GT750J Front brake rebuild

[A.Holley]

Hi all, been a while since I visited but just bought a new toy and thought I would consult the collective wisdom here.
I managed to pick up a complete GT750 4LS front brake. It needs a full rebuild but the world isn’t perfect.
Unfortunately it needs a full set of brake shoes. Is there anything available aftermarket or am I stuck with NOS Suzuki parts? If they have any left.
Same goes for cables .
Has anyone had original shoes relined ? If so, what type of lining material is suggested , bearing in mind I am located in Australia .
This brake is going to be fitted to my T500, it all ready has a GT750 disc front end on it , but the 4LS just looks sexier.

Andrew Holley
Dubbo
Australia

[jabcb]

The 1972 4LS is popular. Consider yourself lucky if you found a good useable 4LS at a reasonable price.
I bought one as a spare years ago before the prices went crazy. Looks good & works well on my GT380.

I used Vesrah VB-331 shoes in my 4LS.
Purchased via eBay. Are listed as available on Webike: https://japan.webike.net/products/22834011.html

Got the lever assembly, new cables & torque links via eBay.

[Alan H]

Remember if you have a 4ls off a 750, they are wider than a 550 4ls and won't go in the forks without work. What forks do you have in?
I had Ferodo green linings in my original 550J and it would outbrake any disc equipped bike back then. There must be brake reliners in Oz, talk to them and see what they have.

[A.Holley]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Apparently Vesrah do or at least did shoes for these brakes.
Will see if anyone still has them. If not will talk to brake specialists to see if I can get them relined.
My current forks are L model GT 750. Hopefully I can adapt them to take the drum.
Another question. How to refinish drum, polished painted etc.
I am getting drum and brake plates vapour blasted and trying to figure what to do with them.
Always quite liked the gold finish a lot of the classic era bikes used. Any ideas how to achieve it in a durable manner?

Andrew Holley

[jabcb]

Had the GT550 drums vapor blasted & clear coated. Looks quite spiffy.
cafe-GT550_6763 by jabcb, on Flickr

18” rim also adds to the look.
cafe-GT550-0758 by jabcb, on Flickr

Gold drums on a 1920 something-or-other might look good, but I suspect it will just give a GT750J the it-hurts-my-eyes look.

[Alan H]

They look nice ''standard' like these on my 550J. (See 'Yeti' thread....)

wheels.jpg

wheels1.jpg

[A.Holley]

Actually the Vapour blast and clear coat look is pretty good.
I’m not big on mirror polishing , and like easy maintenance .

[jabcb]

Those Excel rims are also clear coated.
New polished stainless steel spokes + stainless steel nipples add to the low-maintenance spiffy look.

[Alan H]

I cheated and had stainless spokes and rims!!

[jabcb]

The aluminum rims are available in wider widths.
Who makes SS rims? Am curious what grade of SS they used because SS can be much harder to work with.

Another spiffy option is shouldered aluminum rims. Also clear coated with SS spokes & nipples.
cafe-T500-1242 by jabcb, on Flickr

[Alan H]

UK made and fitted by a mate 'locally'. I'll make inquiries.

[dollydog]

central wheel do 18" and 19" stainless rims for £110
cheers, dd.

central price list:
https://www.central-wheel.co.uk/pub/med ... e-list.pdf

[jabcb]

Interesting….

More info from CWC: https://www.central-wheel.co.uk/product ... -rims.html

The rims might be from Devon Rim Company. https://www.devonrimcompany.com
Their rims are 304 SS: https://www.devonrimcompany.com/valtru- ... nformation

Also interesting, they have WM1 thru WM3 rims. For their premium wheels, they also have deep-dish rims in 3.5” to 5.5” widths.
https://www.devonrimcompany.com/image/c ... 0SPOKE.pdf

My GT550 & T500 rims are: front WM3 (2.15) x 18, rear WM4 (2.50) x 18

[Alan H]

Normally the front wheels are 19" on Gt550s and T500s, 18" rear.

[jabcb]

Agreed. Fatter modern tires, longer modern shocks & switch to 18” front wheel changes handling a bit.