Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125723
tryout ,.: N ~ W Z w 3. Reinstall on your bike with the thin spacer between the hub and backing plate and the thick ~acer between the backing plate and swing arm. Grease will hold these parts in place while you ~hde the axle th.rough. Check for interference between the backing plate and hub when the wheel IS spun an~ while the brake is graudally applied. If there is any interference, it is necessary to chamfer, with a file or a grinder, the points indicated with the pencils. ~~~..i~~. ;. d > () .""" 1,) Installation of the nevv unit requires removing the old first. After removing the brake rod linkage and the torque arm, remove the rear wheel and back plate assembly. ~. 4.) Remove the brake pedal pivot bolt and replace it with the bolt provided in the kit. Fasten the front of the torque arm to the brake pedal pivot bolt and nut provided. Then check to see that the chain guide is centered and parallel with the sprocket. If not, remove the torque arm and put the front of the torque arm in a vise and twist at the rear until correct alignment is achieved. Do not twist while on the bike because the nylong bushing may be damaged. The reason for this adjustment is Maico's inconsistency in positioning at the brake pedal pivot on the frame. h·..... . \Vo-. . . .. 5.) After fastening the rear of the torque arm to the backing pJate with the specially machined shoulder nut provided, position the brake arm so that when the brake is accuated the end of the arm lies in the center of the axle. This insures minimal pedal movement during suspension travel. 2. Remove the brake shoes, cam shaft and pilot shaft and install them in the floating backing plate furnished. Be sure to substitute the prebent brake arm provided with the kit for the original. Brake arm is oriented 180-degrees from the stock position. By Barry Watkins Greg Smith and Sam Wheeler of Wheel-Smith Engineering in Santa Ana, Calif. are two very clever entrepreneurs who have recently produced a floating brake for a Maico that works. The reason for the floating brake was to improve the handling and stopping characteristics of the Maico. Since racing basically consists of accelerating, cornering, and stopping, it makes just as good sense to have the best stopper as it does to spend the tons of money to gain the last available horsepower from your engine. All that power is completely worthless if your machine won't stop. Without a floating brake, stopping on washboard surfaces can be scary. A typical Maico brake is a good unit but braking on bump-de-bump surfaces results in a torque being transmitted to the swing arm which uses up the available suspcnsion. On a washboard surface this causes th e rear wheel to skip from bump to bump, with jerky, skiddish braking at best. But with a floating brake, the brake torque arm is attached to the frame rather th.an the swing arm which allows. the torque to be transferred to the frame, thus enabling the suspension to keep doing its job. This provides much more effective braking. The amount of pressure you apply to the brake pedal is exactly how much braking you get. Smooth and firm every time. The jerky sensation is completely eliminated. Stopping is noticeably faster. It has no advantage on smooth ground. But it is no disadvantage either. I couldn't believe the difference the first time I tried my new setup out at Saddleback Park. The Maico brake's YAMAHA SPORTCYCLES NEW & USED SALES Parts-Accessories-Service Financing-Insurance MASTER CHARGE·BANKAMERICARD Discount to Ascot Racers GENE H. MYERS 4151 Redondo Beach Blvd Lawndale, Ca. ., (213) 542·4047 shortcomings were eliminated. Thc long bumpy downhill on the Saddleback motocross course causes serious problems if your speed is in excess of what is should be. Wheelsmith installs a floating brake that stands up to· the punishment of racing. They first bore the brake support to accept the proper size bearing. The bearing is press fit. Spacers are !Dade for the backing plate to allow it to rotate when the axle nut is tigh tened. The bearing is a great idea because it eliminates any maintenance. The torque arm is made from a sturdy light aluminum bar. A very efficient chain guide is heliarced to the torque arm so that all the frustrations of a chain flying off are eliminated. The torque arm is bolted to the brake mounting bracket on the insidc of the frame, eliminating the need to weld any special. bracket to the frame. Another advan tage of using this bracket is that a perfect parallelagram is formed with the torque arm and the swing arm. This is a very important factor with a floating. brake; the torque arm must be parallel with the swing arm so that the 'backing plate stays in the same relative position to the axle. The brake lever arm is turned upside down because the brake rod must attach at about the same height as the swing arm. This prevents the brake pedal from floating as the swing arm goes up and down. In addition to turning the brake lever arm on the backing plate upside down, it must be bent slightly outward for clearance. The final step is to attach the brake rod and take it for a test run. My only suggestion would be the addition of a cable actuator instead of the standard stcel rod. Floating brakes work better with a cable; you get more braking feel that way. Suzuki makes a cable that fits righ t up. The brake works so much better you won't believe it. If you can go into a comer and keep from braking 2/10 of a second or so longer than your competition, everything else being equal, you've gained that much more time coming out of the comer. With tcn to fifteen turns on a typical motocross course, guess who's got the best chance of winning? If you want further in formation, contact Wheelsmith Engineering, 3635 W. McFadden Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. The whole setup sells for about $50 which is a good deal for what you get. You ~an save $10.00 by bringing your own backing plate and they will be happy to help you install the unit. ..