Foot Brake

[Laura-NH]

Anyone else think the foot brake position is lacking? I had to do a quick stop in traffic and almost hit my husband who was in front of me. I missed the brake! Had to hunt for it. It was scary!

I don't usually follow that close unless I want to make a light with him. After that, I made sure my foot knew where the brake was at all times.

I guess a close scare is good in a way, makes you think about it more so it doesn't happen for real.

 

[Magic Man]

Anyone else think the foot brake position is lacking? I had to do a quick stop in traffic and almost hit my husband who was in front of me. I missed the brake! Had to hunt for it. It was scary!

I don't usually follow that close unless I want to make a light with him. After that, I made sure my foot knew where the brake was at all times.

I guess a close scare is good in a way, makes you think about it more so it doesn't happen for real.

I run the extended brake pedal cover on my RT and my SM5 for just that reason.

I too found the stock ones were too inboard to find quickly.

http://www.esicycleproducts.com/spyderbilletpedalcovers.html

MM

 

[Neez]

Anyone else think the foot brake position is lacking? I had to do a quick stop in traffic and almost hit my husband who was in front of me. I missed the brake! Had to hunt for it. It was scary!

I don't usually follow that close unless I want to make a light with him. After that, I made sure my foot knew where the brake was at all times.

I guess a close scare is good in a way, makes you think about it more so it doesn't happen for real.

I extended the brake pedal out 2 and 1/4 inches, till it sits directly under (but not quite touching) the ball of my foot. Just be sure you don't ride the brakes. Best and cheapest mod so far. If you have to twist your leg and "find" the pedal, you're liable to be too late one day!

 

[NancysToy]

I guess I am pretty used to the inboard position. My BMW has a stubby little knob sticking out there, and is really easy to miss, or slip off of during wet weather. Once you are used to that, most everything else is a piece of cake.

 

[ThreeWheels]

I don't really have a problem with the foot brake. Maybe it's my size 12 shoes.
Nevertheless, I still miss a handbrake, and would prefer to use one for slow stops or just scrubbing off a little speed.
Having said that, it's not worth the $1200 or so to have one installed.

 

[TicketBait]

Seems to be right where is should be for me right at the toe area

Hess

I agree, I have had no issues stopping, I have ridden now for just 9 weeks and am
adding the Kewlmetal Hwy boards, for use in a long empty stretch of highway.
I have found that my foot position is extremely comfortable with my back heel resting
on the passenger board and the ball of my foot on the pegs. This old dog didn't have
to learn any new tricks, my right foot has always stopped the vehicles I have been in.
I had no prior motorcycle experience. So no habits to unlearn.

But if you are having difficulty those larger pegs or boards by MagicMan might just do the trick.

 

[Barbwire]

No problems for me and I am a lady as well, size 6 1/2 shoe. The brake is right where I need it. Now on the other hand I have almost hit my husband because of the front wheels sticking out and I think I am still on my 2 wheel HD. I swear I am going to run over his foot one day pulling up next to him.hyea:

 

[M2Wild]

No problems for me and I am a lady as well, size 6 1/2 shoe. The brake is right where I need it. Now on the other hand I have almost hit my husband because of the front wheels sticking out and I think I am still on my 2 wheel HD. I swear I am going to run over his foot one day pulling up next to him.hyea:

Spyder doesn't weigh that much. His toe will be okay. I manhandle my Spyder from time to time shifting around in the garage and have backed my front tire onto my foot pulling it. No biggie.

 

[Dwight]

Maybe not exactly what everyone else is talking about but I do have a question. I had a close encounter with a deer on the way to have my CB and GPS installed. I was instantly grabbing for the front brake while moving my foot to the pedal. Old habits die hard! I was hard on the pedal (it was really close!!) but it seemed to me that I was at my limit of ankle angle (don't know what else to call it) and I wasn't stopping very quick. I probably had 3 or 4 feet distance left when the deer cleared me. In other words I couldn't push the pedal far enough down to get more braking power. First, I'm dissappointed the brakes weren't better sooner, and second I shouldn't have had to push it down that far. I asked the service writer to check things out but after waiting 5 hours for the install I just hopped on the bike and forgot to ask what he found. Any ideas?

Thanks
Dwight

 

[BillGargan]

Love mine right where it is . . .

 

[boborgera]

If you run right over his foot that won't hurt too much, Now if you
stop on his foot, That might :yikes:

 

[Babymoose]

Maybe not exactly what everyone else is talking about but I do have a question. I had a close encounter with a deer on the way to have my CB and GPS installed. I was instantly grabbing for the front brake while moving my foot to the pedal. Old habits die hard! I was hard on the pedal (it was really close!!) but it seemed to me that I was at my limit of ankle angle (don't know what else to call it) and I wasn't stopping very quick. I probably had 3 or 4 feet distance left when the deer cleared me. In other words I couldn't push the pedal far enough down to get more braking power. First, I'm dissappointed the brakes weren't better sooner, and second I shouldn't have had to push it down that far. I asked the service writer to check things out but after waiting 5 hours for the install I just hopped on the bike and forgot to ask what he found. Any ideas?

