Topic: Rear brake woes......

[mmtsquid]

77 CB550K, <5K miles.
I was riding to school the other night, and had to make a hard brake to avoid a blue haired old lady, and BANG!
Something happened to the rear brake!
I pulled over, and...
1. the threaded rod that runs from the brake pedal to the drum was snapped in half, and wrapped halfway around the rear axle.
2. it appears as though the "support" that bolts to the frame and drum lost the bolt at the drum, so now it's flopping about.
3.  The drum itself seems to be rotated 180 degrees!  Instead of the hole where the support bolts to it being "down", it's up! (and the support will no longer reach it).
4.  Bent the crap out of the splined "arm" that attaches to the drum.

I've ordered all of the necessary parts to repair, but how do I move the drum back to it's original position?
Do I need to remove the rear wheel?
And why did this happen?

[Raul CB750K1]

I would say you lost the bolt that holds the torque arm in place, and as soon as you used the rear brake, the shoe plate rotated forced by the wheel.

[mmtsquid]

So, how do I fix this?
I really don't want to take off the wheel if I can help it........

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Shouldn't need to remove the wheel as the drum is supposed to move independently of the rim. You may have the situation that the bent up parts are jamming the pads, however.

Simply rotate the drum cover to the correct position, replace the stay rod and any brake actuator components that were damaged.

[TwoTired]

You might have to loosen the axle bolt.

[mmtsquid]

Thanks guys - I really appreciate the help!
Now just waiting on parts............
This forum is a lifesaver for first time bike owners!

[Johnie]

Two-tired is correct.  If you loosen the axle bolt you should be able to freely rotate that brake system to where it needs to be.  I think once you replace the bent stuff you should be OK.

[hcritz]

An additional note here...the bolt that goes through the brake drum and holds the position arm in place should be drilled for a cotter key!!!! Seems lots of them never get put back in...it's a potentially dangerous situation if that bolt come out as you have found!
Good thing to check!!!!!

[eurban]

Had this happen to me recently while at highway speeds.  Fortunately the rear wheel did not lock up but that is certainly a possibility with this type of "failure."  The failure was on my part as I must have left the cotter off of the front bolt.  Building on the previous poster's comments, make sure that you have the correct shouldered bolts for the front and rear mounts for the brake drum stay.  These will need to be installed correctly with washers, rubber bushing (probably on the rear bolt), nut and cotters.  Look at the parts diagram for your bike.  As you found out, the stay is an important piece and it has to firmly keep the drum plate from spinning while at the same time being able to pivot as the swingarm moves up and down.  This will not work properly if you use regular bolts.  While your are at it, check that the foot pegs, seat pivots, and rear axle nuts have their cotters installed as well