Parking brake removal

[bjt]

Has anyone here removed or modified their parking brake mechanism on the side of the tire? I never use the parking brake and my new HMF muffler hits on the mechanism when I ride over bumps. I have a spacer in the hanger that's mounted to the passenger peg but it still hits and I'm not sure I want to force the hanger / muffler out any farther. I am thinking about just cutting off the top of the actuator where the parking brake cable attaches. That'll give me about 3/4" more clearance but removing the actuator and the bracket entirely would give me all the clearance I need.

:chat:

 

[wyliec]

Has anyone here removed or modified their parking brake mechanism on the side of the tire? I never use the parking brake and my new HMF muffler hits on the mechanism when I ride over bumps. I have a spacer in the hanger that's mounted to the passenger peg but it still hits and I'm not sure I want to force the hanger / muffler out any farther. I am thinking about just cutting off the top of the actuator where the parking brake cable attaches. That'll give me about 3/4" more clearance but removing the actuator and the bracket entirely would give me all the clearance I need.

:chat:

I know when you get your car inspected (NYS) the emergency brake must work; not sure if the same applies to the spyder. Of course I have no idea what your law is in your state.

 

[bjt]

I know when you get your car inspected (NYS) the emergency brake must work; not sure if the same applies to the spyder. Of course I have no idea what your law is in your state.

No vehicle inspections in Michigan.

 

[Roger]

Brian I know i had to add an i-1/2 spacer and it was fine. I then had the brp givi racks on the bike which lowered the mounting hole for the muffler. Now that i removed all that i use the original mounting hole and it clears everything. i am waiting for the plx 770 racks i ordered from twisted throttle and i don't think i will have any problems but i will let you know.

 

[SpyderWolf]

I know Firefly had the same issue due to his Givi bags on the Spyder. Brian, do you also have those bags? If so I am sure he can tell you what to do to get the clearance you need.

Best of luck with your new HMF, I hope it works out well for you. :thumbup:

 

[bjt]

I know Firefly had the same issue due to his Givi bags on the Spyder. Brian, do you also have those bags? If so I am sure he can tell you what to do to get the clearance you need.

Best of luck with your new HMF, I hope it works out well for you. :thumbup:

I don't have any saddle bags on my Spyder. He did mention that a spacer was needed for clearance and I may just put a bigger spacer in there but the 3/4" spacer I already have is putting some stress on the exhaust right now. If I double it, I'm concerned with how that stress will affect the entire exhaust system and I also worry about the weight of the muffler and road bumps stressing a 2 or 3 inch long bolt. :sour:

 

[SpyderWolf]

I don't have any saddle bags on my Spyder. He did mention that a spacer was needed for clearance and I may just put a bigger spacer in there but the 3/4" spacer I already have is putting some stress on the exhaust right now. If I double it, I'm concerned with how that stress will affect the entire exhaust system and I also worry about the weight of the muffler and road bumps stressing a 2 or 3 inch long bolt. :sour:

I understand your concern, and would be worried about the same thing if it were me. I guess this is what he meant when he said HMF should have added an extra inch or so to the 90 on the pipe. I wonder if there is any way you could possibly bend that pipe a little without causing any harm?

 

[Firefly]

Here's my pics:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22853&highlight=carbon

All I did was loosen the clamp, pull the pipe out and put in the gray PVC spacer. No problems yet.

I'm sure you could have a muffler shop bend that 90 out a bit for you.

As far as removing the rear parking brake-- I looked into this and played around with it. It could be done, but my concern was the unit vibrating and thus tightening and applying brake pressure.

I would take that lever and attach it at a different angle -- then hook a spring on it to make sure you keep it in the totally OFF position.

I have mine backed all the way off so it can't work - never used the stupid thing anyway - no need for it on SM model.

 

[Roger]

Heres how i fixed it for good today you need a 2-1/2 in bolt 3/8 and a flatwasher and locknut. Take the band off the muffler and turn it around insert the bolt all the way thru then the flat washer and the nut their is a lot of clearance and it won't hit.

 

[SpyderWolf]

Heres how i fixed it for good today you need a 2-1/2 in bolt 3/8 and a flatwasher and locknut. Take the band off the muffler and turn it around insert the bolt all the way thru then the flat washer and the nut their is a lot of clearance and it won't hit.

:2thumbs: Looks good to me Roger.

 

[bjt]

Here's my pics:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22853&highlight=carbon

All I did was loosen the clamp, pull the pipe out and put in the gray PVC spacer. No problems yet.

I'm sure you could have a muffler shop bend that 90 out a bit for you.

As far as removing the rear parking brake-- I looked into this and played around with it. It could be done, but my concern was the unit vibrating and thus tightening and applying brake pressure.

I would take that lever and attach it at a different angle -- then hook a spring on it to make sure you keep it in the totally OFF position.

I have mine backed all the way off so it can't work - never used the stupid thing anyway - no need for it on SM model.

