yesterday i was thinking, and thinking costs me money

[cuznjohn]

i stopped by the dealer yesterday and i took care of the salesman for finding me a buyer so quick, he was surprised at me giving him something. now on my old bike i had the hand brake that i installed and enjoyed. i would love to put one on the new bike but being i am licking my wounds over the money loss of selling the old and buying the new, i am going to try and get used to the bike with the foot brake only.

i have limited upward movement in my right ankle due to braking it and dislocating it and spinning it 180 degrees years ago so the hand brake was the answer for me. i have been thinking about a idea i have about the foot brake and yesterday i went to the dealer to look at the floorboard on the 14 rt

i took a quick measurement from the top of the board to the top of the foot brake pedal. it is apox. 3 inches. than using a piece of paper i mane a tracing of the rubber foot pad insert on the floor board. now i want to find a metal prefab shop because i want to have 3 pieces of aluminum flat stock cut for me in the shape of half of the rubber insert from behind the brake pedal to the rear of the floor board, i want two pieces at 1 inch thick and 1 piece at 1/2 inch thick. i do have downward movement of my ankle so i am thinking of building up a plate for the rear of the floorboard so i can sit the heel of my foot on it and rotate my foot to the brake pedal and press downward to apply the brake. i will also cut the rubber insert so the flat stock fits right into the area that the insert does.

so this is my idea so i could save some time and money instead of installing another hand brake. what are your thoughts and do you think it will work. tomorrow i will start looking for a fabricator and the pieces of flat stock will be fastened together by drilling and tapping them from their underside and i can either go with the 2 inch or 2 1/2 inch heights depending of how they feel under my foot.

 

[cuznjohn]

no thoughts people

i stopped by the dealer yesterday and i took care of the salesman for finding me a buyer so quick, he was surprised at me giving him something. now on my old bike i had the hand brake that i installed and enjoyed. i would love to put one on the new bike but being i am licking my wounds over the money loss of selling the old and buying the new, i am going to try and get used to the bike with the foot brake only.

i have limited upward movement in my right ankle due to braking it and dislocating it and spinning it 180 degrees years ago so the hand brake was the answer for me. i have been thinking about a idea i have about the foot brake and yesterday i went to the dealer to look at the floorboard on the 14 rt

i took a quick measurement from the top of the board to the top of the foot brake pedal. it is apox. 3 inches. than using a piece of paper i mane a tracing of the rubber foot pad insert on the floor board. now i want to find a metal prefab shop because i want to have 3 pieces of aluminum flat stock cut for me in the shape of half of the rubber insert from behind the brake pedal to the rear of the floor board, i want two pieces at 1 inch thick and 1 piece at 1/2 inch thick. i do have downward movement of my ankle so i am thinking of building up a plate for the rear of the floorboard so i can sit the heel of my foot on it and rotate my foot to the brake pedal and press downward to apply the brake. i will also cut the rubber insert so the flat stock fits right into the area that the insert does.

so this is my idea so i could save some time and money instead of installing another hand brake. what are your thoughts and do you think it will work. tomorrow i will start looking for a fabricator and the pieces of flat stock will be fastened together by drilling and tapping them from their underside and i can either go with the 2 inch or 2 1/2 inch heights depending of how they feel under my foot.

no one has any thoughts on my idea, i am looking fr any ideas

 

[MouthPiece]

Your idea COULD (not saying it would) effect the emergency release on the floorboard. What I mean by that is when you "stomp down hard enough on your brake", the floorboard will collapse so as to allow you more braking force and power.

Just keep that in mind with your new idea.

Chris

 

[cuznjohn]

Your idea COULD (not saying it would) effect the emergency release on the floorboard. What I mean by that is when you "stomp down hard enough on your brake", the floorboard will collapse so as to allow you more braking force and power.

Just keep that in mind with your new idea.

Chris

ok i didn't think of that but the brake pedal will have nothing under it, the platform i am planing on building starts behind the pedal still allowing the pedal to go all the way down to the board. is there a video anywhere showing this floorboard release

 

[JKMSPYDER]

Would it have made sense to keep the hand brake from your '13 to install on your '14?

 

[cuznjohn]

Would it have made sense to keep the hand brake from your '13 to install on your '14?

