Forum

[Rackers]

Good people,
I own a 1958 350cc Royal Enfield Clipper and I am hoping to improve the front braking
At the moment its a 1960 7inch SLS.
To be kind this brake is interesting! so requires replacing with something that can cope with modern traffic conditions.
My questions are.
What brake would you suggest?
Would the standard Clipper forks cope with the improved brake?
Would a Madras 350 front fork and drum brake fit and improve the braking to an acceptable level?
Grateful for your suggestions.

Rackers

[Mark M]

That 7" brake should be fine on a lightweight like a 250 Clipper so something is not right. It will never be like a modern disc but it's actually very good by the standards of the time! I have (believe it or not, as standard,) the same brake on my 1966 750 Interceptor, a much heavier and faster bike and at speeds up to about 60 it's fine for normal use. The Clipper would originally have had a 6" brake (which IS rubbish by the way,) so someone has changed it already. I suggest making sure the brake cable and brake arm are at 90 degrees to each other when the brake is fully applied as a first step (you can move the arm round on it's splines to get best results,) then check the linings. They may be worn or glazed, our Hosts do exchange shoes with modern linings or you should be able to get it done locally.
REgards, Mark

[Matt]

Someone else will have to comment on the compatibility but I can wholeheartedly recommend the twin leading shoe drum brake fitted to both my Bullets. The brake performs very well when set up correctly and with a slight modification (drilling the top adjuster - tech notes on this are available on this web site.) It would also be in keeping with your lovely old bike. Keep us informed on what you do.

[Matt]

Good points Mark. Having the arm at 90degrees is very important for maximum leverage. If you find the shoe linnings are glazed you could just rough them up with a bit of sand paper, no much, just enough to dull them down again. It worked a treat for me on one of my bikes!

[Alan R]

Hi guys!! ---- MATT, if I may add a slight modification to one of your brake comments ?? Set the brake drum lever up such that it is just coming on to 90 degrees rather than actually at 90. (I use approx. 1 or 2 splines-worth, depending on the length of the arm)...Thus you will not be losing leverage as the lining beds-in and wears with use. PS }--- Glad to see you joining in on the forum !!

[Rackers]

Good people,
Most grateful for your suggestions, I changed the std front brake to the 7inch a while back and have recently fitted new brake linings.
the lining I have checked and all is good, no glazing found on the linings
If this brake is good enough for a 700 R.E it should be good enough for my 350 clipper
I am off to the garage now to see how well the 90 degree option works, will keep you updated just hope the weather improves for a comfortable ride out.

Rackers

[Matt]

I hope you get to the bottom of it. Maybe it's also worth cleaning it all out with a de-greaser to just to be on the safe side. Alan, cheers mate, I'm pretty active on some other forums where I feel mor "qualified" haha, I'm only just begging to have such a grasp with the motorcycles. More to come I'm sure!

[grunda 12]

i,ll just put my 2 penorth in ,the twinleading shoe brake is adequate a good cable is neccesary not the indian type ,although noW owning the HELECTRA 500 SEMIBOB i cannot sing the virtues of the disc brake fitted loud enough its been 5 long years without a modern disc set and how well it performs is an understatement in comparison to the sls fronts and twin leaders i ve been using, anyway all brakes are good when set up properly some could do to try it atb paul.

[simon]

Soft linings are I believe important. I have six inch drums on both my Bullets and always assumed they would be rubbish. Nothing major has challenged that belief however, I noticed a marked improvement in the old Bullet when I put in a set of early Indian shoes that I'm pretty confident are soft asbestos linings. Obviously these are verboten nowadays but the harder green and grey compounds that they will sell you these days whilst good for racing are too hard. They don't suffer from fade as much but they also require hydraulic power assisted pressures to work efficiently. I'm about to try a modern soft braided compound on the later machine and will report back on efficacy. Other than that, full shoe contact, appropriate geometry ( as has been mentioned) and a decent fat well lubricated cable are the other factors I can think of..

[simon]

Another thing that amazes me is that Enfield supplied brakes to a vast range of manufactures over the years. Yet for all their expertise they put the silliest painted on undersized brakes on their own machines. What wee they thinking?