XR200R brakes

The front brake has been an ordeal on the XR200R. I've ordered several sets of shoes that haven't been close. I was determined to have the bike rideable by Sunday, so I held on to a set of shoes from an XL250 that were the right size but didn't have the correct pivot ends, I figured I could machine them in some way.

I wound up modifying the brake plate instead.

This is the brake hub with the pivot pin.


Here are the pivot ends of the shoes that came off.


My first attempt. I welded the little angle iron brackets slightly offset from top to bottom to prevent the shoes from working around the pivot point when applied. What I didn't account for was that they'd also move in the opposite direction when the brake was applied going backward. When I tried them on the bike I could spin the wheel forward, but not backwards. I had to take them off and add another shim;




Seamus did a little catalog research and determined that the steering head bearings must have been replaced, and that there was a good chance the triple tree was not original, which would explain why the steering stops aren't correct. We think the whole front end is probably from a mid eighties CR model.


I still need a new brake cable for the brakes to feel strong, the old cable has a kink in it that stretches out when the brake lever is pulled tight.

We didn't ride Sunday 'cause it was too damn hot. Figures...