There appears to be very little front braking. Brake shoes are good (1999 did not have front discs). We tried bleeding the system but there was no improvement. If pumped while riding the machine will stop with the front brakes but for safety sake we need to improve the situation. Can anybody offer suggestions ?

 

Could be a few things but I think you still have air in the system. When I have bleeding problems I try to alter the additude of the machine. This will make the trapped air bubble drift in the brake line. Try the lay the machine on the side then the other, then on it's tail then try bleeding again.

 

Sound to me like you will to adjust the brake shoes, the have the "star" wheel just like a car does. There is an acess hole in the drum, it will have a red rubber plug in it, inside at the bottom you will see the star wheel, adjust till there is very slight drag on the wheel as you spin the wheel.
These do not have auto adjusters like a car does, only manual.

 

We have adjusted the brakes, bled the lines both with no success. The shoes have very little wear on them. The handle offers virtually no resistance, the system does feel like there is air in the lines but does not seem to find its way out. As much as I hate to I think this one is going to require a trip to the dealer.