F3 brake link rod mod

[H2O]

Disclaimer: These are not instructions to perform your own modification; if you do it in spite of this caution, I will not be held responsible if something bad happens.

My wife recently became the proud owner of her own Spyder, an F3 Ltd. For her to be comfortable, the floorboards are back in the number 1 position but the shortest brake link rod causes the brake pedal to be very high and uncomfortable to use. I looked at other solutions and decided to cut the rod, shorten it and weld it together.

The rod is actually a tube 1/2" OD and 1/4" ID. After cutting it in two pieces, I used various thicknesses of wood blocks to experiment with a comfortable pedal height. We found 1-3/4" between the bottom of the brake pedal and the top surface of the floorboard to be the best for her. That equated to cutting approximately 1" out of the brake link. I cut a piece of 1/4" steel rod slightly shorter than the remaining length of the brake link and inserted it into both pieces of the brake link. I could now temporarily reinstall the link on the Spyder so she could test for "panic stop" full depression of the pedal to ensure she did not run out of brake pedal throw (this was done while sitting in the garage, not on the road). I ground a bevel on each cut end of the link and used some "T" shaped steel pieces to keep the clevises aligned. The 1/4" rod inserted in the ID maintained linear alignment. I used my TIG welder to make the full penetration weld, ground the weld bead flush with the OD of the link, and sprayed it with gloss black.

My wife is now very comfortable with the brake pedal position and that's what matters!

H2O

[hypurone]

Cool! There is an adjuster at the MC pushrod to do this. Tho it may not have the full range you needed. But nice to know for fine tuning purposes....

[Ron2andia]

[Highwayman2013]

Great solution. It would be nice if you could use threaded rod inside the tube so you could fine tune it.

[H2O]

I looked at using the adjustment rod but after reviewing the shop manual, it appeared that adjustment was intended to be a fixed distance, and if I remember correctly, there was a special tool/gauge used to set that distance. Needless to say, I decided not to mess with that.

Sorry, I did not photograph the process.

I also considered threading the ID of the tube and using a threaded rod on the ID, but was concerned the small diameter may bend. There is also the possibility of threading the OD of the tube and using a long coupling nut, or if you want to get fancy, thread one side with left-hand threads and use a turnbuckle body.

Using some type of threaded connection for fine-tuning seemed to be a worthwhile goal, but we spent at least an hour with the blocks of wood and her pivoting her foot over to the brake pedal to ensure she was comfortable and had plenty of throw, when needed. I guess we did the fine-tuning on the "front end" of the modification process so I'm very confident in making it permanent by welding the joint.

H2O

[breezy auz]

As a new Owner of a F3 T Limited I found the pedal height with floor boards and wearing stiff boots dangerous. My initial mod was shorten the rod by 1/2 inch but the pedal was still a bit high. Problem is if the rod is too short the pedal can lock up. Better solution has been modifying the pedal itself by moving the hole across the bottom of the bar. That also involved a bit of welding to change the shape of the bottom of the pedal. The height of the pedal is now just over 2 inches.

[Lastchance]

Cool! There is an adjuster at the MC pushrod to do this. Tho it may not have the full range you needed. But nice to know for fine tuning purposes....

That adjuster will make the pedal go down farther before the brakes start to work but the return spring will bring the pedal back to the same place you started at.

[Habib]

As an FYI McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com has the proper 1/2" OD X .260 ID 4130 rod (PN 89955K779 36"@ $27.00) and all the threaded rod ends you pick what size and thread you need. I got two that are 5/16" fine threads. I'm building a custom rod for my bad ankle. When I received the rod ends I noticed they were made by QA1 (www.qa1.net). They are another great source for bearings and rod ends.

[nealperkins]

As an FYI McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com has the proper 1/2" OD X .260 ID 4130 rod (PN 89955K779 36"@ $27.00) and all the threaded rod ends you pick what size and thread you need. I got two that are 5/16" fine threads. I'm building a custom rod for my bad ankle. When I received the rod ends I noticed they were made by QA1 (www.qa1.net). They are another great source for bearings and rod ends.

Ditto the bad ankle and I really need this solution. When you finish your project would you update me with directions (mechanically challenged...in addition to the bad ankle...life..) ?? Thanks so much!

[AY4B]

For what these Spyders cost, there should be a button to electrically move the brake peddle for 2 different riders.

[pauly1]

Be careful when doing your brake rod mods: shortening the rod changes the arc of the brake actuation vs displacement of the master brake plunger. If you're going through the effort of cutting and welding, moving the pedal placement won't mess with the geometry of the rod. (I made a tandem brake setup in the #1 and #4 position, modifying the #1 as just stated.)

Wayne

[Lamonster]

Be careful when doing your brake rod mods: shortening the rod changes the arc of the brake actuation vs displacement of the master brake plunger. If you're going through the effort of cutting and welding, moving the pedal placement won't mess with the geometry of the rod. (I made a tandem brake setup in the #1 and #4 position, modifying the #1 as just stated.)

Wayne

I have rods out there since 2015 with no issues. What did you do different to yours?

[Cycletlh]

The clevis has a post that sticks into the rod. If you cut only the rod with a skinny wheel right by the original weld you can leave the post. Then grind the old weld away before inserting the shortened rod and re-welding.

[Roadster Renovations]

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