Getting brakes back on a 300
 

Hi guys, i bought a 92 300 fourtrax 4x4 recently for a real good deal. Runs perfect, plastics are a lil chewed up but i dont mind. Problem is, i have basically no brakes at all. I've done a lil research and I was looking for opinions on getting brakes back working on my bike.

I have seen the brake conversions online that you can buy, which look very nice, however before I sink anything like that into the bike i'd like to enjoy it for a while first. ( some kits cost more then i bought the bike for ).

Is it possible to make a homemade caliper set up or conversion on these bikes?Is there another similar model that could fit or be modded half easy to work?


my Front brakes very slightly work. If i roll the bike slowly and squeeze the handle all the way it very slightly slows the bike down.

my back brakes, have no pressure at all on the hand lever, and when i push down the foot lever for the break it seizes in place and doesn't return back to its original position.

Any suggestions on how to get the brakes working? Thanks

Fronts you'll probably have to pull apart and clean and get the 4 cylinders free again and working. Rear should be a single,mechanical drum. Tear it down and pop the large pin that twists out. Clean the pin and grease it, make sure you put it back together the right way and adjust. You may have to remove the pedal aswell and sand off the corrosion and grease it to move freely again.


The adjuster on the front brakes are accessed via the plug on the side of the drum. Adjust once the drum is put back on. Dont worry about the conversion for now. With some time and grease (elbow grease too) you should be able to make them acceptable.


Those drum brakes all the way around tend to seize up after being wet n neglected. Ive had a few early 90 300's and the brakes just need some attention. Honda are solid machine but their brakes have always had me puzzled.

Rear brakes have three common faults, so you first have to check which, or a combination of which, you have. The seized pivot pin is common, and can be checked for using the footbrake. Pull the pivot lever back if you can. Press the footbrake on, and, if the pedal comes back up but the lever at the back doesn't back off, you have a seized, or "overcentering" pivot. If the pedal doesn't come back, you have a seized pedal pivot. If the footbrake works fine, pull on the L handbrake, and if that sticks on, you have a seizing cable, fit a new one. Note that a 92 model has an adjuster at the front end, so needs a different cable to late 300s.

At the front, you may get away with adjusting the screw jacks (one for each shoe) through the hole behind the red plug, but 90% of the adjusters are seized at every service, so if they are, remove the drum and shoes, then remove the adjusters, free off, grease and re assemble. Pistons rarely seize but I check if they can be turned with a screwdriver, which means they are free. I always remove front hub and drum together, more room to work, and getting the rubber seal back between hub and drum is difficult. I rough up shoes and drum with emery before re-assembly.

I appreciate the input guys , thanks! Im gonna pick at the bike this weekend and see whats going on inside the drums. I found that the rear brake foot lever was seized on the pivot. I'm going to try to get it off this weekend. a few wacks with a hammer got it moving a bit, but im gonna try to take it off and grease it up.

Additionally , random question but i stood my bike up today on its back bumper to check her out underneath. Gas leaked back into my airbox while she was stood up. Any idea on where this gas would come from when the bike is fully vertical? Is it a overflow or something? Thanks

Yea.. gas came in due to the float not being able to do its job at that angle. Gas came in from the float boawl and followed gravity down into the air box.

absolutely take the foot brake off and sand n grease it. Work the other brakes from there.

Good luck!!