[T-Squared]

My wife's rear brake pedal on her 1200C is a little too high for her. In order to use it she has to lift her foot off of the peg and step on the lever, instead of just pivoting it over to the left. As far as I can tell there is no adjustment for the pedal height in the manual. Does anyone make an adjustable actuating rod? So far I've had no luck finding one...:huh: I'm thinkin' I may have to fab up my own...

 

[TimNY]

what year 1200 ?

 

[T-Squared]

it's a 2011...

I'm thinking of cutting it, threading the 2 rods, and putting the 2 back together with a coupler and a couple of jam nuts.

 

[heybaylor]

my 91 model has a 10mm jamnut on the brake rod.loosen then adjust to suit..
guess the later models have had a "cost/profit " brake rod..

 

[T-Squared]

Yea heybaylor, I was thinkin' along those same lines!!

 

[brownfoxx1]

can u buy the threaded rod from a another year bike

 

[Icarus_]

My first HD was a 1200 sporty, from what I remember, the rear brake was abysmal. The extra pressure she can gain by lifting her foot off the peg could be an advantage if she needed a good dose of rear brake stopping.

 

[CuMoFo]

Yeah, the earlier sporties were easily adjustable. Big twins with forward controls don't have any adjustment at all. After a while you get used to picking up your foot and stomping it, it makes for kind of a balancing act when you trail brake into a fast corner.

 

[T-Squared]

It was kinda surprising, but it's actually got pretty good rear brakes on it! Unless things really go to hell on me, the mod shouldn't go any higher than a 1.5 or 2 on the "beer rating' scale.....

 

[c133]

Does this help?

 

[T-Squared]

c133, that vid would be perfect....if the bike had an adjustable linkage set-up!!! The author's description of the problem he was having is exactly what's going on with my wife's bike.

 

[The Wizard]

I just bought a 2009 1200 Custom and have the same issue. I have limited ankle movement due to an old injury and if the pedal were down 1" it would be much easier.

 

[nortster]

You can put a tee and needle valve into the front brake line.
It will allow feeding some brake pressure to the rear wheel when applying the front brake.
I used 70%F/30%R on my last build.
Got a bum leg so I don't rely on a rear brake.

Have seen riders use too much rear brake and skid, as I used to when I had only a rear brake on 60's choppers.

Weight transfer to the front makes front brake more efficient, but some rear braking force can stabilize a bike.

Just lookup my idea and find HD offers it on some touring bikes.

 

[jnagel]

I realize this is an older thread, but I had the same problem with my Nightster. I found a site where they make a lot of custom parts for sporties ... www.chainsikle.com ... I was getting some mounts from them and inquired about an adjustable brake linkage. They made up a unit and sure enough, it worked great! The guy who runs Chainsikle is Shane Sorensen - while the site doesn't list the brake linkage (yet), you can email him from the site if you are interested.

I have an image out here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/299700550179603858/

Check it out!