Heres how i fixed it for good today you need a 2-1/2 in bolt 3/8 and a flatwasher and locknut. Take the band off the muffler and turn it around insert the bolt all the way thru then the flat washer and the nut their is a lot of clearance and it won't hit.

Thanks for these tips. I'm just going to make a spacer to force the hanger out farther just like you guys did. I have some small diameter stainless pipe that I'll cut a chunk from to make this happen.

Dan, did you ever contact HMF about your issues with the muffler hitting the parking brake assembly like you stated in your thread? If so, what was their response, if any?

 

[M2Wild]

I know when you get your car inspected (NYS) the emergency brake must work; not sure if the same applies to the spyder. Of course I have no idea what your law is in your state.

Just tell them the Spyder requires a motorcycle license to drive it and if they ever see an e-break on a two wheeler.

 

[bjt]

Well I wasn't happy with the longer spacer so I took off the parking brake mechanism. I have an idea for attaching the lever again but not having it connected to the parking brake cable. Hopefully I'll get what I need for that this weekend. I will say that I can't tell any difference in braking without it hooked up and activating the brakes turns the coarse brake adjuster out instead of in so there should be no issues of brake dragging even without anything put back on there.

However, after all this, I'm still not 100% happy with how the HMF fits the Spyder. :sour:

 

[bjt]

Going on a week without the parking brake installed and I haven't had any issues (no brakes dragging, locking up, increased brake pedal travel, etc.). I did get a parking brake actuator lever lock made and I'll be installing it (and posting pictures for those interested) tomorrow. The lever lock will allow me to hold the coarse brake adjustment lever in a fixed position but at a much lower angle than the lever was at with the parking brake cable connected.

 

[Firefly]

Going on a week without the parking brake installed and I haven't had any issues (no brakes dragging, locking up, increased brake pedal travel, etc.). I did get a parking brake actuator lever lock made and I'll be installing it (and posting pictures for those interested) tomorrow. The lever lock will allow me to hold the coarse brake adjustment lever in a fixed position but at a much lower angle than the lever was at with the parking brake cable connected.

:thumbup:
I'll be interested to see what you did. My concern was even a little drag on the pads could prematurely wear them out. Fortunately that lever can be repositioned at a much lower--- even horizontal angle. I was just gonna hook a spring system on it holding it 'open' all the time.

Did you remove the cables and pedal too?

 

[bjt]

:thumbup:
I'll be interested to see what you did. My concern was even a little drag on the pads could prematurely wear them out. Fortunately that lever can be repositioned at a much lower--- even horizontal angle. I was just gonna hook a spring system on it holding it 'open' all the time.

Did you remove the cables and pedal too?

I think what I have will work really well and it's really simple if you have access to a mill. I could see about getting one for you if you like it or it could probably be made with hand tools.

I did remove the cable but left the pedal as I didn't feel like messing with the switch on the parking brake pedal. There is a spring on that pedal that keeps it raised.

 

[Roger]

Here is what i did to fix the problem for good and all the brakes are in tack.
take the strap off the HMF exhaust and turn it around you will need a longer bolt i think i got a 2-1/2 inch 3/8th slidebolt thru the strap then the stock hole in the bike the strap should be on the outside of the bike then a flat washer then a nylon nut. Thats it it clears everything no problem.

 

[bjt]

Here is what i did to fix the problem for good and all the brakes are in tack.
take the strap off the HMF exhaust and turn it around you will need a longer bolt i think i got a 2-1/2 inch 3/8th slidebolt thru the strap then the stock hole in the bike the strap should be on the outside of the bike then a flat washer then a nylon nut. Thats it it clears everything no problem.

Your strap must be different than mine. Mine is set up to hang over the center of the muffler so turning it around makes no difference. Also, that strap is of such a thin gauge metal that it tends to flex the top tab if there is any pressure on it (like from sticking a spacer between the exhaust strap and the passenger footpeg exhaust mounting hole). Even if the strap was offset and made out of a thicker metal, trying to force the HMF out to clear the parking brake mechanism puts more stress on the Spyder's collector pipe than I'm comfortable with.

 

[bjt]

Here is the bracket I had made. Its ¹⁄₄" flat stock, 2" wide by 2³⁄₄" long with a ⁷⁄₈" wide by ⁷⁄₈" deep slot cut into the parking brake lever side. It has the same mounting hole layout as the stock parking brake bracket. That slot could be shallower if you wanted to leave the coarse adjustment lever set all the way out. ⁷⁄₈" to 1" deep allows you to still remove the lever occasionally and adjust the coarse adjustment lever in if you wanted.

One pic of my bracket alongside the stock bracket.

A few pics of it installed on the rear brake.

Brake with new bracket installed on the Spyder.

Here is the comparison photos between how the coarse adjustment lever and bracket fit with the parking brake connected and how it looks with my bracket.

After I had this installed, I tried basically jumping up and down on the rear of my Spyder and I couldn't feel or hear anything that suggests my HMF is hitting on the brake mechanism now. I do not have any spacers between the mounting strap and the passenger footpeg mounting hole.

 

[Firefly]

Well done BJT :thumbup: