Rear brakes are DONE

The rear brake has been successfully dismantled, inspected, and reassembled.  It was actually a lot easier than I expected, and didn't actually take very long at all.  Maybe a couple hours, most of which was spent referring to the manual.

The end result was not, though, the installation of a new set of brake shoes.  The whole process was a little strange, and I really wish I'd taken photos before I started, because I no longer remember what the indicator looked like before I started.  In any case, the old shoes turned out to actually be thicker than the new ones (0.183" vs 0.158"), and the service limit is 0.08".  So either set would have been fine, and I just tucked the new set back in their box.  I may very well need them eventually.

After reassembly the indicator gauge correctly shows that the shoes are essentially unused, and I should be able to get the bike inspected in the next week or so, if the weather clears up.  As to reassembly... putting the wheel back on sucked.  Trying, with only two hands, to hold up the wheel, push the axle through from the left, and line up all the pieces on the right, just isn't possible.  I eventually managed to wedge my foot under the wheel to keep it at the right height, but it still wasn't very pleasant.  I also learned that on this particular bike, there's about a centimeter between the tire and the chain guard on the left, and between the tire and the torque arm on the right, maybe less.  I can't help feeling like the original tire may have been a touch narrower, because that seems like a poor design choice...  Anyway, it's assembled and working now.

I also charged up the battery on both bikes (CM450C and Rebel 250).  Both were low enough that I suspect damage has been done, but they should hold for a while.  The CM450 started right up, which pleased me.  A second or two of cranking, and it fired and kept running.  I had to tweak the idle a bit, but I had to do that summer before last when it got cold, so it wasn't much of a surprise.  I have decided I ought to buy a notebook dedicated to tracking repairs and modifications... that way when I go looking for how thick the shoes were when I measured them, I'll be able to find out.  I'll have to remember to go get a notebook in the next few days.