'Hamburger' Drum Brake
Of Hamburgers, Bread Boxes and other Harley Specialties.
The world of Harley wrenching is awash with secret codes: let’s take the wacky Harley model codes such as FLSTSCl (spoiler: Softail Springer Classic). Or take the VIN numbers, the „Vehicle Identification Number“, essential to determinate year of build, model, and if frame and engine belong together. In addition there are the up to 8-digit, sometimes alphanumerical codes from parts catalogs, essential when buying on the Internet or at Swap Meets. Kudos to those who keep abreast of all this.
It’s not all bad news though: some parts do have affectionate names in addition to their numbers, so you can show your deep know-how at the next gathering round the campfire without having to memorize 24-digit numbers :). A classic in this respect is the "peanut" tank, or say, the "bread box" air filter (several versions of which exist). Don’t forget the "horseshoe" oil tank, the "pan" valve train covers for, ahem, Panheads, or the "trumpet" style mufflers to name a few.
Here’s a fresh addition to this list, right here in our shop:
Sizzling Hot on the Work Table: Hamburger Chinese Style
Calling a brake drum a hamburger may sound a little odd, but once you see it lying there on your workbench it all makes sense: the bulging body and the prominent flanges, together with the ribbed drum itself do indeed evoke a hamburger with salad and tomato oozing out quite nicely. Alas, finding one these days is much harder than the edible meat-on-bun version. Being the front brake on Sportsters from 1964 through 1972, and for FX 1971 through 1972 these front drums brakes are essential for serious restoration jobs or repairs, where the now 60 year old originals are starting to wear out of spec. Opting for the disc setups that superseded the drums is not an option for everyone. Being Ironhead (Sportster through 1985) afiçionados of long standing we’ve had components for these drums in our program since early on – but an all-in-one solution proved elusive.
Full Throttle to Perfection.
The beginning of the end of this quest was an e-Mail from China, offering to supply just such an all-in-one solution. We get a lot of spam mails, but this read kinda right and well thought through. It came from a China-based Ironhead fan, who is using the local talent to remanufacture true-to-spec parts for Harley classics. We thought, why not give it a try, and ordered a set. Once arrived at headquarters, we set it up in a fresh front wheel and installed it in our 1959 Sportster. A great looker, and also a great stopper, as we found to our delight. Even the jaded wrenchers in our garage were suitably impressed. Right. Popping over to China was the next step, to look at the guy and his operation. His name is Duan "DJ" Jing, he’s a Harley enthusiast, owning a couple of old Sportsters and enough know-how, guts and connections to do this in a legit way. We were convinced and placed a first order. Which has now arrived in our warehouse, and the first hamburgers Chinese style are now ready to serve.
