Hitchcocks Forum

Reddich Bullet 500 - When I put the front wheel in position between the fork legs there is a space between the fork legs and brake plate holding nut on either side. Should this space be taken up with washers/shims or the should fork legs drawn together?

I wouldn't be drawing fork legs together in any case, it'll put lateral load on the bushes and cause premature wear and fork seal failure. It would be a bad idea on any bike.

That I'm sure about. The next point is conjecture... Does it matter if there is a gap? The bearing/spacer assembly is compressed by the nuts. The nuts are opposite threads so they shouldn't suffer from precession. The spindle is held in place by the clamps. What would the function of a spacer be? I'd set the wheel in the middle of the bike.

Thanks for that, all makes good common sense, I will try without spacers and see if the plate holding nuts move!

Mine doesn't have spacers. One nut does come a little loose and the plate rattles, but I gave up tightening it up and just live with it now.

Yeah I will have to try this suggestion as well, I was just a little concerned about one of the nuts coming loose and affecting the brakes. By the way, having just got the bike I am a little surprised at how little stopping force the twin brakes manage. I am waiting for the relined shoes to be returned, with the hope of some improvement!

There seems to be mixed experiences with these old brakes. Mines actually pretty good, as good as an Indian TLS i'd say but its nothing I've done. I do carefully set the cables to ensure both levers operate together at the same time but that's it.

For what it's worth, I find a slightly loose brake plate nut actually improves the effectiveness of the (single sided, TLS) brake on my 350 bullet. Seems to let the shoes "self centre" to a degree.

Out of all the Indian bullets I've owned, the last new 350, the front brake would lock up the Avon "Skidmaster" on a dry road. All the others required a month's worth of fiddling to work properly. TLS = Try (your) Luck Stopping.

I've just moved to an EFI Classic from a 350. The disc brake, which I was expecting great things from, is no better than the TLS on the 350. Mind you, I did spend what seemed like years getting it adjusted spot-on.