I'be been having trouble with my front brake on and off since my SQ4 went back on the road late last year. This year it has had a lot of attention, and is a lot more effective than it was.
Yet it still 'groans' particularly when reversing but also moving forward, which is probably down to the cable being a little tight and the shoes still bedding it in.
However, I wanted to check:
Do your brake plates bend outward (in the direction of the arrow) by a few mm when the brake is applied?
Sounds as though something is not as square as it should be. Brake shoes able to move out of true? Hub slightly conical? Play that should not be available?
I've had at least one half-width hub that used to move slightly when the brake was applied hard - not sure any movement was as much as a couple of mm, maybe just the one.
It's something slightly out of line - mine didn't rub and worked fine and as I couldn't spot anything obviously amiss I forgot about it....
'55 Huntmaster, '56 VH, ' 51 VH, '62 Arrow, '80 R100RT, '00 Sprint ST (now with a new Arrow project, and just now those 4-stroke Ariel parts can't even make one running bike...)
The brake shoe linings may have worn lopsided and when force applied the brake plate springs a bit. They are not actually that strong, and normally don't have to resist much force along the line of the axle axis. Check shoes for uneven wear. The springs may be distorting the way they sit, or the plate may be too close to the wheel hub. Something wrong with the bearing installation..Nev
My KH front brake plate moves exactly as you describe when the brake is applied but by about 0.1mm, according to my rough measurements with the vernier calipers. That brake does work, but is not the best of the type I have had. Equally, it is not the worst. It is a sod to set up well and goes out of adjustment in under 1000 miles but it is not bad enough to have made it to the top of the list of priorities for attention.
I replaced the dust cover with a stainless one which I attached with 4BA allen bolts, as is my habit. I have since wondered whether the original spot welds added to the rigidity of what is one of the flimsiest brake plates Ariel made.
Paul Jameson
35 LG (project), 37 RH500, 52 ex ISDT KHA, 54 KH(A), 75 Healey 1000/4.
Former Machine Registrar & Archivist, General Secretary and Single Spares Organiser (over a 25 year period).
Now Archivist (but not Machine Registrar), Gauges and Clocks Spares Organiser.
Paul Jameson
35 LG (project), 37 RH500, 52 ex ISDT KHA, 54 KH(A), 75 Healey 1000/4.
Former Machine Registrar & Archivist, General Secretary and Single Spares Organiser (over a 25 year period).
Now Archivist (but not Machine Registrar), Gauges and Clocks Spares Organiser.
