You guys were real helpful on getting my idle set right. Now what's the proper way to adjust the front and rear brakes? After over a year of riding the brakes aren't quite what they used to be.

Thanks

 

Anyone? I don't want to screw it up.

 

I just follow my owners manual. Remove the red rubber plug and find the front shoe adjuster. Turn the adjuster out toward the drum until it binds. Then I back it off a couple of notches until it turns with a slight drag. Rotate the drum around to find the adjuster on the rear shoe and do the same thing. My experience on my Foreman has been that when I do a lot of mudding and it gets inside the drums I loose the front brakes. The lever will come all the way in to the handle bar and still wont stop unless you pump it several strokes. The only way to fix it is to remove the drums and clean and dry the shoes, then re-adjust them again. The last time I did this a couple of weeks ago I spread a little silicone rubber on the seal between the spindle hub with studs and the drum. So far I have been back in water and mud and no problems.

 

Thank you sir!

 

Yep, triplestroker nailed it. That is where moisture can get into the brake drum and cause the shoe faces to become glazed. The Honda drums are sealed really good but moisture can get in there and also in the rear along the axle to brake drum splines. also there is really no way for the brake dust to get out, and excesive dust build up will also cause them to become glazed I would suggest removing the brake drums, inspect the shoes for thickness specs, use breke cleaner to clean up all the brake shoe dust, inspect if not replace all the seals, grease all splines with moly grease. on the fronts, there is a big seal running around the drum that rubs on the backing plate to seal the outer diameter of the drum. I have seen where techs will put grease on this area. The grease will make its way inside to the shoes when excessive and cause the shoes to be ruined. I do not put any grease on this area for this reason and also because sometimes the grease will rot the rubber over time and promote dirt and grime build-up. Do not use carb cleaner to clean the brakes, it can damage the seals and cause premature failure. Adjust the front brakes evenly like triplestroker said. I will hold the rear brake arm foreward at the rear axle, turn foot brake cable adjuster until it is snug tight, then back it off 3 to 4 turns to achieve prefered pedal height, then the same with the hand brake adjuster nut. I will back it off until the park brake will hold firmly and not bind to tight when locked in the levers notch. Too tight will cause premature lever and lever perch wear. Also to tight will make it tough to put into reverse. When I am comfortable with lever travel and freeplay I will check the reverse cable for its adjustment and operation. If all the cables, and brake lever pivots move freely and not bind while applying brake, or releasing, the job is done right.

----- Gimpster -----

 

I am putting in new rear brake shoes in my daughters 4 wheeler.
Looking for info or trick to remove brake housing?
It is shaft drive I thought I could just remove right side axle housing to get accsess to brake shoes but some thing is holding it back. I loosen axle nuts but still no removal the cover is loose will spin but won't slide off. Any help would be great.


Does the axle nut and axle have to be removed in order to take off brake houseing?

 

im having the same problem...help !

 

make sure the brake adjusters are completely backed off. When the drum is accessed, in the center of it there is an o-ring seated in the drum around the splines. remove it with a small screwdriver or pick. The drum should then slide off with minimal effort.

----- Gregg -----