F3 S Foot brake position.

[F3Spyderman]

I am aware that there has been other threads about the foot brake but here goes with my take on it.

I personally find the foot brake pedal on the F3 S a long way above the footrest. I have both my ankles fused (metal rods inserted) so have very limited ankle movement and have to lift my foot totally up off the footrest to get it onto the brake pedal some 3inches (vertically) above and 3inches (horizontally) in front of the footrest. This is not good for several reasons. It increases the braking reaction time. It causes the rider to be unbalanced when, under braking conditions, balance is needed most. It puts uncomfortable strain on my right thigh muscles (unfortunately weak legs guys) Non of the above are criticisms of my wonderful machine or a whine but I'm just giving the background to my next paragraph. Mind, I do have an hydraulic hand brake mod (at enormous expense) fitted to the bars so safety is not the real issue.

As a result of the above I am thinking of modifying the foot brake lever by cutting it and have a piece welded in so the pedal is angled down and in a much more sensible position and make it a lot easier to access. There are no obstructions in the way so I think this change would be very helpful to me. But before I go ahead I would like to hear any comments, helpful suggestions or advice from forum members. Thanks for reading this far!

 

[cuznjohn]

i don't know how your finances are, but if you look into this hand brake kit, it is pretty easy to install, and i had one on each of the RT'S i owned and i loved them

http://www.isciride.com/product/handbrake-f3/

 

[petegtsv10]

Right after we got my wife's F3, she complained about the pedal position. I simply drilled another hole and it lowered the pedal enough. Do a search of my posts and you'll find pix.

 

[F3Spyderman]

i don't know how your finances are, but if you look into this hand brake kit, it is pretty easy to install, and i had one on each of the RT'S i owned and i loved them

http://www.isciride.com/product/handbrake-f3/

Slight misunderstanding Cuznjohn, if you read my post again you will see I already have this hand brake fitted. Thanks anyway for your link.

 

[Roadster Renovations]

i don't know how your finances are, but if you look into this hand brake kit, it is pretty easy to install, and i had one on each of the RT'S i owned and i loved them

http://www.isciride.com/product/handbrake-f3/

Hey, Cuz, how do they connect to the hydraulic system of the byke?

 

[cuznjohn]

Hey, Cuz, how do they connect to the hydraulic system of the byke?

first let me say i speed read sometimes, so i didn't see you had the hand brake. sorry. and dock, from what i understand you can't tie into the system to get it hydraulic, one of the spyder techs said he could do it, but it sounded easier to buy the system and it installed real easy. i loved it.

 

[H2O]

The easiest method I found for my wife's F3 Ltd. was to cut the brake link rod, which is actually a small diameter pipe. It has 1/4" ID. After getting the pedal height where she was comfortable and ensuring she would not run out of brake throw for an emergency stop, I inserted a 1/4" solid steel rod into the ID of the brake link and welded the joint. I believe I removed almost an inch of the brake link rod. Just for further info, she has driver floorboards and everything is set as far back as the Ufit system allows.

H2O

 

[Habib]

I am aware that there has been other threads about the foot brake but here goes with my take on it.

I personally find the foot brake pedal on the F3 S a long way above the footrest. I have both my ankles fused (metal rods inserted) so have very limited ankle movement and have to lift my foot totally up off the footrest to get it onto the brake pedal some 3inches (vertically) above and 3inches (horizontally) in front of the footrest. This is not good for several reasons. It increases the braking reaction time. It causes the rider to be unbalanced when, under braking conditions, balance is needed most. It puts uncomfortable strain on my right thigh muscles (unfortunately weak legs guys) Non of the above are criticisms of my wonderful machine or a whine but I'm just giving the background to my next paragraph. Mind, I do have an hydraulic hand brake mod (at enormous expense) fitted to the bars so safety is not the real issue.

As a result of the above I am thinking of modifying the foot brake lever by cutting it and have a piece welded in so the pedal is angled down and in a much more sensible position and make it a lot easier to access. There are no obstructions in the way so I think this change would be very helpful to me. But before I go ahead I would like to hear any comments, helpful suggestions or advice from forum members. Thanks for reading this far!

I got a 3' section of replacement rod (same size as stock) from www.mcmaster.com part number 89955K779 for $30.00 or you can get 12" of it for $13.00 and shipping.
I just made a new longer rod, had the ends threaded and found rod ends for it in McMaster Carr. No welding just a new solid one piece length rod. That along with the hand brake conversion gives my ruined right ankle the help it needs. Did it to both my older RS and my new F3S

 

[Bob Denman]

I got a 3' section of replacement rod (same size as stock) from www.mcmaster.com part number 89955K779 for $30.00 or you can get 12" of it for $13.00 and shipping.
I just made a new longer rod, had the ends threaded and found rod ends for it in McMaster Carr. No welding just a new solid one piece length rod. That along with the hand brake conversion gives my ruined right ankle the help it needs. Did it to both my older RS and my new F3S

That's how you do it!! :clap::clap::bowdown::bowdown::firstplace::firstplace::firstplace: :2thumbs:

 

[F3Spyderman]

Right after we got my wife's F3, she complained about the pedal position. I simply drilled another hole and it lowered the pedal enough. Do a search of my posts and you'll find pix.

Had a look through your posts and found the one I think you were referring to where you re-drilled the brake connecting rod. The pix seem to have disappeared. Anyway it aint quite that simple because of the way the handbrake hydraulic cylinder is attached to the rod. See next post.

 

[F3Spyderman]

Hey, Cuz, how do they connect to the hydraulic system of the byke?

Yes it is the way the hydraulic cylinder is incorporated into the rod/brake lever is where the difficulty arises so a simple solution like shortening the operating rod, by what ever means, as mentioned in earlier posts is not feasible.

I have had a closer look at it and the difficulties are mounting up. It is going to be quite difficult to de-assemble in the first place to work on it because of the way it was assembled by the in the first place. It was obviously assembled in a particular order and unless I can work out what that was I am unable to dismantle it to work on it as one part is preventing dis-assembly of another. Also it is made more difficult by the fact that someone has used the wrong tools to do up the bolts in the first place so the keyways are on the verge of stripping. This is often the problem when 'Torex' and 'Hex' are used on the same machine!

Think I will have to ask my supplier for a copy of the original fitting instructions for the hand brake assembly. Thanks to all who have contributed to this tread so far.

 

[Bob Denman]

Get yourself a shop manual: that'll outline the process for you! :thumbup:

 

[F3Spyderman]

Get yourself a shop manual: that'll outline the process for you! :thumbup:

Have already looked at the installation instructions on the ISCI site but they only have instructions for the RS and RT, none for the F3 S which is quite a different arrangement.

Have emailed them for a copy but don't think the email went out, seems their email contact page does not work!! No actual email address displayed.

 

[cuznjohn]

Have already looked at the installation instructions on the ISCI site but they only have instructions for the RS and RT, none for the F3 S which is quite a different arrangement.

Have emailed them for a copy but don't think the email went out, seems their email contact page does not work!! No actual email address displayed.

give them a call on monday, they are great people and very helpful