I was wondering what kind of experiences people have had with Hondas sealed drums, when used in the mud. Did they fill up with mud and water? Did they wear out fast? I had the Rancher buried up to the seat in the soup today, and I pulled the drain plugs at the car wash on the way home, and I didn't even get a drop of water to come out. I have always had good experiences with Hondas drums in the past, just wondering what everyone else thinks.

 

I have a 97 300 4x4 and ride in the mud and water quite often. I have heard the stories, but have not had problems with leaks. I have had my brakes replaced twice, by the dealership. That may be part of the reason they don't leak. Mine is ridden every day for 45-60 minutes. I don't use my brakes a whole lot, as I usually let the motor compression slow me down. It may help to lengthen your breather hoses for better protection.

 

I have a '93 trx300fw. I have problems trying to keep the water & mud out of the rear drum, which renders the rear brake as a useless pos. I am a pretty avid mudder and I have to open up the drum and let it air dry every 1 year or until the brake becomes useless. Sometimes I would have the cables tightened to counteract with the loss of brake power.

-E

 

I've got over 1300 miles on my 450es, and I checked the brakes a week or so ago for the first time and one of the front brakes had a little water in it, the others were completely dry. I mean dry! I cleaned up the water and regreased the seals and so far no more water in that brake. I think that mud had got caked up around the seal and let the water inside. Other than that I have no complaints with the honda brakes. They are a lot better that the "sealed" three wheeler brakes of the 80's.

 

BOB,I knew when you posted this question where you were headed with it.And yes,as you can see,even some of your beloved Honda drum style brakes leak to.Maybe not as bad as the others,but they are not all completely sealed as you seem to have thought.===BILL

00 Xplorer 400cc 4x4
If you want to come in second ''FOLLOW ME''

 

Bill, I'm just looking for honest answers. From listing to you I thought that it was possible that my experience with Hondas brakes was out of the ordinary. We will soon see.

 

Personally, I will never buy another Honda until they get rid of their drum brakes and use more than one bearing in the front hubs. I have a 97 300 4x4 and a 2000 Foreman ES and both constantly leak water into the front drums. I have had good luck so far with the back brakes on the Foreman. The fronts on the Foreman stayed dry for about 200 miles. I have to clean them out every couple of weeks now. Honda really needs to work on the their front end design (bearings, brakes, etc) My wheel bearings lasted about 450 miles. I know atleast 4 other people with 99 or 2000 Foremans and all have had to replace the front bearings, brakes, and drum seals before they hit 500 miles and we all do constant maintenance. Yes, we do ride in alot of water, but my Grizzly(has 1100 miles on it with original bearings) and the Polaris's have been holding up better in these conditions. (yes I did say Polaris) I'm not trying to start trouble, just calling it as I see it.