I decided I really want to lean into the pseudo-retro look for the Benelli/ATC250R. That means wire wheels and drum brakes. So the 19″ cast Virago wheel goes back in the parts vault. However, I also determined that the Yamaha YZ/IT 130mm front drum that I have, even in its venerated twin-leading-shoe iteration, has no business on a street bike — at least not on anything weighing much more than 200 pounds.
So I decided on a more reasonable 160mm diameter drum from a late-’60s Bridgestone 175/200. It’s a twin-leading-shoe setup and it utilizes the simpler bolt-on torque strap arrangement, rather than a slot that has to engage with a cast-in tab on the fork leg. I hope to keep the finished bike well under the ≈275 lb. dry weight of the Bridgestone 175/200, so this should look appropriate and not be too deadly to actually ride.
I bought both a complete wheel minus the brake panel plus a separate hub and brake off Ebay for a combined cost of $85 shipped. Unfortunately, the brake panel is seized in the hub, and quite tightly at that; soaking the whole thing in Evapo-Rust overnight didn’t have much effect. Since there is no purchase available to drive it out, I need to come up with some sort of expansion or quill-style tension bolt that will fit down the center axle hole and wedge into place.
