Vintage and Classic Motorcycle Brakes
Mon Nov 05 2007
kiwiraca3<at>aol.com
triton
on feb 22 06 somebody was looking for seals for what look like colin
lyster front calipers on a triton .a friend needs seals also did you have
any luck finding them .i`ve tried e`mailing the owner of the triton but
no reply. thanks tony .
santa barbara ,ca
Brembo
Oldani Brakes
Fitted to a great many Italian sports bikes. Fontana brakes were apparently
developed from these.
Grimeca
Lockheed brakes were fitted to early Ducati V-Twins.
Magura
Research Association brakes may have been fitted to the 1923
sidevalve TT Beardmore
Precision machines. More...
Scarab discs were fitted to early Ducati V-twins.
Some Scarab brake components available at Road
& Race
Scarab
article at DOCV
Vintage Drum Brakes
at Eurospares
Dual Leading Shoe
Drum Brake Articles
Brake Fluid
"...Dow Corning Silicon brake fluid. This has a higher boiling point,
does not absorb water, will not ruin paintwork and will keep corrosion
at bay while giving a brake system a life many times that of brakes using
conventional fluid."
From Scarab
article at DOCV
glycol brake fluid
Research Association
It is the British Motor Cycle and Cycle Car Research Association, (B.M.C.C.C.R.A.),
often abbreviated to "Research Association" or "R A.", 1920-1931,
to which I refer.
I am trying to write an accurate history of the above association and
its interaction with the motorcycle industry of the day.
Good information on the Association is hard to find, the Douglas side
of the story is fairly well documented, but this Beardmore-Precision angle
seems so far to be blank!
In the September 1985 issue of Classic Bike, there is an article titled
"Braking away", by Peter Watson, pages 50-54.
On page 54 Watson claims:
"Bailey was not alone in his enthusiasm for the Research Association
brake, for it was also adopted by Beardmore-Precision, who campaigned side-valve
singles rather than the Barr & Stroud sleeve-valve design they also
favoured at this time. But Beardmore's brakes - they went the whole hog
with the new type at both ends - were simply replicas of the Research Association's
original design with none of the improvements wrought by Les Bailey for
Douglas" (Watson may be quoting from an earlier source, as he does a lot
in this article, but while he partly identifies some sources, others are
not identified at all)
The B.M.C.C.C.R.A., jointly with their then Director of Research, Mr.
Henry Snowdon Rowell, took out a patent for a brake, British Patent 199,956.
(so far this is the only patent known for the association's 10 years of
research)
The summarised patent claim of the B.M.C.C.C.R.A.-Rowell brake is:
Applied 10Jul22
Complete 12Oct22
Accepted 05Jul23
1. Fully exposed rotating drum of softer material, and a non-rotating
shoe of harder material.
2. The soft material is supported by a metal rim.
The B.M.C.C.C.R.A.-Rowell patent makes no claim for a V-shape wedge
brake; the V-shape is mentioned in the body of the patent, but it is not
part of the claim. This feature was already covered by the earlier Bailey
patent for the S1/S2 Douglas wedge brake. (though the earlier patent was
for a metal rotor and a shoe lined with friction material)
The B.M.C.C.C.R.A. and Rowell did not patent a wedge brake, they jointly
patented a brake where the friction material was on the rotating member,
to which a metal "shoe" was applied.
The Beardmore Precision recorded results for the 1923 T T are 11th,
18th and a DNF, all in the Junior event. If there were any Beardmore Precision's
entered for the Senior or Sidecar events they failed to make the start
and thus are not recorded in readily accessible results.
Source: Beardmore Precision TT results http://www.iomtt.com/TT-Database/Events/Races.aspx?mach_id=102
Seemingly the only similarity shared by the so called RA Douglas brakes
and the B.M.C.C.C.R.A.-Rowell patent brake is that both used rotors made
from a friction type material together with metal "shoes".
Apart from the Classic Bike reference, I haven't got a clue what the
'23 TT Beardmore Precision machines actually used for brakes.
I have found images of Beardmore Precision machines with front only
contracting band brakes, and also with front and rear contracting band
brakes, all appear to be conventional types with metal drums (rotors) and
friction material lined contracting metal bands.
What I am seeking is:
-
Evidence of the actual brakes used in the 1923 TT by Beardmore-Precision.
-
Did Beardmore-Precision enter the Senior and or Sidecar events of the 1923
TT?
-
Were the 1923 TT Beardmore-Precision brakes contracting band type with
the friction material affixed to the rotating drum and a plain metal band?
-
Were they wedge type brakes similar to the RA Douglas?
-
Were they conventional contracting band brakes with a plain metal drum
and the friction material affixed to the band?
-
Were they something else entirely?
-
Is the 1985 Classic Bike quote erroneous?
-
Help desperately required!
Neale Gentner
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information about these components, please contact
us!
