Few TC specific Qs...

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CaptJim

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- It seems to hard to find the rear brake pedal and especially harder to press it down effectively. Once I manage to do that it feels so mushy and not efficient enough. Is there a way to extend the brake pedal or re-align that so while my foot in the middle of the footrest at its natural position I'll be able to press it downwards just by tilting my ankle towards forward?

- Does heel toe extenders works for those of you who are new to the use of the heel/toe shifter like myself?

- Does anti-vibration stuff comes with the Quad-lock or similar phone/GPS attachments work since handlebars shake much more than any other bike I've ever ridden in my 48 yrs of riding?
 
IMHO The stock TC rear brake pedal is a poor design. I needed to turn my foot and look for it when I wanted to use it. What I wound up doing was to get the brake pedal from the standard (not sure what it is called) model and swap out the stock TC one. The replacement is longer and easier to find and apply even with floor boards. Like all BMW stuff, they ain't cheap. The swap out does not take long but you will need a spacer (fat washer) to make it align properly. The other option I toyed with was to replace the floor boards with foot pegs but to do that it looks like you need to get the mounts to the frame as well which means it will be more expensive and a more involved swap...

As far as shaking goes, I have nothing to offer you there. Personally I don't mind it...it is part of the character of the beast...
 
It took me all of two rides on my R18 B to totally fall in love with the use of the toe-heel shifter; note, this is after coming off of my 2008 GS Adventure with 96k+ miles on the odometer.

I find myself using the R18 foot brake pedal less and less; where, I 100% ride with my middle finger over the front brake lever, pointer finger making contact with the lever's fulcrum point (old BMX habit) and rely solely on the distributed ABS brake system to the front and rear wheels for all of my braking functions. I have a much faster braking reaction time, with the built in memory function of using my finger vs my foot.
 
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CaptJim said:
- It seems to hard to find the rear brake pedal and especially harder to press it down effectively. Once I manage to do that it feels so mushy and not efficient enough. Is there a way to extend the brake pedal or re-align that so while my foot in the middle of the footrest at its natural position I'll be able to press it downwards just by tilting my ankle towards forward?

- Does heel toe extenders works for those of you who are new to the use of the heel/toe shifter like myself?

- Does anti-vibration stuff comes with the Quad-lock or similar phone/GPS attachments work since handlebars shake much more than any other bike I've ever ridden in my 48 yrs of riding?
Click to expand...

I found it difficult to use the rear brake effectively as well. I had to put my foot in an awkward angle, pointed inwards like riding standing on an ADV bike. It works on an ADV bike but on the R18, because of the reach and the floorboard I couldn't change the angle, forwards/backwards, which made it a huge chore to get my foot in position to actuate the rear brake. As for the mushiness... I remember practicing slow speed maneuvers and kept triggering the rear brake over heat message with what I thought was light pressure. Oh, it was nearly impossible to actuate and modulate while in full lock turns, both directions, with my handlebar reach being short as well, had to shift my butt to the high side of the turn which also moved my foot position. Did I get used to it?... Marginally? I know that I ended up using the rear brake far less than I would on my GSA or any other bike.
In case it helps, I now own a Road Glide Special. For comparison, The rear brake pedal is in a much better position to actuate but I find it very stiff to use. I'm still getting used to it as it's a new bike and in all fairness because the Road Glide is so well balanced I find it unnecessary most of the time to use the rear brake to help do full lock turns and slow maneuvers so that's a plus.

Heel/Toe shifter was a first time new feature on the TC for me as well. I tried it for a while but ended up just using it like a normal shifter. Never ended up liking heel shifting.

I used Quad-Lock with both my Samsung S20 and several Pixel phones on my R18 and the R18 TC. Never had an issue. In fact I never had a phone camera fail on me. Always used Quadlock products or the BMW Cradle. On the R18/TC, the whole phone seems to move more in a macro sense compared to on other bikes but the mount does a good job at getting rid of small/micro vibrations in my experience.
 
Scott Semone said:
It took me all of two rides on my R18 B to totally fall in love with the use of the toe-heel shifter; note, this is after coming off of my 2008 GS Adventure with 96k+ miles on the odometer.

I find myself using the R18 foot brake pedal less and less; where, I 100% ride with my middle finger over the front brake lever, pointer finger making contact with the lever's fulcrum point (old BMX habit) and rely solely on the distributed ABS brake system to the front and rear wheels for all of my braking functions. I have a much faster braking reaction time, with the built in memory function of using my finger vs my foot.
Click to expand...
I was paying more attention to my finger placement this morning, on my way into work; I actually rest my middle finger on the brake lever, which is my primary brake on the R18 B - I didn't use the foot brake once during my commute in. Again, I find the distributed braking system from the hand brake to meet my braking needs on this bike.
 
CaptJim said:
- It seems to hard to find the rear brake pedal and especially harder to press it down effectively. Once I manage to do that it feels so mushy and not efficient enough. Is there a way to extend the brake pedal or re-align that so while my foot in the middle of the footrest at its natural position I'll be able to press it downwards just by tilting my ankle towards forward?

- Does heel toe extenders works for those of you who are new to the use of the heel/toe shifter like myself?

- Does anti-vibration stuff comes with the Quad-lock or similar phone/GPS attachments work since handlebars shake much more than any other bike I've ever ridden in my 48 yrs of riding?
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for the responses.

The imperfect position of the rear brake pedal alignment with the board causing me to place my foot and leg in an awkward position that ends up giving me muscle cramping on the top of my right leg between my knee and hip muscle.
I also use one or two finger on the front brake method since years but still on a tight, slow speed turn it feels awkward to play with the front brake for balancing purpose.
Well I'll give it a few more weeks to it but it seems like the rear brake pedal needs some sort of modification or replacement.
 
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CaptJim said:
Thank you for the responses.

The imperfect position of the rear brake pedal alignment with the board causing me to place my foot and leg in an awkward position that ends up giving me muscle cramping on the top of my right leg between my knee and hip muscle.
I also use one or two finger on the front brake method since years but still on a tight, slow speed turn it feels awkward to play with the front brake for balancing purpose.
Well I'll give it a few more weeks to it but it seems like the rear brake pedal needs some sort of modification or replacement.
Click to expand...
This sounds exactly like me. I hope you find a way to modify that pedal to allow full functionality with comfort! Please report back if you do.
 
Has anyone looked at whether or not the diameter of the toe-heel shifter is the same as the foot brake; perhaps a third party shifter could be used as a foot brake lever?

Below is Wunderlich's extended gear shifters:

Screenshot_20230706-155842.png
 
Scott Semone said:
It took me all of two rides on my R18 B to totally fall in love with the use of the toe-heel shifter; note, this is after coming off of my 2008 GS Adventure with 96k+ miles on the odometer.

I find myself using the R18 foot brake pedal less and less; where, I 100% ride with my middle finger over the front brake lever, pointer finger making contact with the lever's fulcrum point (old BMX habit) and rely solely on the distributed ABS brake system to the front and rear wheels for all of my braking functions. I have a much faster braking reaction time, with the built in memory function of using my finger vs my foot.
Click to expand...
Same here my man! Great bike and always cover the brakes (DH mtber)
 
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