Newbie mechanical help needed pls !

[Maffoo]

first of all, im surprised there isnt a seperate forum for bike fixit help, or is there, & i just cant see it...

anyway, im getting near the business end of a rebuild of a cb250
i just put the back wheel back on & i was adjusting/fiddling & lo & behold, the rear brakes dont work worth a damn. after taking it apart , i realised something & i need to know if its kosher...

on the rear hub theres the brake lever that attachs to the wire that attachs to the pedal
i realised that by taking that off, & moving it clockwise on the spindle & putting it back on, i would in effect be moving the pads out so that when the lever was attached to the wire the brakes would be partially on, & when the pedal depressed, less travel needed to touch the hub, & voila, better brakes...
what i want to know is this...is this how you adjust the brakes on a bike?, or is it a surefire way to kill myself & i should just get some new pads ?
im a newbie when it comes to bikes so pls, be gentle

[Steam]

im surprised there isnt a seperate forum for bike fixit help, or is there, & i just cant see it...

If you can't find a whole forum labelled "Brakes – Wheels – Tyres" (it's in Maintenance), you shouldn't be touching those brakes.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69
Or maybe I'm being too harsh. My apologies if you feel I am. You obviously know a good amount about bikes already if you're doing a rebuild.

[Ixion]

Uh , if it's a drum brake , you don't have a wire you have a rod or cable. You don't have pads, you have shoes.
Yes, the actuating arm needs to be correctly set on the brake cam spinde splines. But this should not be used in an attempt to compensate for wear on the linings (or the cam for that matter). Replace worn parts .

I would strongly suggest you ask someone knowledgeable to check the machine over before taking it on the road. Incorrect assembly of brake or suspension components can be highly dangerous.

[Wenier]

And if it is a disk brake, apart from needing to bleed it if air is in the system they self adjusted.

When taking wheel on and off on my old zxr i had to pump the brake up first time it was back on to get it to set itself up again.

[slimjim]

brother , don't go pass go, and don't correct $200.00 bucks until, you have listened to above advice, or yup precall the A&E first,

[Roj]

The image is indeed a drum brake, the adjustment process is simple, and I think you have the idea, if you look closley on the housing there should be a wear indicator, check this to make sure the shoes aren't severly worn, the specific forum you want is:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=73

Do you have a manuall for your bike? always helps as they usually describe all the adjustments and how they are done