| Disk brakes are nearly ubiquitous on higher performance two-wheeled vehicles today, and for good reason. They are stronger, lighter, and more reliable than drum brakes. More importantly to racers, though, is the fact that they tend to handle the stresses of racing better, primarily because they remain cooler. This reduces brake fade, the loss of braking efficiency caused by overheating of brake components. | |
| Modern motorscooters frequently come equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, at least in front. Here are some examples. |  |
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The stock Lambretta front disk brake has the disk inside the hub, with a single floating disk clamped between two pucks. One puck is fixed, the other moves when pressed by a mechanical actuator. A vast improvement over drum brakes when introduced in 1962, this brake can be improved by replacing the mechanical actuator with a hydraulic cylinder. The brake lever and cable are also replaced with hydraulic units. This system is less than ideal for racing, however, because the internal disk cannot be cooled as well as an externally-mounted disk. Also, original parts are hard to obtain and expensive. Aftermarket disk brakes are available which provide better efficiency for the same or less money. |
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On this Lambretta, owned and ridden by Joe Kokesh, the backing plate is gone, and a version of Stoffi's hydraulic disc is in use. |
| Stoffi's Garage, in Austria, offers Lambretta hydraulic drum-to-disc brake conversions in a variety of layouts: standard, double-disc, and anti-dive versions of both. Click here to read a copy of their flyer. |
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Do you know how to tune a scooter? Want to author an article about a particular tip or technique? Space is available to interested persons who wish to contribute information or a short article, in compliance with rules issued in the introduction. |
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