lootzyan
Well-Known Member
It's a strange design for parking brake. And not much room for ...the rear brake lever.
View attachment 28889
It's a strange design for parking brake. And not much room for ...the rear brake lever.
View attachment 28889
dduelin
Site Supporter
Take it as a sign.
So can this lever be used as a live rear brake if the locking mechanism doesn't engage?
dduelin
Site Supporter
The question has been raised in an Africa Twin forum and IIRC it's much like the NCs parking brake. The pads are not sized like the service brakes and the mechanism has a ratchet to hold the lever position until a catch is released. While the mechanism might be easily modified to self-return the pads and caliper are not designed for braking.
lootzyan
Well-Known Member
Somehow I knew that with (extra)ordinary sign or not, AT is not for me. Besides, I'm not planning to go to Africa and use it in Eastern Coast flatland would be a waste of fine piece of machinery.
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That picture in post #61 is a photo of the brake in it's set/on position, I think. Ordinarily that lever is up close to the hand guard. I wonder if the rider in question set the brake when the bike hit the car on the left.
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For me poking at the AT a bit at our bike show, the parking brake lever was way further forward than most any pictures make it out to be. I couldn't easily reach it with my hand in a "normal" operating position on the grip. It would be impossible for me to accidently (or even on purpose, for that matter) go all brain zombie and pull on it thinking it was a clutch lever, in a moment of sheer panic.
The pic above is of the lever in it's fully engaged locked position, and even that was a bit of a wee stretch, more so than any bike I've personally owned that had a really far away clutch lever. Maybe I have hobbit fingers, and a normal/orangutan hand person could grasp it at an alarmingly easy attempt, but neither myself or my somewhat normal friend (lol) found it something to be concerned about when we were mucking with it.
Also, it was a bit of a finicky thing to engage the locking bit. If you used your left index finger or thumb, it was quite a contortion and my hand had to completely come off the grip, or when using both hands, obviously it would not replicate any situation where you would be confusedly grabbing at it thinking it was a clutch lever.
It didn't feel overtly one way ratchet-y to me either. I tried a few times, and if I slipped up, the lever would spring back to far away again, rather than stay put at a fixed point it had reached, when pulled. I *think* one could get a bit of vestigial rear micro caliper action going on without a full commitment to a ratcheted position, but honestly I can't say for sure.
Maybe I was mauling it completely wrong, and everyone else could easily do unintended naughty things with it, but I would have to really work at it, lol.
The pic above is of the lever in it's fully engaged locked position, and even that was a bit of a wee stretch, more so than any bike I've personally owned that had a really far away clutch lever. Maybe I have hobbit fingers, and a normal/orangutan hand person could grasp it at an alarmingly easy attempt, but neither myself or my somewhat normal friend (lol) found it something to be concerned about when we were mucking with it.
Also, it was a bit of a finicky thing to engage the locking bit. If you used your left index finger or thumb, it was quite a contortion and my hand had to completely come off the grip, or when using both hands, obviously it would not replicate any situation where you would be confusedly grabbing at it thinking it was a clutch lever.
It didn't feel overtly one way ratchet-y to me either. I tried a few times, and if I slipped up, the lever would spring back to far away again, rather than stay put at a fixed point it had reached, when pulled. I *think* one could get a bit of vestigial rear micro caliper action going on without a full commitment to a ratcheted position, but honestly I can't say for sure.
Maybe I was mauling it completely wrong, and everyone else could easily do unintended naughty things with it, but I would have to really work at it, lol.
Yup. I see the bike stop and start to fall over to the left into the car.
I'm guessing he grabs a handful of throttle trying to balance it.
My riding jeans have velcro straps that go under the boots to hold the pant-leg down and the knee armor in place.
I think I'm going to remove it after seeing this.
