Rear brake rod linkage

Does anyone in this forum have experience of using rear sets with the rear brake actuated by rod rather than cable? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Are there good reasons for not using this method? I would be grateful for any tips you may have.

I remember reading somewhere that because of the isolastics and the movement of the swingarm a solid rod would not allow the necessary flexibility and could be unsafe. Supposedly this is why Norton chose cable actuation.

Hi daveh,
I have added a rear brake rod to my Norvil Rep.
It really changes the feel & is much more positive in my opinion than the
cable set up. Not had any problems since fitting a few years ago.
They are available from RGM although I had my own made up.
You do need to make sure that you have end float as indicated by the gap & no gap in pictures 0610 & 0611 shown below due to the isolastic movement.
I have included a picture of my project bike which have added some vents on rear drum & I may try that on the Norvil later.






Regards Hursty.

Mgrant — Thanks for the reply. If a solid rod would not allow the necessary flexibility, maybe a rose joint on the end of the rod at one end would solve the problem?

Hursty — I really appreciate you posting those pics. People in this forum are very obliging. Now I understand why end float is important, and I can see how the mechanism works. I like the alloy swinger with the eccentric chain adjustment and the brake drum vents — looks very purposeful!

If you follow this link you will see the RGM setup on my 74 Commando. It took a little doing to get it right. The brake pedal sent initially was for the brake cable and would not work with the brake rod. The did send me the correct one after emailing back and forth about the problem. They were very helpful in sorting it out, but I still had to make a tab and weld it on the bottom of the pedal to be able to set the pedal position. You can see what I did in the photos. In the photos of the two pedals, the cable pedal is on top. The lower pedal is for the rod and shows the tab prior to welding it on. A little silver paint and it can't be noticed.

http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k55/t ... ake%20Rod/

I added the spring and nut at the end of the rod. It looks trick and works well--a more solid feel to it. Hope this helps.

Chris Moore

Trinorman — I looked at your photos of the arrangement of the rear sets with rod linkage and they look neat — thank you. I will talk to Roger in RGM today about ordering the parts. I'm tired of the spongy feel of the cable-operated brake and am looking forward to riding a bike with decently-placed footrests! Thanks for sharing your pics and happy riding!