Front brake

[pan620]

1945 El when you pull the front brake all fells nice and tight with little free play and wheel turns free, but when you roll it it goes clear to the grip with no stopping power at all.any thoughts/ Thanks

[exeric]

That sounds typical of H-D front brakes. I went through the front brake assembly on my '48FL last year. I replaced the cable, fixed the pivot point on the brake handle, and most importantly; arced new brake linings to the resurfaced drum. I did the arcing myself on my lathe, but I believe there are still a number of brake shops that will do that. I couldn't believe how much that improved my front braking.

[Peter Cooke]

There's some really good info at the link below re setting up front brakes.

Springer brakes - AMCA Forum (antiquemotorcycle.org)

[exeric]

After reading that old post, I forgot to mention that I also aligned the backing plate brake cam pivot bushing to the axle bushing, which you must do to get the shoes to fully contact the drum. There is a lot of force on that brake cam pivot bushing and it will warp the backing plate. It's a bit disturbing how easy it is to bend the backing plate into compliance with the axle bushing.