No rear brakes after tire change!

Man, I think I'm doing more damage than good.

Got my new tires on and balance. Installed the back tire and brake as it was before and nothing. No brakes. The rear brake pedal goes down all the way and it barely slows the tire down.

What did I miss?

 

Sounds like you missed hooking back-up the brake?

Either that ... or you got a good-ways to go on Adjustment Nut at the end of the Actuating Rod.

You have to work the Brake Shoe Expanding Lever ... Forward ... to take-up the slack ...

Then, turn the Adjustment Knob and remove all but a bit of free play.

Have someone LOCK-UP the liquor cabinet when you OPEN your toolbox!

 

hmmm, but there was nothing wrong with it before? Rear brakes were great. I tightened up the adjustment up the whole way. helped maybe 5 %

 

Took the rear wheel off again. Everything looks sound with the brakes. There is about 1/4 of pad left on them. Is that OK?

 

Are the shoes completely seated? There is an indentation on the large round pivot post where the shoes meet. The shoes must be all the way down and seated there to work. When turing in the adjuster I always compress the spring some to get the slack out.

 

Where is the Pointer that shows you the condition of the shoes?

There's not all that much to Manual Drum Brakes.

Look to see that the Pedal Height Adjustment "Turnbuckle", up at the Pedal, didn't get flipped-around while the Activating Rod was disconnected from the Rear Brake Lever on the Housing.

Other than that ... check that the Whole Footpeg~ Pedal "Forward-Back" Adjustment didn't become loose and change the whole Geometry on you.

 

Here's a couple of pictures of the rear brake setup. The wear pointer is marked by a red.

 

You are missing the Pinch Bolt off the Rear Brake Camshaft Lever.

The Adjustment Nut on the Brake Activating rod is WAY too far up the Rod.

You need to take the short, brake, camshaft lever .. OFF the bike and reset it on the Rear Brake Cam splines and put in a pinch bolt.

Then, do the thin, activating rod, through the adjuster pin and adjust the nut against the spring ... without crushing the spring so much.

The Arm on that Rear Brake Cam should be slightly to the rear of perpendicular when there' no pressure on the pedal.
Almost 7 O'Clock position. Not already beyond 6 O'Clock and closer to 5 like the picture shows.

That's way, way, way, way out.

 

Once again pointing out how valuable a picture is! Digital cameras are a God-send to the internet!

 

Make sure you put the lever on the brake camshaft correctly.

There is a section of the camshaft that doesn't have splines. That goes toward the pinch bolt. All the splines on the lever have a mate on the camshaft.

 

From looking closely at your photograph ... it appears you have damaged the Splines on the Cam Rod.

You may have to replace the Cam and the Pinch Arm to repair that.

Lining-up the stripped parts correctly ... marking them accurately ... and removing them to be drilled-through is an option for temporary repair ... if needed.

They're BOTH hardened.
The drilling will need to be precise.
That work would best be done ... with the precision and accuracy of being set-up and drilled-through ... at the Drill Press.

 

Quick related question - which end of the wear indicator means they are almost worn out?

TIA

 

The LEFT end.

The Wear Indicator is a little, curved, arc ... Wide at the Right and Thin at the Left.

Some bikes, serviced at shops ... in for a new rear tire ... will have a Center Punch Mark on the Brake Cam Shaft end ... where the Split in the Pinch gets realigned too.

 

false alarm guys. I just did put the lever on at the right spot. I was having a major brain fart while doing it. It took my brother to call me an dumb-ass to realize what I was doing.

All well now.