2014 Spyder RTL Right floorboard doesn't release & drop down - ideas why not?

[SirRonny]

I am relatively new to Spyders, having just sold my BMW and moving to this RT. I see people talking about the right floorboard dropping when brake is pushed hard. You can stand on mine and it will never go down, no matter how hard you push the brake or stand on the front of the floorboard. The only way I can release it is to reach under it and release the latch holding it. Is there something I am missing? Is there something that is supposed to release the latch that may be missing? I glanced under it without jacking it up and didn't see anything. If this has been asked already, pardon me for asking again, but all the searches I have done on the forum doesn't address this. Thanks in advance.

Ron

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I am relatively new to Spyders, having just sold my BMW and moving to this RT. I see people talking about the right floorboard dropping when brake is pushed hard. You can stand on mine and it will never go down, no matter how hard you push the brake or stand on the front of the floorboard. The only way I can release it is to reach under it and release the latch holding it. Is there something I am missing? Is there something that is supposed to release the latch that may be missing? I glanced under it without jacking it up and didn't see anything. If this has been asked already, pardon me for asking again, but all the searches I have done on the forum doesn't address this. Thanks in advance.

Ron

I have a 14 RT also - my understanding of how the brake works is that there is normal braking and there is "balls to the wall Braking" .... in the latter mode, the floorboard is supposed to tip downwards to allow Maximum braking effort. My RT is the BASIC model, so it has pegs, and there isn't any Floorboard involved ..... Mike

[Peter Aawen]

I am relatively new to Spyders, having just sold my BMW and moving to this RT. I see people talking about the right floorboard dropping when brake is pushed hard. You can stand on mine and it will never go down, no matter how hard you push the brake or stand on the front of the floorboard. The only way I can release it is to reach under it and release the latch holding it. Is there something I am missing? Is there something that is supposed to release the latch that may be missing? I glanced under it without jacking it up and didn't see anything. If this has been asked already, pardon me for asking again, but all the searches I have done on the forum doesn't address this. Thanks in advance.

Ron

Yep!! You certainly ARE missing something And it's all in these bits:

..... You can stand on mine and it will never go down, no matter how hard you push the brake or stand on the front of the floorboard. The only way....

It's REALLY not anything as gentle as just 'pushing the brake' or 'standing hard' on anything!

And it's not the FLOORBOARD you need to absofreakinlutely STOMP on and STAY HARD ON until you're completely stopped, hitting it as tho you're trying to jam it immediately and decisively ram it all the way thru to China as if your life depends on it popping out in the middle of Tianamen Square -

it's the BRAKE Pedal!!

It's meant to help/work better for those Emergency Stops where nothing else matters but STOPPING - RIGHT NOW!!

This 'Drop Away Floorboard' feature is intended to let you REALLY ACTIVATE every last molecule of braking power out of the system, and when you do REALLY STOMP ON THE PEDAL, the Electronic Braking System (EBS); the Vehicle Stability System (VSS); and the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) will all work together to eke that last erg of braking energy out of your Spyders' 'really pretty fantastic for the size of the vehicle' Brembo braking system, but only if you STOMP THE ABSOLUTE BEJEESUS OUT OF THAT PEDAL!!

Only do be warned, the Brembo brakes on these things REALLY WORK when you do that and the floorboard DOES drop away to let the brake pedal go down even further than you think it possibly can go under all the 'less than last ditch, save your arse by any means' braking that you've probably tried so far, and when you do get this Emergency Braking thing right, the floorboard WILL drop away and you REALLY WILL STOP!!

I've been paid to test brakes and tires and all sorts of other things on many bikes, cars, and trucks over the last few decades, including testing the extreme limits of many and varied vehicles & their braking capability.... so I thought I was ready for some pretty good braking when I first went out to test the Emergency Braking on my own Spyder (then new); and I was braced; I supposedly 'knew' what to expect; and I still damn near smashed my front teeth out when I hit them on the top edge of the windscreen, AFTER it'd gone thru and shattered the faceplate of my full face Shoei GT-Air helmet on the windshield's top edge - all because I simply wasn't braced ANYWHERE NEAR well enough for a full on Emergency Stop on a Spyder RT!! - I kid you not! .

When I mashed that brake pedal while travelling at 50 mph (yeah, I was waaaayyy over-confident about my ability & skills! ) the Spyder simply STOPPED - in a very short space of time, very little distance, and once the footplate dropped away under the pedal that I'd mashed thru the floor, the Spyder stopped MUCH quicker & harder than anything I'd ever experienced before and much better than I'd expected &/or was prepared for!! So I almost went over the handlebars, only I was stopped by smashing my helmet faceplate and then (almost) shattering my front teeth on the top of the RT's lowered windscreen!! My front teeth ached for a couple of months afterwards, and while the X-rays showed they weren't cracked or shattered, despite the way they felt, my Dentist was still somewhat concerned that I may have damaged them/hit them hard enough that they'd still die! Luckily, they didn't!

So, I'd suggest that you get out there and find yourself a quiet, straight stretch of road with little traffic; make sure there's no-one coming either way toward you; get your Spyder up to saaayyy, 20 mph to start with; brace yourself; and then practice stomping that Brake PEDAL right thru the floor & tarmac on down to China while you're doing an Emergency Stop!!