YES but when the guy saw the bike with it on he wanted it in the sale, so just to off the bike fast i agreed,

 

[Chupaca]

Just a thought..!!

the problem with these machines and the brakes is if you rest your foot on the pedal the nanny kicks in with a brake failure message. I have a similar problem having damaged the nerves through thr L5 vertabrate so upper motion is non exsistant but down pressure is good. So heres what can help for the moment, putting a stronger return spring could let you rest your foot on the pedal. I don't have floorboards so have extended the pedal giving me larger surface area makingit easier to hit the brakes...:dontknow: will try it out myself once I see the return spring set up...:thumbup:

 

[cuznjohn]

the problem with these machines and the brakes is if you rest your foot on the pedal the nanny kicks in with a brake failure message. I have a similar problem having damaged the nerves through thr L5 vertabrate so upper motion is non exsistant but down pressure is good. So heres what can help for the moment, putting a stronger return spring could let you rest your foot on the pedal. I don't have floorboards so have extended the pedal giving me larger surface area makingit easier to hit the brakes...:dontknow: View attachment 88517 will try it out myself once I see the return spring set up...:thumbup:

the problem i have with the floorboards is lifting the ball of my foot to hit the brake, so my thought are if my heel is higher than my toes i can move my ankle to a normal position and use downward force using the pedal

 

[Bob Denman]

John,
I really hate to be the bear who poos in your front yard... :shocked:
Having your foot up on this platform; will it make it difficult for you to get full braking force applied to the pedal?
Will it limit your foot's travel in any way? :dontknow:

 

[paulbrinker]

Cost

no one has any thoughts on my idea, i am looking fr any ideas

The money it will cost to have these plates made and the rubber pad could cost as much as a hand brake assembly.

 

[r1100rider]

The money it will cost to have these plates made and the rubber pad could cost as much as a hand brake assembly.

That's what I was thinking also custom fab won't be cheep if you do it your self wouldn't be much , I built the nexus hand brake my self since I had 2 spyders it took some time and tweeking but they work very well and I had about 300 in parts for 2 brakes plus about 15 hours

 

[cuznjohn]

as far as cost goes, the hand brake is 1100 plus so if i spent a few hundred on prefabbing this thought and if one of our site sponsors was to think the finished product was worth making them for others and could bring the price down, i would be willing to let them have the idea for free

 

[Lin]

So it sounds like you are just creating an additional "heel" for the back of you foot to rest on. If your not sure of the final thickness, have it fabricated in layers. The fabricator can probably cut several 1" and 1/2" pieces to stack up and bolt down in whatever combination you need. I hope it works for you!

 

[PrairieSpyder]

Good luck. I hope you'll post pics when you get it made.

 

[cuznjohn]

So it sounds like you are just creating an additional "heel" for the back of you foot to rest on. If your not sure of the final thickness, have it fabricated in layers. The fabricator can probably cut several 1" and 1/2" pieces to stack up and bolt down in whatever combination you need. I hope it works for you!

that is my plan exactly and i plan on screwing them together from the bottom side of them with drill and tapping them

 

[Cruzr Joe]

John

Spend the money and get the handbrake, :thumbup: you won't be satisfied with a contraption brake system. The whole purpose of getting a new bike is to be happy. And as much as i did not want to say this..... You are a pain in the *** to make happy :yikes:. That was not meant in a derogatory way, :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack: but with your medical issues why not fix it the way you need it so you can be content and safe. :thumbup:

Cruzr Joe

 

[cuznjohn]

John

Spend the money and get the handbrake, :thumbup: you won't be satisfied with a contraption brake system. The whole purpose of getting a new bike is to be happy. And as much as i did not want to say this..... You are a pain in the *** to make happy :yikes:. That was not meant in a derogatory way, :roflblack::roflblack::roflblack: but with your medical issues why not fix it the way you need it so you can be content and safe. :thumbup:

Cruzr Joe

trust me i am a bigger pain than you can imagine, and you are right, i should just get the handbrake and install it on the new bike, i would love to find a shop that will install it for me, i asked my dealer if they would and they said NO.

 

[ARtraveler]

I am going to recommend you try the new 2014 before you make any modifications.

I was also a bit skeptical about the tilt on the floorboards. For me, the angle has worked out perfectly. 180# and 5' 5". I did add my extended brake pedal cover to give a bigger area to the brake. So far, so good.

 

[cuznjohn]

I am going to recommend you try the new 2014 before you make any modifications.

I was also a bit skeptical about the tilt on the floorboards. For me, the angle has worked out perfectly. 180# and 5' 5". I did add my extended brake pedal cover to give a bigger area to the brake. So far, so good.

i ordered the extended pedal already

 

[Tango]

Right now I am using a piece of 1" thick hard foam as an added heel rest on the floorboard. :hun: It seems to be working for me. :clap: I may go to a piece of 2X4 instead as the foam has started to compress some. I have it taped with carpet tape so it can be removed easily. :thumbup: Tom :trike: