| Motorcycle & Scooter Drum Brake Shoes Drum brake shoes are sold in pairs but this means two shoes and is not to be confused with two pairs. If you are changing the pads on a four wheeled quad bike you will need 4 sets brake pads (4 pairs). Or if changing the brake pads on a bike with both front & rear drum brakes you will need two sets of brake pads. Brake pads do not come with springs so make sure you look after your old springs when removing. When should I change my brake shoes? Some drum brakes provide an inspection hole on the back side, where you can see how much material is left on the shoe. Brake shoes should be replaced when the friction material has worn down to within 1/32 inch (0.8 mm) of the rivets. If the friction material is bonded to the backing plate (no rivets), then the shoes should be replaced when they have only 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) of material left. Just as in disc brakes, deep scores sometimes get worn into brake drums. If a worn-out brake shoe is used for too long, the rivets that hold the friction material to the backing can wear grooves into the drum. A badly scored drum can sometimes be repaired by refinishing. Where disc brakes have a minimum allowable thickness, drum brakes have a maximum allowable diameter. Since the contact surface is the inside of the drum, as you remove material from the drum brake the diameter gets bigger |
