Please give me a brake!

Eddie Mellor says he has what he thinks is a Taylor Dow Duetto twin-leading-shoe front brake plate in the Norton hub of his Triton – but despite having had it relined and setting it up carefully, it’s hopeless. The re-liner didn’t recognise the shoes – they’re very different to Norton ones and Eddie wonders if they’re wrong. He says the castings are poor quality and also questions the brake anchor – just a nut and bolt drilled through the casting.

It does look like a ‘Duetto’, manufactured by Jim Robinson of Birmingham, according to my 1969 catalogue. Plates are available for various Bsa/triumph models – but Norton is not listed. This and the suspect anchor suggests this brake wasn’t made for a Norton hub – but if it fits, will that matter? It’s hard to say; the shoes are non-floating (fixed at the pivot end) so can’t automatically self-centre. Norton shoes are like that; you have to centralise the plate itself by loosening the axle nut, spinning the wheel and grabbing the brake; the plate is intentionally slack on the axle for this purpose, but if Eddie’s is from another bike maybe this allowance hasn’t been made.

Otherwise he could try coating the drum (or shoes) with chalk dust, then fitting and applying the brake to see if there are high spots that could be sanded to increase contact area.

It’s also worth saying – no offence to Jim Robinson of Birmingham! – that these ‘tune-up’ bits were not aimed at TT riders but café racers, ie young guys on low incomes. We value them now as period accessories, but I don’t think the quality was particularly great on most. Experience has taught me that a well setup sls Norton brake works well enough as it is – even if it doesn’t look the part!