Drums vs Discs

Which do you prefer in terms of styling and performance?

  • Cable Pull Drums

    Votes: 7 41.2%
  • Hydraulic Disc Brakes

    Votes: 10 58.8%

  • Total voters
    17

PHeller

Coast to Coast
I'm doing some research and shopping for drums brakes. My CB360's disc brake, even after resurfacing the rotor, bleeding the system too many times, and rebuilding the master cylinder ... still sucks.

Drums can be powerful and simple, and even sometimes stylish on a cafe racer or tracker.

Which do you prefer?
 
dual disks up front and one in the back, if you can make it happen. I'm more about performance that looks in the brake department. Reminds me of the hot rod guys that get all up in arms when guys use disks up front versus Buick finned drums (which are beautiful). Your already playing with fire by riding outside of the cage, no sense and jumping right into it! ;)
 
Kev Nemo said:
dual disks up front and one in the back, if you can make it happen. I'm more about performance that looks in the brake department. Reminds me of the hot rod guys that get all up in arms when guys use disks up front versus Buick finned drums (which are beautiful). Your already playing with fire by riding outside of the cage, no sense and jumping right into it! ;)

Which is why they make finned "Buick drum" look concealed disc brakes for street rods.

I figure if this has to do with street trackers, discs are in order. The TT bikes have run disc brakes since about 1970 or so, around the time they were first put on motorcycles, guys started doing them on TT bikes. The one wierd one was that KR ran a disc on the back of his 650 TT bike and a double leading shoe drum on the front while others ran discs both ends. If you really want traditional look on a street tracker you get a post 1973 Bultaco conical front hub and lace up the 19. The hub is so small it almost looks like there's no brake on the front wheel... but don't try to roadrace with that brake!

I'll personally do the disc brakes on the front, like you said, good brakes are damn nice to have.
 
Well, the fact is, early Honda disk brakes suck ass. They are completely lacking in stopping power, and the drums of the same years actually out perform the disks. ESPECIALLY in the cb 350 & 360. These disks are terrible. You'll be much happier with the drums in this application.
 
I vote for discs. It's a no brainer really - it's just the evolution of technology. They're better all round.

To me, reverting to drums would be a backwards step. May as well ditch your telescopic forks and run a girder front, or change out your overhead cam motor for a side valve. Or go back to solid rubber tyres instead of those new fangled puncture prone pneumatic ones..... ;D

And BTW - have you tried a braided line on your CB brakes??
 
I've always preferred front drums mostly for appearance and simplicity. But an optimal performing disk will almost always outstop any common 2LS drum.
 
I'm doing a drum on front of 360, 100% for looks on cafe bike.
I never had any problems with the swinging arm Honda discs, after I learned to makee them work properly (except for melting the centers out of pads, that was solved by fitting dual disc)

PJ
 
I will take a decent (read as any twin or more piston caliper) disc brake over any drum short of maybe a perfectly arced 4 leading shoe Fontana, Gremica or Suzuki GT750. And I ain't gonna find one of them.

I simply adapted an excellent Honda (Nissin) twin piston caliper from a Honda VF500F Interceptor (salvage part) to my SR500 street tracker. I can unweight the back wheel without much effort. Most any Honda twin piston caliper from 1982 on will work. I just cut off part of the mount and welded it on to a fork adapter I cut from .500" aluminum plate.

Here's the result,

bikepics-1750908-full.jpg


bikepics-1750910-full.jpg


I also used a single disc reservoir I had from my old 83 Gold Wing when I converted it to both calipers at the handlebar - separating the linked brake. Get a caliper and master cylinder from any Honda, but be sure it isn't an anti-dive side, the bracket may be harder to adapt from that side.

Now I don't know how difficult it would be to adapt to a set of early Honda forks, but you could always get a set of 35mm forks from about anything and fit them. Maybe something like a post-1982 Honda 450 would work.

That is if you want to ride your tracker or clubman fast and hard. I do...
 
disc brakes. drums are a motorycle tech that serves a nostalgiac motive rather than for function today. If we're talking pre-60s styling, than sure, drums brakes, but I wouldn't be riding an antique motorcycle that hard anyway
 
Let's be clear though-they had dual disk technology when your bike was built, so it is period correct. This reminding me of the wide whitewall debate that comes up on hotrod boards alot-they went out style in 1960, but they'll always be some dude with a 68 Valiant and too many issues of Ol Skool Rodz that think that makes his ride more "traditional". Do what ya like I guess. :-\
 
The two piston Honda caliper is sliding type, not much of an upgrade for late XS650 and a downgrade for early dual piston one.
Caliper is same for SR 500 so it's a lot of work for nothing in my opinion. ::)
If your going to do it do at least a 4 piston, real cheap off early/pre98 Suzuki Katana.
looks like this when its done
PJ
KatanaBrakesonXS650Right.jpg
 
Some 4 / 6 piston calipers will foul on the spokes of older style wheels due to the inner side pistons, so you do have to do your measuring before you go out and buy a nice ZX9 caliper and hope to fit it to your CB360 ::)
 
crazypj said:
The two piston Honda caliper is sliding type, not much of an upgrade for late XS650 and a downgrade for early dual piston one.
Caliper is same for SR 500 so it's a lot of work for nothing in my opinion. ::)

Glad it's opinion versus fact. If I remember right my SR was a single piston caliper, but that's irrelevant. It flat out sucked compared to the Honda caliper/master cylinder conversion I did. You apparently haven't ridden an SR500. I can tell you it is far better than stock. If nothing else, the pad swept area is out at a larger diameter compared to the original brake, adding to the leverage factor. Plus the Honda brake is so common that there would be no reason to pay much over $25 from a salvage yard for both the caliper and master cylinder. That is cheap!

The fact too is that the Honda twin piston calipers worked well enough that they still got great reviews on Honda's bikes even after the 4 piston calipers came out. They seemed to work pretty darn good.

I also find it interesting that the same basic design is still used on most dual sports like my KLX using even smaller calipers for bikes that pretty much weigh the same as an SR.

So it seems like you're pretty much of single opinion on those brake comparisons.
 
I love the look of a nice TLS drum, especially on both ends of the bike. Someone converted the rear of my CL to a TLS. Nothing wrong with a TLS IF it is kept in perfect working order. Let it get out of adjustment or greasy and best hope your insurance covers medical...

The stock single pot caliper on my LS650 would make a nice paperweight. Even a braided cable and EBC pads didn't improve it. And the stock rear drum is a joke. A tiny disc front and a single leading shoe drum rear make for rather interesting riding in the wet.

As much as I dislike disc brakes that dual piston conversion looks worthwhile. I've got enough metal in my body from motorcycles.
 
Hi!

I think if style doesn't matter, a disc brake is the better choice.
Not for brute stopping force (a properly adjusted 4LS can be kinda
brickwall), but for the sum of its advantages. Disc brakes need little
servicing, should offer good performance without being too aggressive
(no servo-effect), are lighter and less fading sensitive. I sayed "should",
cause we all know the poor performance of early japanese discbrakes.
They can be improved a lot by using steelbraided hoses and smaller
mastercylinders. Often there's a lot of shit being sold as brakepads for these
old bikes, their brakes will in almost any case benefit from a modern
sinter compound.

Best regards
Sven
 
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