Thanks
Dwight

Could be some air in your lines. Take the cap off your brake resevoir. Check the fluid level. If necessary top off with DOT 4 brake fluid only. Leave the cap off. Slowly have the brake pedal activated as far as you can. Find someway to keep the pedal activated over nite. Place a piece of paper towel over the resevoir. The next morning slowly release the brake pedal. Put the cap back on the resevoir. Test the pedal to see if it is firmer. Hopefully your workspace is fairly dry (not humid), the paper towel on top of the resevoir should keep moisture contact overnight to a minimum. I use this method on my 2 wheeled bikes all the time and did it on my GS SM5 when I installed the Evoluzione performance clutch slave cylnder. The difference with those was that you could just use a zip tie (or clamp) to keep the clutch/brake lever tied back to the hand grips. Need to find another way to hold down the brake pedal on a Spyder. This procedure first came to my attention on a motorcycle show as a maintenance tip. Hope this helps.

 

[Dwight]

Thanks Babymoose! I've done that a lot on the HD trikes I built. Pushed the pedal down as far as I could then used a commercial black rubber stretch cord to hold it down. Just didn't remember it. Thanks for the reminder!

Dwight

 

[Bootie]

Brakes

I don't really have a problem with the foot brake. Maybe it's my size 12 shoes.
Nevertheless, I still miss a handbrake, and would prefer to use one for slow stops or just scrubbing off a little speed.
Having said that, it's not worth the $1200 or so to have one installed.

You just supported my argument for a hand brake. If you have a foot brake AND a hand brake you have two redundant systems. If you can't find the foot brake, the hand brake is right there. After coming off a BMW, I got used to using the handbrake almost exclusively and I really miss it on my RT.
Note to BRP: We need a handbrake:lecturef_smilie:
The $1250 is kind of pricey but I think it is worth spending for the great increase in rider's safety.

 

[Neez]

You just supported my argument for a hand brake. If you have a foot brake AND a hand brake you have two redundant systems. If you can't find the foot brake, the hand brake is right there. After coming off a BMW, I got used to using the handbrake almost exclusively and I really miss it on my RT.
Note to BRP: We need a handbrake:lecturef_smilie:
The $1250 is kind of pricey but I think it is worth spending for the great increase in rider's safety.

The aftermarket handbrake you refer to isn't really a redundant system, it simply allows you to apply the existing brakes remotely. Never the less, I would love to have it on my SE5 as I believe that, for me, it would shorten reaction time and allow greater freedom of movement for my right leg (highway pegs) and less muscle gramping on long trips.

 

[Babymoose]

Thanks Babymoose! I've done that a lot on the HD trikes I built. Pushed the pedal down as far as I could then used a commercial black rubber stretch cord to hold it down. Just didn't remember it. Thanks for the reminder!

Dwight

So have you got your brake issue resolved yet?

 

[Dwight]

Nope, been busy and haven't had it out. Should be able to check it out this weekend. Gotta work Monday and then I think we're gonna take a ride down along the eastern border of Oklahoma, maybe over into Arkansas. Some roads we aint been on down there so thought we'd check it out. Hoping to have my headsets to install by Tuesday so we may start the ride from KC.(dealer) I did order a set of Elka shocks for the front today. I'm really anxious to get them on and try em out! Still waiting to see what they do for Nancy's Toy to fix his problems.

Dwight

 

[Bootie]

The aftermarket handbrake you refer to isn't really a redundant system, it simply allows you to apply the existing brakes remotely. Never the less, I would love to have it on my SE5 as I believe that, for me, it would shorten reaction time and allow greater freedom of movement for my right leg (highway pegs) and less muscle gramping on long trips.

Yeah, you are kind of right. But let's say that you go to apply your handbrake and you suddenly find that your fingers are missing or otherwise not too functional. You can still apply the foot brake and get stopped. But I agree, if you, say, lose hydraulic fluid, you are SOL.
I just finished the installation of my ISCI handbrake. It takes about 1-day. The instructions are quite good and quite clear with good pics. I must say that it is the best mod I ever did. I use the handbrake 99.9% of the time now (having gotten used to it on my BMW K1200GT). The engineering that ISCI put into the thing is simply exquisite. Now that I have my brake, highway pegs are next and I don't have to worry about how to get my foot off of the pegs and onto the brake. My right hand will have taken care of everything.
Another advantage of the handbrake that I didn't think of is that now you can push the vehicle from either side. You don't have to worry about it getting away from you. I'd say save up your $1250 and get the mod. It's WELL WORTH IT.

Bootie