My dad never rides this thing...the only real use it sees is when I borrow it once or twice a year. After a hard weekend of riding (water, mud, etc.) it sat up for several months. Dad started it the other day and when he put it into gear, the right front drum brakes were locked up. I took out the plug and sprayed them liberally w/ cleaner, then oil. they spun freely and worked fine. After two more days, I went to roll it forward before changing the oil, and they were locked up again...the front tire skidded on my concrete driveway when I put it into gear...
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so, I've taken the drum cover off to find it was corroded on the inside drum cover, but other than that, each caliper releases fine. All I know to do is lube it up and clean the drum down to metal again. Any suggestions? how exactly do the adjustments on the calipers work? should they be set in a specific way? Will they adjust automaticaly?

 

the drum brakes have a tendency to hold moisture, they are "triple sealed" but when water gets in, it doesnt go back out and tends to cause problems. however, spraying wd40 on stuff might make it worse, some products like that can cause the brake shoes to become more grabby than before. if you are getting water in the drums it's time to replace the seals. I have countless hours of mudding on my 2005 and i have zero water in my drums, but i know it's only a matter of time. the best thing you can do is buy a can of brake cleaner and sit down and clean everything including the brake shoes (this is safe to spray on the brake linings) and dont forget to spray inside the drum too. replace the o-ring seals, lubricate them with silicone brake caliper grease, and also lubricate where the shoes slide against the backing plate.

as far as the adjustment, i dont think they self adjust, just adjust them so the shoes arent quite touching the drums and see how that works, if you need to go more you can go more.