RIVCO RT Highway Peg Mount Set - Review

[robmorg]

I mounted my RIVCO Highway Pegs (and brackets) today. Since there have been a lot of questions about highway pegs on the forum recently, I thought I'd take the time to write up a review of the RIVCO mounts, so that folks looking at these could have more information with which to assess them.

I purchased the RIVCO Black Highway Peg Mount Set (CAOO4-RTB) made specifically for the 2013 and newer RT with factory floor boards. I ordered the black powder coated brackets and pegs, because I thought they would look best with my Spyder, but these also come in chrome as well. Note that these are intended only for BRP factory floorboards, as the mounting brackets are cut to exactly match the forward outside curve of the factory boards.

The mount kit does not come with the pegs themselves - so you have to buy a set of pegs as well. The brackets will fit, without any modification, any highway pegs that mount in a 3/8" hole, which includes all RIVCO pegs, as well as many others. I purchased the RIVCO Anti-vibration pegs, also in the powder coated black color (PEGSBK). I purchased the mounting kit and the pegs from Value Accessories. (Both Value Accessories and RIVCO are currently forum sponsors.

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QUALITY, FIT, and INSTALLATION:

Both the mounting kit and the pegs are rugged and very high quality. The mounts are bolted to the underside of the floor boards with hefty 3/8" bolts, washers, lock-washers, and lock nuts. They are extremely rigid when mounted, and the bolts fit nicely below the rubber pads on the boards. As stated above, the brackets are made to exactly align with the outside curve of the factory floor board bases. You cannot see the mounting plates when the job is done, except for the very edge of them. The kit provides a cut-out template that you lay out on the top of the floor board bases, and it tells you exactly where to center-punch marks for drilling. You don't even need to measure. Next you screw on the extender brackets to the mounts, using sturdy 1/2" machine bolts, washers, lock-washers, and a star-washers. That combination makes their position easy to adjust and holds them firmly in place when tightened. RIVCO says that these can mount in a variety of positions, but really the only position that makes sense is to point the extenders forward over top of the black plastic splash guards that are mounted on the RT in front of the floor boards. I tightened mine in a position about an inch above those plastic splash guards, so as to leave some room for the right break-away floor board to drop, in the event of hard braking in an emergency. (More on that later.) Then the pegs simply mount to the upper hole in the extension brackets. The entire installation procedure is extremely easy, and well documented with instructions. Here is a link to the installation instructions on RIVCO's web site.

Here are some pictures of the new highway pegs on my 2013 Spyder RT Limited, showing the pegs in both the extended and upright positions...






PROS and CONS:

First the "PRO's"

• VERY well made with sturdy, rugged, and attractive components.
• They come in both powder-coated black and chrome to suite your taste.
• Can use with a variety of highway pegs.
• Easy and quick installation - no measurements necessary.
• With these brackets in place, you can still remove the maintenance access panels located beside them.
• The brackets place your highway pegs in a comfortable position close to the sides of the Spyder. Your legs are not spread out any further than necessary.

Now the "CON's"

• I thought just a little more length on the extension brackets would be helpful, so as to allow you to stretch your legs out just a little more. (I have long legs.)
• If your Spyder spews a lot of heat out through the side vents (i.e. the 2013 RT), your ankles are directly in the path of the heat. (A good pair of riding boots may overcome this problem.)
• The right bracket will come to rest on the plastic splash guard, in the event that the break-away floor board drops in an emergency braking application. HOWEVER, this may NOT be the problem that it may appear to be at first glance. Remember that in an emergency stop, you will be stomping on the brake pedal - NOT the floor board itself. So while the break-away floor board would normally fall about three inches, the brake pedal will likely only need another 3/4 of an inch or so at the most. So, if you mount the bracket an inch above the plastic splash guard, there will be very little pressure exerted on the guard as the peg bracket falls on it. Therefore damage to the splash guard should be extremely minimal, if any at all. (See picture below.)

Here is a picture of the right bracket resting on the top of the plastic splash guard on my Spyder, with the break-away floor board deployed....



With the floor board dropped to where the highway peg bracket rests on the top of the splash guard, note how much additional room there is available for brake pedal travel. (See the "CON's" section immediately above.) I am not personally concerned about this, because on my Spyder, while I can manually trip the break-away board by reaching underneath and tripping the lever that rests on the brake pedal arm, I CANNOT deploy the board by stomping on the brake pedal no matter how hard I stomp on it. (Perhaps if I were very low on brake fluid, or if there were air in the lines stomping on the pedal would deploy the break-away board.) Your experience in this area may vary, however, see the note under "CON's" above with respect to likely damage to the splash guard in the event of emergency braking.

COMFORT WHILE RIDING:

I did take a test ride with my new highway pegs after the installation was complete. I was surprised to note that the riding position with my legs extended to the pegs was not as comfortable as I expected it to be. But that is probably just me. I am not personally used to riding with highway pegs, so it may take me a bit of time to find them more comfortable. I won't be using these while "riding around town", but I do believe that I will welcome the opportunity to stretch my legs from time to time while on a long highway trip. For those who are used to riding with highway pegs, I suspect that these will be very comfortable, as the position of the brackets will bring your feet closer to the Spyder than some other peg brackets currently on the market. Also, your heel can lightly rest on the top of the splash guard without exerting undue pressure on it.

That's it for this review. I hope some find it to be helpful.