CB550 front drum brake - info wanted

beachcomber

beachcomber

TJ - Beachcomber
DTT SUPPORTER
I swore I'd never go back to drum brakes, but ..............

I want to build a Honda race Rep 350 four, and it just HAS to have a drum front brake. However, I DO want to be able to stop in some reasonable distance! AND it has to "look" good.

I've an idea that an early Suzuki [ GT750 ] drum is a good stopper? Anyone got an idea. I can't afford one of the new aftermarket brakes, so it has to be a good old swapshop idea.
 
Hey there BeechC...

The 750's are great BIG brakes. But they do have a problem with cracking... And they are starting to catch a premium. On small displacement cb's I like to run cb360 drums. They're plenty big, parts are plentiful... etc. take a look @ a thread on here. I think it's was titled SpeedHeap...? but its a cb350(twin) with the 360 brake installed. Plenty of stopping power.

Louis
 
its all in the brake compound. cant remember the company, but vintage brakes makes an EXCELLENT compound... cuppled with a properly arced hub, you can get damn good performance.

old gt750s are popular in the race world... SUPER expensive (least they are in the states!).

personally i would run a cb450 front drum on the 350 four, with the above mentioned modifications, plus many holes to vent the brake, on both brake side and non brake side.


that is, if i HAD to run a drum.
 
You can forget the GT750 drum idea if you're looking to do this on the cheap. You might get lucky and stumble on one for a reasonable price, but more often than not they are in the neighborhood of $300-$500.
 
A Honda CL450 tls brake/wheel is a bolt on. The early CB 450s had drums on 18" rims and the CLs had 19" rims. I run a 66-67 Honda CL77 (305 scrambler) wheel on the front of my bitsa 750. It's a 19" with the same drum as the early 450s. The 350/360 drums will also work. Mostly it is still a bolt on using the 750 axle and speedometer drive.
Rider
 
I wonder if anyone actually reads the question?
Even a 'lightened' CB550 is going to be substantially heavier than a CB350 or 450 (my 1977 CB550F was 420lbs dry)
I would go dual disc until a Grimeca or similar comes along at a decent price, the single disc isn't up to much
 
yes - it is a CB550 made to look like a HRC 350 4 Race Bike.

The bike WILL be light as it will be in "Daylight Certification Mode" - ie no lights or indicators [ just a brake light for self preservation ]. As the certification suggests , I will only be able to legally ride it in daylight hours.

And yes, point taken about getting a good brake - Grimeca and etc., but at $1200 or so - waaaay out of my budget.

I might ditch the drum idea on the 550 and instead look at doing the deed on the LS650 Savage Brit style Cafe Racer.

That said, the 550 is still making good bidding on E-Bay !!!!!!! I'll only buy "steals" whenever I can.

That said, many thanx for all who took the trouble to respond - much appreciated.
 
i thought the brake was for the cb350 four? and that he needed drum brake as the racign class requested it? ????
 
Sorry about the confusion Rocan - the header thread was / is "CB550 front drum brake", after all the tooing and froing I should have stated again in the post that the donor was a CB550.

It's not the first conversion using the 550 as a base, several guys in the UK have gone down this route - as you've got decent performance with the right looks.

However, the CB550 I'm bidding on looks like taking off way above the limit I'd set myself ..........there'll be others, I'll just carry on collecting parts in readiness.
 
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