Only as & when you're comfortable with how quickly the Spyder can/will stop from 20 mph once that floorboard drops away & you finally get the full braking effort applied, should you then start working your way up in speed and trying another Emergency Stop from a faster pace - stepping up in say, 5 to 10 mph increments from that 20mph starting speed; only don't do it all at once & cook your brakes! Take your time; do a few Emergency Stops a day; get used to the Emergency Braking and stopping at each speed/level; and then slowly & carefully work your way up in speed before trying an Emergency Stop at the next speed/level... And you should really work your way on up in speed until you've tried this Emergency Braking thing from your 'usual high speed travel rate' - if that's 80 mph, then you NEED to work your way up to doing at least one Emergency Braking Stop (or 6!) from 80 mph. Then once you've done that, it still might be smart to practice doing them every month or so (I still do, in every vehicle I own &/or drive, some decades down track! ) - maybe not always from 80 mph or faster, and maybe only one or two Emergency Stops at a time, but practice does make perfect; and if you haven't ever done it before until you really NEED to do it to save your arse or avoid killing someone else, only to find that it doesn't work quite the way you think it should/expected it to; or worse, you do what many do and get OFF the pedal because 'it didn't 'feel' right', thereby totally negating the capability of the Spyder to save your arse/stop you from killing someone when it really needs to; and you might've just killed yourself... or someone else!!

[racoon]

The "get up to speed and then stomp hard on the brake pedal" was one of the exercises in the MSF 3-Wheel Basic Rider course I took.

There were two cones set wide enough apart that the Ryker I was riding would easily pass between them, and then a line of cones a short distance away.
The goal was to accelerate in a straight line to a certain speed, then hit the brakes when you passed between the first two cones, and stop before running into the line of cones.

I think the first time I hit the brakes too soon, and the next two tries I hit the line of cones, so the instructor had to reset them.

The fourth time I finally got it right and stopped before hitting the cones.

The instructor then came over to where I was stopped, and talked me through what the exercise taught me about emergency braking.

[SirRonny]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Coming off 2 wheels and going to the RT is a whole new world to me. My speedbleeders came in yesterday and I will install them tonight so I can flush the brake system and I am ASSUMING, that when I do and the brake pedal hits the floorboard, the floorboard will drop. If not, I will try what others have said and go out and stomp the brakes hard to see if it drops and how the braking is. Like I said, all new to me and am trying to learn this thing before taking a longer trip with it. Thanks again everyone!

[Peter Aawen]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Coming off 2 wheels and going to the RT is a whole new world to me. My speedbleeders came in yesterday and I will install them tonight so I can flush the brake system and I am ASSUMING, that when I do and the brake pedal hits the floorboard, the floorboard will drop. If not, I will try what others have said and go out and stomp the brakes hard to see if it drops and how the braking is. Like I said, all new to me and am trying to learn this thing before taking a longer trip with it. Thanks again everyone!

The brake pedal shouldn't ever hit the floorboard; the board is meant to drop out of the way before it gets to that - but you do need a real stomp!!

'Normal' braking, even if it develops/progresses into really hard braking, isn't meant to make the floorboard drop; it's those 'full on, balls to the wall, 'panic stop' type 'STOMPS' that are meant to do it!

Except that I've been told by more than one person from BRP (& a few here on the Forum too! ) that I'm not meant to call them 'panic' stops, cos you aren't meant to 'panic' at all!

Apparently, once you know how well the Brembo Brakes on the 2013 & newer Spyders can actually work, you should be able to execute a perfectly controlled 'Emergency Braking' manoeuvre &/or 'Emergency Stop' without any sign of panic! (And if you brace yourself properly before said manoeuvre, you should be able to do it without losing your front teeth &/or helmet visor either! )

Just Sayin'

[SirRonny]

Thanks to all of that that responded. I installed the speedbleeders tonight, installed the new EBC HH brake pads and bled the system. As soon as I started to bleed the system and the brake pedal went all the way down, the floorboard dropped. So, you all were right and I appreciate the responses. Now on the the next adventure!

Ron

[JayBros]

Now that you have the EBC pads you need to bed them in. That means you are going to have to make a successive series, 3 - 4 panic slowdowns from 60 mph to 20 or so stomping the brake pedal as hard as you can; do NOT come to a full stop. You will probably feel the ABS pulsate but the floorboard will not drop down because you have a brake system full of fluid. After you've made the panic slowdowns ride 5 or more miles to allow the rotors to cool.

[SirRonny]

Now that you have the EBC pads you need to bed them in. That means you are going to have to make a successive series, 3 - 4 panic slowdowns from 60 mph to 20 or so stomping the brake pedal as hard as you can; do NOT come to a full stop. You will probably feel the ABS pulsate but the floorboard will not drop down because you have a brake system full of fluid. After you've made the panic slowdowns ride 5 or more miles to allow the rotors to cool.

I will do it. Thanks for the info and I am looking forward to seeing how these pads work on the RT. Always used them on the 2 wheelers I had and loved them.

[f110tech]

Now that you have the EBC pads you need to bed them in.

I always bed in premium pads no matter what vehicle I install them on. A lot of people skip this step, but it really does make a difference. Stops them from being 'grabby' or producing hot spots. I always get strange looks if someone is in the distance behind me and I perform a bedding in stop with hazards on...Then I usually have to go into the breakdown lane and let them pass before trying to proceed. I try to avoid 'rush hour' when doing this procedure.