I found some good info online (at ehow) on maintenance on scooters/mopeds - how to clean carburetor, change oil, gear fluid, etc. but i'm having trouble finding %26quot;how to's%26quot; on inspecting/cleaning/repairing/replacing brakes. Any suggestions? Thanks in advanceScooter/Moped maintenance and repair - Brakes?
Brakes are really pretty simple. Most use a drum brake system
You simply need to remove the wheels. Most of the time this will require you to unscrew the brake and speedo cable up front and the brake cable in back. Then unscrew the axle bolt through the wheel. Use the right size ratchet and not a wrench as these can strip easily, especially for the chinese brands. Sometimes a car lug wrench will fit. Once it's out, drop the wheel out. you may need to pull the axle right out to remove the wheel. If you remove one wheel at a time, the bike should rest on the other wheel and the center stand while you work on it.
The brake system should come easily out of the wheel. Inside the drum are 2 crecent shaped pads. They're held in place by a spring and you can pretty easily pop them out. Check the pad depth, if any metal shows they'll need to be replaced. You buy the pads on new shoes, check your bike's specs to see what size, and when they arrive just pop them in. Then reassemble basically the reverse of how you disassembled. Each wheel will have a slot on the outside of brake assembly that will slide over a little peg on the bike forks that keeps the brake assembly aligned properly while the wheel spins.
Then you'll just reattach the cables and you should be good. The ends of the brake cables have a nut and spring that you can tighten or loosen until the wheel spins freely and brakes engage when you pull the lever. Test them out going slowly at first. Sometimes they'll take a little while to wear in comfortably.
If your bike uses disk brakes you can leave the wheel on. Locate the brake caliper on the disk and open it by unscrewing, don't take it off, you should be able to swing it open and get to the pads. Take out the old ones and be sure to press the pushrods behind the pads in all of the way before installing new ones. You will also need to have the brake fluid reservoir open so that you can push this in more easily. Pop the new ones in and put it back together. You may need to top off the brake fluid or adjust the cable if it's not hydraulic.
On some scooters the muffler, engine or body panels may restrict you from accessing the wheels, particularly the rear. They will need to be removed which makes the project a bit more complicated and you should seek around for additional info on how to do that for your particular bike.
Shops may charge over 100 bucks but you could do it yourself in an hour for just the cost of the pads which should be around 30 for front and back.
