For a long time, we’ve sort of ignored the rear brake on our Project bike. With all our concentration on forks and suspension, we lived with the sub-standard rear brake … until we blew through a wooden fence when the rear wheel responded like something from a 1970s bike. It slowed the wheel down poorly, then when some serious pressure was applied, the rear wheel locked up and the rear end went into a convoluted swap. The fence reared its ugly head and the CRF230 then proceeded to make kindling of the wooden slats. We are happy to report that the editor received little more than a nice scrape and some badly stained shorts during the episode.

We wanted to make a rear wheel swap that was doable by the average person. After investigating the possibility of a rear disc, it was decided that the overall cost and complexity of the unit was way too high. This meant that a drum brake would get the nod, but it also meant that it had to be a good working drum that was a huge bunch better than the wimpy setup.

We turned to Keith Lynas (email: klynas@aol.com) , the OSSA guru, for advice. He thought that one of the latest model CR500 drum brake rear wheels ought to do the job. We searched around the amazing stash of old bikes that Keith owns, did a bunch of measuring and eyeballing and came up with a candidate. It looked like a 1985 rear wheel would do the job.

The stock rear brake on the CRF230 is small and on the wimpy side.	In addition to a small brake, the spokes are very thin and require constant tightening.	Remove the brake rod and screw the nut back on so you don’t lose it.
Loosen the axle and remove the nut	The axle can now be removed	Here’s the rear wheel removed.
Keith Lynas puts a measuring tool on the stock rear axle.	Eye-balling the CR500 and the CRF230 rear wheel showed some close results.	The sprockets on the two rear wheels appeared close. Nice legs.
Here’s the CR500 rear wheel in all its glory.
On the scales, both wheels weighed the same: 28.9 pounds with axles.	We checked the bolt holes on the 230 sprocket.	The CR500 rear sprocket bolts were removed.
		CR500 rear sprocket removed. It was a heavy piece of steel.

Comparing the CRF230 rear wheel to the CR500 rear wheel started looking better all the time. The axle was thicker, but the sprocket mounting holes looked to be about the same. Could we be lucky in that department?

Next, the CRF230 sprocket bolts were removed.	CRF230 sprocket removed from the hub.	Yes! The sprocket holes lined up perfectly.
The CRF230 Sidewinder sprocket got bolted home. It weighed half as much as the 50 tooth steel CR500 sprocket.	We slipped the smaller ID 230 axle into the 500 rear wheel to get an idea of the fit. Looks good so far.	Another view of the CR500 wheel in the swingarm.
The slots in the swingarm need to be made bigger to fit the larger CR500 axle.	The stock CR500 axle won’t go through the slots.	Here are the dimensions of the stock CR500 axle.
Compare that to the much smaller CRF230 axle.	Transcribe the measurements to the swingarm.	Here’s what the new slot has to be.
Carefully mark the slot on the lower edge.	The tiring way; using a round file will take a long time.	We used a porting took to make short work of the metal removal. You could use a Dremel tool, or even get by with a drill and a carbide cutting tip. Black tape was used to assure a straight edge.
We tried a variety of cutting tips, but finished off with a flat cutter.	A good look at the taped slot.	The axle will now slide into the enlarged slot.
Now the CR500 rear wheel can be slipped into place.
We rotated the rear brake arm to a vertical position.	The stock 230 brake rod fit right into the rear brake setup.	Axle holes in the stock 230 wheel adjusters are too small for the new (larger) axle.
Here’s the actual size the axle adjuster hole must be.	A 13/16 th inch drill bit is the correct size to drill the axle adjuster holes.	To keep the axle adjusters from spinning while you’re drilling, we used some wood screws in a block of 4 x 4.
Axle adjusters with the proper sized (larger) hole.	You’ll need a spacer to go between the swingarm and the new CR500 hub. We found a steering head piece exactly the correct width: .295 in. You can make your own.	Here’s where the spacer goes. This centers the wheel and lines the rear sprocket up correctly.

The wheels were taken back to the shop and work started. Enlarging the slots in the swingarm was simple enough, and making the axle adjusters fit was easy. A spacer was required on the hub to get things lined up. Good luck followed us when the sprocket mounting holes proved to be identical. The Sidewinder sprocket on our 230 rear wheel bolted right on and weighed about half as much as the CR500 sprocket. Even better was the fact that the spokes on the CR500 wheel were a bunch thicker that the thin items on the 230.

