removing the front brake shoes from r50/2

this vintage forum looks kind of lonely
but i am sure there is someone out there who has removed the front brake shoes before
i have seen some treads for the /5 but the /2 is slightly different
the end of the cam shaft has a washer type thing mounted to the end of it
i don't want to break anything including me hands and am looking for the trick to get them off easily
thanks

It's been a while since I looked at the drum brakes on my R69S...not sure what the "washer" is. But in removing and reinstalling the shoes, it's easy to do when you think of the "taco". With the shoes in position on the drum, grab the shoes with your fingers and lift or pivot the shoes up and away from the drum backing plate...like you're folding a tortilla into a taco. That reduces the tension in the springs and it's easy to remove the shoes. Installation is the opposite but watch the fingers so the shoes don't snap and pinch your fingers.

The springs are different!

Keep track of your brake springs and make sure you reinstall them in the correct spot. One spring has more coils than the other, I'm not sure which one is which but if they get swtched the front brake loses some of its grab.

Duane shows info on the /2 drum brakes on his website:

https://w6rec.com/2-brakes/