Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board 1967 BSA Lightning Rear Brake Binding

I started to assemble the rear brake on my 1967 BSA A65L. This brake was a leftover from a 1966 - the backing plate is steel - not alloy.

I put the new brake shoes in, and assembled the hub. The brake drags a lot. You can see the high spot it's hitting in one of the attached pictures.

I think I have assembled correctly with the correct spacers. When you drop the brake in, it has plenty of room, but as soon as you tighten the circled nut, the brake locks up.

The brake shoes are brand new Ferodo 65-5940 part numbers. I noticed that the 67 part list indicates a 68-5940 instead.

Any suggestions as to what is causing the dragging? Have I assembled something wrong? Is there a problem with the brake shoes?

Maybe that brake shoe pivot is bent causing brake to move slightly when tightened.

I had this problem with my A65, also with a steel backing plate, after installing new brake shoes. What it boiled down to was that the anchor strap did not have the correct bend in it and it was pulling the backing plate (or the brake shoe pivot) one way or the other. I had the anchor strap on and off for re-bending four or five times before I got it exactly right. It must lie absolutely flat and parallel against both the backing plate (with big washer) and the passenger peg lug, such that the strap is not pulled in either direction as it's tightened down.

I guess there was enough slop in the old brake shoes that it wasn't a problem. Also, I've found that the new brake shoes swell. First time out, when I thought I had the brake adjusted right, after a few miles on the road the brakes got hot and started dragging. I found I had to back off the adjuster more than where it was set with the old brake shoes.

OK, so I figured it out. The new Ferodo Brake shoes location for the pivot pin is about 1/8" of an inch different from the original brake shoes. Any clue as to what the part number for the original brake shoes might be? The brake shoes that don't fit is part number 65-5940 Ferodos. The part number listed for 1967 is 68-5940 - however, I don't have the alloy plate. I've put a pic - the old brake is on top and the new one is on the bottom - you can see how the pin is offset.

You are seeing this Drag with the wheel on the bike right? If you try turning the drum on the bench, the lever spring loads the shoes in the opposite direction.... Just checking. Been there.

I have the Ferodo shoes in mine and it isn't an issue.

Before you mounted the torque arm, did you ensure that the lower pivot was mounted properly in the brake plate?

If the brake plate has been powder coated it might be enough to stop this from seating. I bought a new back plate and had to scrape off quite a bit of paint in various areas because it was stopping parts fitting properly. The other area was at the end of the other end where the brake arm is against it, the paint was taking up the allowed free play jamming the brake arm against the brake plate. Paint removed and it works OK.

Hi All,
On earlier BSA models the shoe fulcrum pin mounts in an elongated hole, new shoes need to be centered in the drum
Loosen the pivot nut, apply the brake, then retighten the nut while holding the brake firmly on.
I do not know if this applies to the 60's models but it would be worth investigating ?
+1 on getting the torque arm fitting perfectly too

John

The fit is the same used on the pre units which had the QD rear for the metal brake plate versions. The hole in the brake plate and the fulcrum are both round, I’ve tried making the adjustment you mention but find no difference. the OIF types are different. The brake shoe slides over the fulcrum With a steel “shoe” on the sliding part on each side. The cam is also different. I’m interested to try the later cam and shoes with my steel brake plate though. I think it will be a vast
Improvement.