Ok...last thing. After posting this morning I went back out to the bike and read up on the band brake and was able to adjust it to where it worked fairly well surprisingly so. Because of the kludge or bodge involved getting the gears to work the rear wheel is offset slightly to the left so calliper brakes would be very difficult to adjust.

Next, I read up about tightening up the frame. And while the latching mechanism has the classic loose pin syndrome, Simply tightening the latch itself a little more than I thought thought necessary seems to have stiffened up the frame considerably.

So now, I believe I am finished with the bike and if I really get an urge for a small 16 inch folder may buy something used but more modern... Although this original dahon fold and mast assembly really folds down small. Especially with the 2 stage seat post.