YOWZA, YOWZA, YOWZA!!! I got it! My friend John was right! My assumption that grinding of the pivot lense on the back of the wheel side pad wouldn’t matter was wrong! Mia culpa.
I had ground it off because the dimensions didn’t work. When bolted all together, the pad bound against the rotor. I should have ground off some pad material instead. Without the pivot lense, the wheel side pad never had full contact with the rotor resulting in diminished braking power.
I removed the pad. I made a small domed button from a screw head and epoxied it onto the center of the back of the pad. I sanded off some of the pad material so it would fit. Reassembled it and today I tried it out in the lane. WOO HOO!!
Not two finger braking by any stretch, but confident full force braking. Scared myself a bit when it locked up and the front tire started to wash out. WOO HOO! Now I need a stretch of weather so I can insure and ride it.
When my new brake pads arrive that have the proper pivot lense on, I’ll switch out my jury rigged ones.
I know you guys are just shaking your heads. What a dip stick, right? In my defence I’ve never worked on brakes that weren’t bolted directly to the forks. This older Honda system with a swing/pivot arm is a bit weird to me. But I’ve got it now.
Cheers,
Ross