Topic: CB350 front drum brake vs. disc

[Jay B]

It's been ages since I've ridden a 350 with a front drum brake. As I remember the twin leading shoe drum wasn't too bad. Anybody who has ridden both care to comment on the performance of the drum compared to the disc?

[bill440cars]

                  It's been quite a while since I road any bike with a front drum brake. I had an SL350 so, I
        suppose that counts. As I remember, the front drum brake worked pretty good. I don't know
        how close the drum will come to the disc though. Guess I'll go and let someone, with more
        insight on this chime in. Later on, Bill

[scunny]

I don't care about the stopping power, I think a twin leading shoe looks good and have got one to replace my twin discs.
Use what you like the look of

[bill440cars]

     


            Not only does the twin leading shoe set up look good, it'll also give a more "vintage" look.
                                                 Later on, Bill

[byidesign]

Had a cb400 with drums and spoked wheels.
   Liked the look better than my cm400t with comstar's and the
 front disc. i would say the disc is a little better in a panic stop.
   {less lever force needed}
      But you will never beat the classic style of spoke wheels......
        "go for the spokes and drum"
 
               Bruce

[Bob Wessner]

My first bike was a CB350 twin. As I recall, the stopping performance was OK, but the riding circumstances vs. say my 750 were quite different in terms of sustained speeds, then too there is the difference in overall weight/mass.

[bill440cars]

              I've got a front wheel with the drum brake from an early (Dare I Say It?) XS650 that should
     work pretty good on a larger bike, if it's not too much trouble to adapt. Of course then I'd have to
     come up with another aluminum rim, of that style and get it laced up if it would. I'll have to step
     back and consider that one. But, if I do go that route, it'll be a while anyway. For now, later on.
                   
                                                                         Bill

[Jay B]

That's what I'm thinking, I love the look of the old drums. The way my 350f is turning out it's got the the look of an old time cafe racer anyway, as opposed to a more modern racebike look. I think a TLS drum would look great up there and also would allow me to narrow up the bars a bit without finding a different MC. I know where I can get one from a CL360, I think I'll check it out.

[cb650]

Stopping power would be somewhat comparable its the heat retention/fading.




         Terry

[Sam Green Racing]

The disc was that little bit stronger, it realy came into it's own under race conditions. The drum would fade after a few hard uses,
whereas the disc wouldn't fade at all.
If my memory serves me correct, the drum brake was only 7", but I may be wrong.

[Jay B]

7" sounds about right. I'd like to find a bigger one but I figured a CB/CL brake would be a pretty easy swap. Racing and multiple hard stops isn't an issue for me, it's wide open around here, very little slowing down required!

[bill440cars]

              Some are using the drum set up from the Suzuki GT750 (I know the 1st year was drum, I'm
        not sure when they went to the disc. there may have been 2 yrs before the change.) They had
        brake shoes on each side, 4 shoes of stopping power. Of course, if you can find one, it'll be sky
        high on the price. I know that they are used for vintage racers quite a lot. Just a bit of info
        there. Later on, Bill

[Raul CB750K1]

I'm restoring a CB350 K4 and thought about upgrading it with the disc of the later model, but finally I decided that a twin leading shoe setup would be enough, will look retro also and there will be another maintenance task -fluid change- that I will not have to do.

Raul