What is your view on mechanical front disc vs. a drum set-up?

A

afiendishthingy

New Member
I have heard that front discs are a pain in the ass, but am not too sure.
Do you think they would be better than a front drum or should I keep the drum?
I kind of want something different than what everyone and their mothers have, but if it is going to put my life in danger, then I guess it is a no-go.
This is for a CB350 by the way.
Anything will help. Thanks guys!
 
Hydraulic disc is the best. Drums and cable discs are kinda in the same box, although it's all relative.

A well set-up drum will stop your bike....just maybe not quite as quick as a newer hydraulic set-up.
 
I had a stock Yamaha XS650 front drum brake on my cafe for about 2 minutes. Didn't work worth a damn. I wanted a drum brake for the look (at least I'm honest about it :)) so I put a proper 4LS Suzuki GT750 front drum on the bike. Stops it very very well.

Now, on my BMW, I have the stock single front disk brake, and it is perhaps only a little better than the Suzuki 4LS. A lot of that could be attributed to the weight difference between the two bikes (the BMW probably weighs 100 pounds more than my stripped down cafe).

The stock 350 drum would be fine if set up properly, good drum liner and good brake shoes. A disk brake will be miles better however.
 
I changed out the lining in my cb350 drum and it was just as good as my 400f with disk brakes.
Modern disk is miles ahead, but I could lock my front on the 350.
Where drums really suck is in repeated use. They get hot and useless.
 
SONICJK said:
...Where drums really suck is in repeated use. They get hot and useless.
Click to expand...

SONICJK is on it! Brake fade in repeated use (and weight savings) is why the industry changed to disc brakes.
 
If you can upgrade to disk, do it. If you wanna go back to drums, why?! You're not gonna look so cool strewn across the hood of a car or bunched up in a culvert. There's a reason why the industry gravitated toward disk and away from drums. My 68'word Chevelle had front drums and SUCKED trying to stop her once they heated up. First thing I started to do was collect parts for a disk conversion.
 
afiendishthingy said:
Interesting. Seems like there isn't much of a difference. I think I'm just going to stick with my drums! Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

I didn't come to the same conclusion.

A stock drum is pretty marginal but a well set up 4LS brake can be acceptable.

An old stock period OEM Disk is slightly better than a drum but can be improved upon.

A modern disk brake set up with a simple sliding caliper will brake way harder and repeatedly than either of the above ancient artifacts.

On a stock CB350 with a drum, the worst choice is an old stock set up. The "cheap" solution is to get the shoes relined with better lining and rebuild the brake so that it works well ie clean and grease the cams and carefully set up the linkages and fit a new heavy duty cable.

The best solution is disk brake hub from a slightly newer model with a modern disk and caliper and adapter bracket.
 
The disc set I have are from a 72' I believe and are hydraulic, it was just a question of if having them be mechanical would be better than the stock drums I currently have. Eventually I will fix and use the hydraulic set-up. Sorry I did not specify exactly what I meant.
 
Hydraulic disk is best
Mechanical drum can be good
Mechanical disk is a waste of perfectly good metal.

Does that help put the alternatives into perspective? :)
 
teazer said:
Hydraulic disk is best
Mechanical drum can be good
Mechanical disk is a waste of perfectly good metal.

Does that help put the alternatives into perspective? :)
Click to expand...


Haha exactly what I was looking for. Thanks man.
 
a mechanical drum brake is fine with me but the mechanical pad brake on the CB125's are a pain in the ass to work on and find.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light
    • www.jadusmotorcycleparts.com
    www.lostapostle.ca/
    www.sparckmoto.com

    Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom