First of all I want to say I've been a long time supporter of Drum Brakes on Honda ATV's they are not the best option for all people, but when maintained the stopping power is more then enough for a manual shift atv (with good engine braking) as I've experienced 1000's of times. Guys that ride continually in mud and water will simply have to maintain them more often, knowelege of seal replacement, greasing seals, and proper adjustment are key to having them work properly.

As I found out twice last year, a modification I highly recommend it to take the red rubber plug that covers the brake adjustment hole and cut the handle off of it. I lost 2 of these plugs last year, since I cut off the handle I didnt loose one. you can remove the plug by using the same flat top screwdriver your going to use to adjust the brakes.

That being said this year I had to replace the drums due to wear, and the adjusters/springs/shoes due to loosing teh red rubber plug last summer (twice). I decided to pony up the extra couple $$$ and buy the Quadrax disc brake kit and live with a (relatively) maintenance free front brake set up. All in all its a great kit, havnet tried them out yet, but the installation was straight forward.

Couple Tips:

In the instructions is says to mount the calipers towards the front of the bike as that is the side the brake line comes down the A-arm in the installation instruction pictures. On my 1998 Foreman, the brake line comes down the rear of the A-Arm so you have 2 choices.

You can turn the caliper mounting bracket use the caliper from the opposite side (so that teh bleeder screw still faces UP) to mount the brake caliper facing RearWard, teh only problem here is that the mounting tab for the steering is in the way of the top caliper mounting bolt. This can be tightened with vise grips but you wont accurately torque it.

I chose to mount the caliper the way the instructions called for and re-routed the brake line by removing one mounting bolt and passing it under the arm holding it in place with a new rubber coated clamp. This should work fine and there is no interferance with other moving parts.

Other then that installation was a breeze!!!

 

I like drum brakes because they aren't exposed to mud and dirt and therefore wear less. Disks are wide open to the elements and when they get grit on them, they wear quickly. But, I do think that disks stop better and are also easier to change. So, it's a toss up for me. My wife's 200sx had drums and my 250x has disks.

 

Ya just baught them the other day and tried installing them yesterday. Being such a novice I was quite pleased as to how easy it actually was... until the end.. LOL

One sugestions:
1. Make sure to have a good heavy duty press around.. getting those bolts into the knukle is quite a challenge.

Consern
1. Everything went together pretty easily and straight forward.. the only issue i'm facing right now is that I can't get rid of the looseness in the wheel drum. It seams that I can't get that middle shaft bolt tight enough. Am I missing a spacer or something. Tried both types of wratches.. Air and Electric!
2. Where does the air return for the break hose go?

Any sugestions??