Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB500/550 => Topic started by: Murf on November 15, 2025, 10:40:44 AM
-
Just a heads up,
I needed new rear brake shoes for my 550 as the linings were coming off the shoes on the on the ones that came with the bike.
I ordered some from DAVID SILVERS, they were only about £15 which was a bit worrying but as I was getting some other stuff I added them to the order.
Well they are not great, really poor actually and I definitely would not recommend them. The general quality does not seem good and they needed a lot of fetling to get them to fit.
The main problem is where shoes fit over the pivot point where the plate and split pins hold them in place. The dimension of the part that fits over the pivot is too long and does not leave enough of the pivot protruding to get the plate on and split pins through the holes.
I filled the shoes down and did get them to fit but it turned a 10 minute job into a hour and a half job.
Should have sent them back but just wanted to get the job done, you know how it is, but do worry about the quality of the linings that are on these things. I definitely would not have used them on a front brake.
I don’t know what the craic is with this sort of thing. Most of us who spend our valuable time and cash restoring old bikes want good quality components and are prepared to pay a reasonable price for them. We want to do a good job and don’t want to wast our time fitting crap.
This is why we tend to use firms like DS because they are reputable suppliers, then they introduce cheap rubbish into their offerings, which really isn’t needed.
Oh BTW the DS aftermarket fork gaiters for the 550 are also crap, one split before I even got it near the fork leg!. Paid the extra and got genuine Honda ones, no comparison.
OK rant over
-
I had a similar issue with the split pins on my 500 rear brake shoes to make them fit correctly.
I am not a fan of fork gaiters so I fitted the short type of dust seal on my fork bottoms.
Obviosly not original, my old forks were badly corroded behind the gaiters, it seemed like a water trap to me.
-
Get the shoes re lined by Villiers, they always do an excellent job and they fit perfectly. They only charge about £25 a pair.
https://villiersservices.co.uk/
-
Can't recommend Villiers enough, they did a great job on my original honda shoes and were very efficient
-
I had exactly the same had to grind ends to make them fit, wasn’t a major problem but shouldn’t have to with parts that are meant to fit.
-
How about Vesrah shoes?