front brake

[ERIC BAYLISS]

Has any body ever managed to get a usable front brake on a two speeder with 5″brake, just had mine relined, new cable and new inverted lever. its useless, starts to bite then feels as if the linings are made of sponge does not mater how much you tighten the cable you can still pull the lever back to the bars.I know there is not a lot of movement on the inverted lever but they must have been better than this at some time

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi Eric, They do have a well deserved bad reputation, but my question to you would be to ask what type of linings you had fitted ? If you didn’t specify the type the people doing the relining may well have fitted something far too hard. If you tell them you want something for a relatively slow vintage machine, they can fit something soft and grippy, but don’t expect a miracle…..
Something too good will only bend or break the forks ! My 1929 Two-speed Sports Squirrel had a 7″ Webb front brake, and that was too good for the forks, so for the 1930 ‘season’ they fitted a slightly smaller 6″ Webb, presumably after a run of bent or broken forks.
Brian

[ERIC BAYLISS]

Yes Brian I did tell them it was for vintage road bike, not for compertition, the back one is fine.

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

Hi again Eric, Is it the brake with a large outer circlip acting as the pull-off spring ? Or is it the type with conventional tension springs with hooked ends ? A lot of owners have replaced them with something like a BSA Bantam D1 front brake, which if properly disguised is almost unnoticeable. I am not a fan of modifying Scotts, but where safety is involved, in modern traffic, you do need decent brakes. With all Scott front brakes, to centralise them, I slacken off the sleeve nut securing the brakeplate, then apply the brake hard on whilst retightening the nut. It often makes a big difference.
Brian

[scott596]

Eric, over the years I have done many brakes for motorcycles, I would normally start by mounting the built up wheel on my machine and grind the drum true by spinning the wheel on it own bearings, then I set the backplate up complete with linings and machine the linings to the exact same radius as the drum, take no notice of people who talk about linings bedding in this can take many thousands of miles and a lining with a different radius will only touch on 1 or 2 small areas. While I agree with Brian about the importance of centrallising the brakeplate I have found that the majority of brakes use a hole the same size as the spindle which prevents it from centrallising so please check that you have adequate clearance. Alan Noakes. scottworkshop@hotmail.co.uk

[BRIAN MARSHALL]

When the factory used the Brampton Monarch front fork, mostly in the 1931-1933 era, on models such as the single downtube Flying Squirrel, and Reynolds Specials, they made the front brake plate fully floating, with a massive star-shaped spring washer pressing on the brakeplate to stop it rattling around.
Brian

[Dripfeed]

For what its worth Ihave improved the front brake on my web forked tourer by making the fit of the shoes to the post slightly oval also reducing the length of the expander ( I e cam ) , But of this does not cure the drum expanding ( have stronger cake tins in the kitchen ) I may copy the Scott Norton and fit a length of primary chain around the drum .I DO NOT RECOMEND THAT ANY ONE COPYS MY BODGE ITS MY NECK. Ok firing squad load aim .regards D F.

[ERIC BAYLISS]

Yes Brian its the one with the circlip spring, now in the process of fitting a back plate and shoes from a LE velocette

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