Converted Transcontinental Brake Pedal

[jtalka]

Yesterday, I swapped the brake pedal on my TC for the BMW version which comes on I guess the Standard model; the one with foot pegs. I bought that pedal from the dealer and tackled the project yesterday. The Standard pedal is slightly different than the TC pedal and required a spacer/washer to get proper alignment. Other than that, it was. pretty straight forward. Road tested the bike afterwards, works like a champ an much easier to get at....

 

[BigFoot@3]

Yesterday, I swapped the brake pedal on my TC for the BMW version which comes on I guess the Standard model; the one with foot pegs. I bought that pedal from the dealer and tackled the project yesterday. The Standard pedal is slightly different than the TC pedal and required a spacer/washer to get proper alignment. Other than that, it was. pretty straight forward. Road tested the bike afterwards, works like a champ an much easier to get at....View attachment 9932

I was thinking that this would be easier to work with my big foot(size15 ) I will try to order the same thing

 

[Ronj]

Do you happen to have a picture of the original brake lever (pedal) ? I have a Bagger and the pedal seems to be further under the cylinder head making my size 13 boot hard to find at times. I too wonder if you’ve got the answer to that !

 

[jtalka]

You have on your Bagger what I had on my TC. From what I was able to find out, BMW only makes two versions of the brake pedal so it is not different TC to Bagger.. My shoe is only 9 1/2 but I had the same problem trying to find the pedal, my foot needed to be turned. As I have said before, I think that set up is dangerous, one should not have to hunt a brake pedal.. Getting the peg version, it had to come from Germany and there were not many available so I waited a bit. Installation was pretty easy. Because they mount to different brackets I had to put a spacer (washer) in there to get the proper alignment. Unfortunately because of the way they are built you can't just swap the peg/pedal parts.

 

[Ronj]

Sorry, I should have attached a couple pictures of my own. Now that I look at the last picture showing my boot covering the pedal, I wonder if my issue is that I have to press the front of my foot far down to feel like the brake is helping me stop. I wonder if it can be adjusted upwards a bit to help me feel like it bites more without pushing it down too far. It also may be just me getting used to a bike that I’ve only had for a couple weeks !!

 

[insomnia]

Sorry, I should have attached a couple pictures of my own. Now that I look at the last picture showing my boot covering the pedal, I wonder if my issue is that I have to press the front of my foot far down to feel like the brake is helping me stop. I wonder if it can be adjusted upwards a bit to help me feel like it bites more without pushing it down too far. It also may be just me getting used to a bike that I’ve only had for a couple weeks !!

I have the bagger too and the brake pedal was awkward at first, but I find myself adapting quite well - I guess my muscle memory gets better with the practise. Still learning to use the heel shifter, I'm almost forced to use it cause I can hardly reach under the toe shifter.

I'd like to ask you how you like those BMW boots. Are they cool for hot days (they seem perforated for breathing)? Waterproof? Comfortable to walk around in? Anything negative?

 

[Ronj]

Boots - I like the them. This is my third season and I find them very comfortable. They are waterproof, but I could see how some may find them a bit hot. They’ve also held up as I use them exclusively. Negative - like most things BMW - they are not cheap !! But maybe you get what you pay for !!

Heel Toe shifter - I like it !! I’ve had some previous experience 3 bikes ago and found my way back to it easily. I have ordered an extension for the heel side from Wunderlich though.

Hope you done mind me switching topics on you !!

Wind Protection - I have the stock short windscreen and find I feel the wind both on my helmet and torso. I ordered some lower wind protection from overseas, but they don’t fit very well. I’m kinda not surprised. Have you done anything with respect to wind protection ?

 

[insomnia]

Thanks for the "boots review". I think they look very nice and seem comfortable.

Wind Protection - I have the stock short windscreen and find I feel the wind both on my helmet and torso. I ordered some lower wind protection from overseas, but they don’t fit very well. I’m kinda not surprised. Have you done anything with respect to wind protection ?

I have the same low screen and wind is directed right at my neck and helmet. I haven't done anything about it yet, but I will sure have to before I take any longer trip. What holds me back is that I like the clean look of the bagger, if I add stuff it takes some of that elegancy away. Just my personal opinion. But I'll probably end up putting a larger screen on, at least for longer trips, and perhaps those winglets from the TC since they're getting rave reviews here on the forum, but they don't fit 100% on the bagger and cost $400... Some members have made custom solutions of winglets and lowers. There's a lot of threads on the topic, here's some:

https://www.r18forums.com/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-r18-today.97/post-30701
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/buffeting-beatdown.2022/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/transcontinental-wind-deflectors-on-bagger.1384/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/bagger-owners-the-winglets-work.1905/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/fabricated-some-winglets.2156/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/transcontinental-wind-buffeting-from-windscreen-cures.1694/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/wind-deflectors-on-tc.1680/
https://www.r18forums.com/threads/i...but-i-dont-want-to-do-any-modifications.1836/

 

[Ronj]

Thank you so much for your thoughts and all the links. You certainly went above and beyond. I share your opinion regarding the looks with the smaller screen. Thanks again. Enjoy your bike and ride safe.

 

[BMWBob]

Yesterday, I swapped the brake pedal on my TC for the BMW version which comes on I guess the Standard model; the one with foot pegs. I bought that pedal from the dealer and tackled the project yesterday. The Standard pedal is slightly different than the TC pedal and required a spacer/washer to get proper alignment. Other than that, it was. pretty straight forward. Road tested the bike afterwards, works like a champ an much easier to get at....View attachment 9932

Hi - I have the same issue with the brake pedal on my TC. Any info on the spacer and washer used? Appears that you would need to pull the floor board and mounting screws for the brake assembly to get this done? Correct? I have ordered the same brake lever through Max - 3-4 weeks from Germany.

Thanks in advance!
Bob

 

[jtalka]

Hi - I have the same issue with the brake pedal on my TC. Any info on the spacer and washer used? Appears that you would need to pull the floor board and mounting screws for the brake assembly to get this done? Correct? I have ordered the same brake lever through Max - 3-4 weeks from Germany.

Thanks in advance!
Bob

Hi Bob;

It has been a while since I made this swap but as I recall, I did not remove the floor board. As far as a spacer/washer goes, I just rummaged around my jar of washers and found one to fit the job. When you have the new pedal and remove the old one, you will see the difference in the way the "shoulders" are made, without the washer/spaced, the new one will go in too far. The washer causes the new pedal to be just a tad further from the mount and gives the clearance needed for the assembly to work properly.

These are the only pictures I kept; the old pedal with the thin washer and the new assembly with the thicker washer which you can see sticking out a bit in front of the spring.

Hope this helps,

Joel