DLS drum brake front ends and swapping between makes

I've never used a dls brake worth a crap. I'm sure they work well when set up right. They look cool.

If you've never used a DLS that's worth a crap, then you ridden a bike with it set-up correctly.........and it's so simple and easy to do. It works!

I agree with you. They have always been other people's bikes. I can't stand bikes with shitty controls.

In my search for a way to stop, I went through three brands DLS brakes on my Fox Forx'd RM/XR hybrids.

Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha.

The Yamaha DLS was the best of these.

With all I'd arc'd the shoes to the drums, after having machined the drums to actually being round and true.

All were set up properly. I'd grown up setting up my Dad's and Uncles Fontana (?) and other 4 (and more) leading shoe Road Race drum brakes, so I knew how to make them work as intended.

As a rough indication, you'd know you had the DLS set up well, when you stalled / stopped on a fearful climb, and you started to roll backwards, no matter how hard you pulled on the lever That's a (tiny) bit of an exaggeration, but, not too far off reality........

I ended up putting on a Brembo Disc Brake, from parts from the Cagiva WMX500 Enduro kits left over at Ducati OZ, where I worked at the time. I made up a Caliper carrier much like a rear one, to do so. The Tiny , twin opposed piston caliper visibly, and measurably flexed outwards over 1mm, when applied, but it was marginally better than all of the DLS's, and, at least kept working in the wet. I finally got the bloody thing working very, very well, by fitting a Brembo Goldline rear caliper, which, when 'Ducatisti' spotted it, they'd tend to tear up at the thought that such a thing was on a 'Chook Chaser', the wankers.