Aero 50 brakes

[S4Patrick]

Hello...

OK this one's been a challenge to me.

On my Malossi Aero, the REAR brakes have always been rather sub-par. Even when keeping the speeds at 25-35 mph. Not that they completely suck, but I think there should be more stopping power. The front brakes work incredible. I have the setting at a normal position, no different than the other Aero's I have. I allow the rear wheel to spin freely while in idle, with the slightest amount of drag from the rear pads.

I have a few other Aero 50's that have great REAR brakes that will lock up the rear wheel.

Things I have done thus far:

1) New rear brake pads (actually 3 different brands; stock, Kitaco, & EBC)
2) New rear brake cable
3) swapped out the rear rim from a stock Aero with awesome brakes.

NONE of these have made any improvements. The rear brake will not lock up, nor come close. I'm not after locking up the rear wheel when applying the brakes, but want more stopping power.

The last thing I can think of is changing the rear brake "arm" as well as the pivot joint that actually spreads the brake shoes open.

Any ideas/ thoughts?

Thanks to all!


~Patrick

[Bear45-70]

It is called weight transfer. And that is why the front brake works better than the rear. When you brake, more weight is applied (transfered) to the front end and less is on the rear end. Hence the front brake works better. It is also the cars have braking differential systems.

You can't change it unless you change some of the main principles of physics. Good luck with that one.

[S4Patrick]

Thank you for the reply....but I think you missed my point.

I understand about front brake vs. rear brakes, thank you very much.....what I'm trying to figure out is what THIS rear brake is weaker than the rest.

Please re-red my post to see what I'm inquiring about.

[Bear45-70]

You miss the point! If you make the rear brake work better, it will just lock up the rear wheel. Not a good thing to be doing, ever.

[turtle13]

I would check to see that the pivot arm isn't flexing at all or check to see that the brake cable isn't stretching at all. Is it the stock cable? Is the adjuster maxed out? There are very few parts on the brakes, and you have checked most of them already...

[S4Patrick]

Again, I'm not looking to "lock up" the rear brake, as I specifically stated that within my original post.....I'm just wanting the rear brake to be a stronger brake, like that of my other Aeros. It's not functioning properly. You're getting too deep & technical about this. I'm simply inquiring about how to make the rear brake work properly, or if anyone knows about something I should consider changing/ doing.

Turtle, thank you for the suggestions. I'm going to check out the brake pivot arm to make sure it isn't flexing at all. The brake cable is a new OEM one. I'm glad I did change the cable out, as the brake cable provides a much better feel and the original one was old--original as in 1987 original.

[Bear45-70]

Rear brakes don't work well on any vehicles. *, I tore off the rear brakes apart on my 1999 Ford Ranger after replacing the front pads (they were almost metal to metal and the rear brakes showed less than an 1/16 " of wear after almost 70,000 miles. Why because they don't do much and can't without causing lock up. It is the nature of the beast. Go ahead and do whatever you want, but if you make them work real good, you won't be happy with them. The rear end sliding around on gravel or when it is wet, just isn't my idea of fun.

[novs86]

New rear brakes take some time to brake in. I bought some new ones and had the same result. They get better over time. There just isn't very much than can go wrong with these scooter brakes. Its really either the brakes or the rim is wore out. Try sanding down the brakes and rim with 1000 grit sand paper, this will help.

[Bear45-70]

Actually for new brake shoes or pads there is a process you can do to make them work "better" It is called "burnishing" the pads or shoes. You go out and do about 10 dynamite stops from 30 to 45 mph in a row as quickly as you can. This heats the pad/shoes and the disc/drum and it helps them seat together and will improve their effectiveness quicker than just driving and using the brakes normally. It also burns off any crap you may have gotten on the pad/shoes and discs/drums.

[turtle13]

the only other thing that i can think of to check would be the lobes in the rear brake assembly, if the lobes are worn down the brake pads wont push outwards in the same fashion as the others.

[S4Patrick]

--UPDATE--

I dismantled the entire rear brake assembly. I found that the brake cam, or pivot arm, was VERY tight within its mount location. The rear brake cam should rotate freely--not with a great resistance like this had. I removed the brake cam, wire brushed it clean, & gave it a nice coat of anti-seize.

I re-assembled the rear brake drum and the rear brake is 100% working. In fact, the rear brake grips so strong that it locks the rear wheel when heavily applied.



I want to give special thanks to Bear for all his input--very insightful commentary.

Thanks!

~Patrick