You’ll find that the rear axle is now too long. Exactly 1 ½ inches must be cut off.	Make the first cut right next to the nutted (non-threaded) end of the axle.	The cut should be as close to the axle end as possible.
The second cut should be 1 ½ inches from the first cut.	Axle with all the cuts made. Note the 1 ½ inch piece.	Bevel grind the end of the axle to assure good welding penetration.
I used a Sharpie pen in the axle holes to line everything up before welding.	The shortened axle gets welded up.	Axle is ready to go. Make sure the area that’s welded is smooth.
The axle can now be slipped in. Make sure the newly modified axle adjusters are in place.	Brake return spring can disconnected.	Let the brake return spring hang.
Remove the cotter pin that holds the rear brake assembly in place.	Cotter pin removed.	You’ll have to wiggle a large flat-bladed screwdriver to get the brake assembly loose.
Brake assembly free.	Measure the new brake stay arm. Your measurement must go from the center of the brake assembly to the center of the rear hub backing plate, with the stay arm pointed straight down.	I used a piece of square tubing and cut it to length.
The brake stay arm was 20 inches long.	Using a simple vice and heavy hammer, both ends of the square tubing were flattened.	A grinder smoothed out the flattened ends of the arm.
Completed brake stay arm.	A hole should be drilled in the back of the arm.	Drilled hole should be square to the surface.
A 5/16 th inch bolt will be welded on the inside back of the brake assembly.
The bolt (complete with double nut and washer) should held in place perfectly verticle for welding.	Completed weld. Bolt is now part of the assembly. Grind off any excess on the center pivoting area.	Insert the brake assembly.
Brake stay arm is attached to the rear backing plate. Note that the arm must not be squashed tight. The flattened end of the arm must rotate freely.	Front of the brake stay arm is connected to the new bolt on the brake assembly.	Completed and installed brake stay arm.
Brake rod is installed; Note that the brake arm has been moved to above the axle, rather than below it. More on that later.
Completed bike at Keith Lynas’s shop, ready for testing.	Keith double-checked all the fasteners before taking the bike for a test ride.	The CRF230F ready to ride … or so we thought.

Everything was bolted home and taken back to Keith Lynas for his opinion. One short ride on the bike had Keith shaking his head. Our idea of running the brake arm up high was horribly wrong. The original design was not a full floating brake, having a slot in the swingarm lock the backing plate into place. By converting our new setup into a full floater, we ignored the basic concept.

Keith moved the brake arm back to its original position and bent the brake rod for clearance, and gave it another try. Much better. We still had the old shoes in and he felt that new shoes would give us adequate braking. But to make the brakes really good, he said that we should lower the brake pedal, which would lower the brake rod.

Back to the garage.

After a short ride, Keith brought the bike back and told us the bad news; the setup was all wrong. With the brake arm above the centerline of the axle, every time the rear end hit a bump, the backing plate rotated and the brakes stopped working. His comments? “You screwed up.”	Keith put the brake arm back in its original position, then put the brake rod back low.	It was necessary to bend the brake rod the clear the swingram.
Keith took the 230 for another ride and voila, we had rear brakes. He suggested two things: new brake shoes and relocating the rear brake assembly to get the brake rod lower.
We got some new brake shoes from the local dealer. Cost was a bit over 20 bucks.	One of the EBC brake shoes needed a small bit of grinding to fit into the actuating slot. We expected a better fit. Take note EBC.	Remove the rear wheel, brake stay arm and backing plate.
Brake pivot bracket must be cut off.	Bracket is half off at this point.	Completed cut.
Re-position bracket about an inch and a half lower.	Weld the bracket to the frame tube. Refer to the photos for proper position.	Completed welding job. Bracket is now re-positioned and pointing slightly downward.
Give a coat of paint to the bracket and frame tube. We used America’s Finest by Rust-Oleum, part number HD2815 Aluminum. Got it at Home Depot for about three bucks.	Slide the brake assembly back into the bracket.	The brake pedal is now cut as shown. We used a small hand grinder.
Position the cut off piece of the brake lever as shown.	Tack weld the brake lever in place.	When you’re sure it’s the correct position, weld it home. For this, and all our welding, we used a Millermatic 200 MIG.
Remove the brake assembly and properly weld the inside.	Then make sure the outer part of the brake assembly is welded. Wire brush the assembly and paint it.	Put the brake pedal assembly back into place. You’ll see that the brake pedal sticks too far out.
Use a vice (or a press if you have one) to bend the brake pedal to the proper shape.	When you get the brake pedal to the proper shape, re-install it and double check for clearance.	Put the brake arm back in its original position.
Tighten everything back up, making sure that the chain adjusters are right on.	Bolt the brake rod back into place.	Double check the brake pedal for clearance and adjust the brake arm and the brake pedal adjuster to fit your needs.
Finally, we have some serious rear brakes. A short ride brought big smiles to the editor’s face.

The bracket was cut off and re-welded about an inch and a half lower. We installed fresh brake shoes (in the process we found out that the CR500 and CR250 rear wheels took the same part number) and buttoned the whole works up. Wow! We ended up with a great set of brakes. It was a whole lot more work than we expected, but the results were worth it.