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Mechanical Rear Drum Brake

Mechanical Rear Drum Brake

Rear wheel drum brakes with mechanical operation.

Mechanical rear wheel brakes were involved in Harley-Davidson motorcycles from the first year of manufacture in 1903. Apart from the coaster brake origins of bicycles until 1913, Harleys had rear wheel brakes with drums from 1914 onwards. From a historical point of view, this step is definitely positive, because Harley-Davidson stayed away from all experiments with belt rim brakes, block brakes or spoon brakes and took a big step forward to advanced technology.

Rear drum brake technology

Technically, early drum brakes differ from later ones in their use of brake bands rather than brake shoes as we are familiar with today. Brake bands are steel bands covered with friction material that are contracted and then act on the outside of the drum or expanded inside the drum and act on the inside surface of the drum. Although this technology may seem simple or "primitive" to us today, compared to coaster brakes, band drum brakes were a tremendous advance. Inside shoe brakes, as we consider normal today, did not come to the rear wheel until the big Twins in 1930 (Model V series). With the Panhead models in 1957 and with the Sportster model series in 1978, the last mechanical rear brake was installed.

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