Paraplegic new F3-S owner, hi from the U.K

[Rollin sean]

Hi all, it's been nearly 5 years since my motorcycle accident that left T11 complete para and just got my first spyder F3-S... Took me this long to persuade my wife to let me have one!
just wanted to say hi and say how much I'm loving my new ride. Just fantastic to be back on the road
Having never rode a spyder before I had hopefully expectations and wasn't sure how comfortable and stable I would feel but I shouldn't of worried as it feels excellent.
The dealer fitted an ISCI hand brake adaptation and foot boards however the braking performance with the hand brake is extremely disappointing, a car braked unexpectedly in front of me today and I thought I wasn't going to stop in time. I've adjusted the brake lever span adjuster out as far as I can although I do have fairly small hands but the lever came back to the bars. I've lost a lot of confidence in the ability to be able to stop in an emergency which is a real shame.
ive read on here that this is a known issue now but any suggestions on improving the braking?
cheers
sean

 

[Chupaca]

Well....

I have seen only one other but home made. Attaching a lever to the foot brake which is much more effective than the hand brake system from isci. It does require some skill but this guy had no problem. He was happy using the hand brake around town and just casual ryding but used the lever when in doubt.. isci is the only one out there at the moment and the system does lack...But congrats on getting the OK to get back out there....:2thumbs: I know this is most pleasing and I have no doubt you will find a way to overcome this bump in the road....hyea:

 

[4 MARIE]

Welcome to OUR 3 wheel world.
I have read somewhere that the "bleeding drill"
for the handbrake slave and master cylinder is
pretty specific, and you might want installer to try again.
Lever certainly shouldn't come back all the way to the grip. and good luck.

 

[Netminder]

Welcome. Happy (S)miles!

 

[PrairieSpyder]

:welcome:

 

[Ron2andia]

:congrats::welcome:

 

[Bfromla]

:congrats::welcome:

Welcome to OUR 3 wheel world.
I have read somewhere that the "bleeding drill"
for the handbrake slave and master cylinder is
pretty specific, and you might want installer to try again.
Lever certainly shouldn't come back all the way to the grip. and good luck.

this sounds quite accurate, have you contacted ISCI?:dontknow: See if they have a recommendation?:2thumbs:

 

[DJFaninTN]

welcome and hope you get your brake issue figured out

 

[Mike Ard]

I too have the ISCI hand brake but did add the Baja Ron fully sintered brake pads. It takes about 200 miles to brake the new pads but once seated they do a great job of stopping the F3. Ron also recommends the rotors as well but was out of stock when I ordered mine. As I said the new pads are far superior to the stock pads for stopping power.

 

[gkamer]

Welcome

​Welcome to the forum cousin. There is a ton of great info available here and a bunch of truly knowledgeable and helpful folks who hang out here.

 

[blitzkreig]

Bleed your brakes mate. You shouldn't be able to squeeze the lever until it reaches the handlebar.

 

[eddieshep999]

Nice to see another new Spyder owner in the UK - Check out the ukspyderweb.com website and the ukspyderweb facebook page

Hope to see you sometime at a UK Spyder meet

 

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: and :congrats:

Another vote for the "brake bleed."

 

[HayRog]

Congratulations at being able to get out there with the wind in your face again :thumbup:

 

[Alwaysonwheels]

Hi all, it's been nearly 5 years since my motorcycle accident that left T11 complete para and just got my first spyder F3-S... Took me this long to persuade my wife to let me have one!
just wanted to say hi and say how much I'm loving my new ride. Just fantastic to be back on the road
Having never rode a spyder before I had hopefully expectations and wasn't sure how comfortable and stable I would feel but I shouldn't of worried as it feels excellent.
The dealer fitted an ISCI hand brake adaptation and foot boards however the braking performance with the hand brake is extremely disappointing, a car braked unexpectedly in front of me today and I thought I wasn't going to stop in time. I've adjusted the brake lever span adjuster out as far as I can although I do have fairly small hands but the lever came back to the bars. I've lost a lot of confidence in the ability to be able to stop in an emergency which is a real shame.
ive read on here that this is a known issue now but any suggestions on improving the braking?
cheers
sean

I have the ISCI on my STS and it is almost too stiff and will almost send me over the bars if I hit it without being ready. I appreciate the freedom as I am a T5 Incomplete. You may not have the brake adjusted correctly down below. I installed mine so I became very familiar with how they work. It is a good product and just needs the proper adjustment providing the brakes are good on the F# itself.

That said I did have to have the brake booster that comes with the ISCI kit replaced at about 3 months of age. No problems since.

Tim

 

[redrt]

Glad it worked out, I have heard a lot of people having problems with the hand brake. As my right leg gets worse I have looked at making
a hand brake off the foot brake, like the old farm tractors had, so I have the option when my leg won't move. With a longer leaver it would
give me more stopping power. Jim

 

[Spyder_Cowgirl]

Bracket -- Along with Brake Bleed

I am in the process of looking for a thread where someone fashioned a "missing" bracket for the ISCI unit that eliminates "flex" in the mechanics. I know he made one for himself and also one other rider (Kawakii) -- I believe both riders are also enabled.

Will update once I find the thread (if I can, it is several years old). And I agree, bleed the brakes .... it is not easy on the ISCI unit, but once done properly, the hand brake works well.


FOUND IT -- here's a link to the thread: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...sing-handbrake-bracket&highlight=ISCI+bracket

Regards ..... Ann

 

[Alwaysonwheels]

Ann is on the mark they may not be bled properly. It is a dirty rotten #$%^%^ to get it done and was exhausting to squeeze it as as needed.

Just gotta do it.

 

[Mike Ard]

Yes it important to properly bleed the hand brake system both at the master cylinder on the handle bars and the slave cylinder that attaches to the clevis. It is also recommended that the brakes be re-bled after riding a few hundred miles to get any stray air bubbles out of the system.

i found that the system works ok and stops pretty well but after installing the fully sintered brake pads that Baja Ron sells and getting them broke in my F3 can stop on a dime.

 

[Rollin sean]

Yes it important to properly bleed the hand brake system both at the master cylinder on the handle bars and the slave cylinder that attaches to the clevis. It is also recommended that the brakes be re-bled after riding a few hundred miles to get any stray air bubbles out of the system.

i found that the system works ok and stops pretty well but after installing the fully sintered brake pads that Baja Ron sells and getting them broke in my F3 can stop on a dime.

Thanks for for the tip. I've just got some EBC HH sintered pads ready to install so hopefully I'll notice a difference once they've bedded in.