, glad to see somebody checks the signatures.

They locked up on me when I was stopped/stopping (that probably what finally pulled them off) to turn left across a four lane divided highway. When I went to go, she was very sluggish. As soon as I got across the highway and into the parking lot and let off the gas, she quickly came to a halt. I was like what the...took her home on a trailer and found the delaminated brakes (not sort of like your pic, but as in the wear part was in my hand and the metal part was still on the bike). My 6 year old was on the back. That was when I decided to go through everything I could (notice the whole front end was done, brakes, bearings, lines cylinders, calipers. She stops good now.).

26 years is tough on a bike. My friend has a pic of mine at the original owners with grass growing up through the engine stuck in his phone (or I'd post it here). You never what was done/not done to these things over the nearly 3 decades. If your not chasing them through with a fine tooth comb then that ain't good.

Glad someone got a pic of it,

 

kt; EXACTLY my point. Don't put it on your "to do" list and keep riding the bike, at least have a look.

This isn't funny, someone could get seriously hurt or worse. If YOUR brake shoes look like that you shouldn't be riding the bike. I was f*ing lucky the 150 or so miles I put on it.

If you're riding a bike that YOU never looked at the back brake and it SAT for any period of time, STOP RIDING IT until you look. Riveted shoes don't do this but these AREN'T riveted, and probably were never INTENDED to last for 25+ years in any environment.

New shoes from chacal were around $30 IIRC, and they came with springs.

PLEASE AT LEAST LOOK DON'T WAIT!!!

 

Thanks for looking out. That's an eye opener, Fitz. Same can go for tires also. They can look new, but ya never know. I know this from experience. Luckily it wasn't on a bike.

 

Re: SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a l

Actually, with tires, you can know. You just need to know where to look:

 

Nice. As usual, you are The Man.

 

I just REALLY don't want anybody to get hurt or worse.

I had no idea about the brake delamination, I blissfully assumed that since the bike only had 7K on it all was well, not worn out. It was in the course of replacing the 10-year old tires (thanks to the above code) that I discovered I had been flirting with disaster. I've had the bike up to 90 a couple of times (although only for a sec) what would a rear brake lockup on 10-year old weather-checked tires have caused?

You guys gotta look. I will be looking at my '81 before I turn another mile even though the PO had the tires replaced by taking the bike to a shop. I honestly had a hard time sleeping between discovering and posting this.

 

Sleep well tonight my friend. You have gotten the word out to your flock and we will heed your warnings. Just wish the warning had come a few months ago when I had the back wheel off for new sneakers.

Thanks again Fitz,

Wamaxim

 

thanks for the heads up do I have to take the wheel off to check?
Shaun

 

Oh yes! Off it must come! Check the bearings while the wheel is off. If you're close to needing a rear tire, what the heck! Now's as good a time as any.

Wamaxim

 

Re: SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a l

on a lighter note

not something i want to be but probably think it would look pretty funny...