Bike question: Passenger Pegs

"MountainCommand" (MountainCommand) 06/30/2014 at 13:13 • Filed to: 2wheels

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So my bike currently has no passenger pegs. In a quest to put back on some of the oem things, this is 1st on my list. But i have a question. Is there a specific reason why you would want the pegs to be able to flip up? Would it be a bad idea to kinda bolt them in a fixed position down?

The reason i ask is im gonna be getting the parts for super cheap but its missing the bolts that allow the peg to pivot. So my thinking is ill just bolt them in a fixed position. Or should i just buy the other parts to allow them to flip up and down securely.

Pros/Cons?

And im putting the pegs back on regardless so dont talk me out of it. Reason: if i lowside without the pegs like i have currently, theres a good chance ill rip off the tail panels and destroy the voltage regulator underneath. The passenger pegs protect that.

anothermiatafanboy > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:16

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I occasionally flip mine up if I think about it, because, yknow, aero!, race bike!, blah blah. But having them down all the time would be absolutely fine. Do it!

Reigntastic > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:16

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If you're worried about a lowside you need good frame sliders, not passenger pegs.

CAR_IS_MI > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:20

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So you don't bang your knees on them when you walk past in the garage...

Crocket Bernet > Reigntastic 06/30/2014 at 13:22

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Seconded.

MountainCommand > Reigntastic 06/30/2014 at 13:24

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they dont make frame sliders for my bike unfortunately, believe me, it was one of the first things i looked into. Plus there is great debate on whether or not frame sliders even make a difference. The circumstances have to be just perfect for frame sliders to actually do their job correctly and its even possible for them to cause more damage. Frame sliders still wouldnt save the tail section on my bike though if it fell on its left side. Just my thoughts though.

TJDMAX > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:24

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Yea passenger pegs are cast aluminum and will shatter under any significant force from a crash. Frame sliders, axle sliders, bar end sliders, all things i would recommend first before using the peg as a slider.

Next question, you say you're missing the bolt that allows the peg to pivot, but isn't it just a bolt with a nut? So if you don't tighten it all the way why can't it pivot? Leaving the peg out is fine, its just another thing to catch clothes or legs on.

But don't expect to act as a frame slider. Not its intention.

yamahog > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:25

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I lost a spring when reassembling my left hand side passenger peg, so it stays down. No issue, but I'll probably tape it up for track days anyway.

Reigntastic > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:26

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What type of bike do you own?

I always ran passenger pegs, they would offer a little bit of protection I suppose. Plastic fairings and sheetmetal are always replaceable, but you aren't.

Just keep it shiny side up, no pressure.

MountainCommand > Reigntastic 06/30/2014 at 13:31

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Its an fzr 600.

From my readings, on the left side, the handle bar, engine cover, and rear peg make up the points of contact on a lowside on the left side. But i just dont know if thats with the pegs down or up?

I dont plan on lowsiding, nor do i think anyone wants to plan that. But im just wanting to be able to say in my mind i did everything i could to prevent more costly repairs in case of an accident.

MountainCommand > TJDMAX 06/30/2014 at 13:42

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Hmm. I guess im trying to say, all im wanting to ensure protection for is the voltage regulator. The rest of the bike will be okay to hit the ground on slide.

My problem is i am currently missing this:

which is suppose to come out from just under the tail body work section:

Underneath that plastic is the regulator. Without that U shape bracket it will be ripped right off. The U shape is a steel part that is more than strong enough to take an impact. Thats truly the part i need for the protection.

And like i said to one of the others, they dont make frame sliders for this bike. It requires an extensive modification.

Now for bolting the peg in a fixed position, the part i am going to buy is missing the 'pivot bolt' so ill have to improvise something. My thinking was to bolt it in a fixed position.

Reigntastic > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:44

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Handlebars and levers are normal to take damage, but easily and inexpensively replaced. Beefier engine covers are available, so I would definitely suggest that, and I'm sure there's a set of sliders out there for some peace of mind.

Nobody ever plans to lowside, but everyone should plan for a lowside.

MountainCommand > Reigntastic 06/30/2014 at 13:50

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Previous owner gave me this in his box of parts. The bike has already been christened haha. He upgraded to an NRC starter cover so all is good.

MountainCommand > CAR_IS_MI 06/30/2014 at 13:53

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I think ill survive a few leg bruises haha.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:55

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Usually they are folded up to be out of the way when you don't have a passenger.

Depending on how you swing your leg over the seat... catching your shin on the off-side passenger peg would not be particularly fun.

Sometimes it also helps to reduce that width if you fit temporary side bags, and generally provides less of a snag risk on things.

If you don't ever plan to have a passenger, I'd remove them entirely, if possible. Some passenger pegs are on their own sub-assembly, and can be entirely removed. The bike in the image has removable passenger pegs, with an aftermarket side case mounting point bolted there with the passenger pegs. Those two allen cap screws allow complete removal of both. Maybe just put the cap screws, or shorter ones back in to protect the threads, if you want to use them again later.

Some people who convert to a solo seat, but don't have such easily removable peg assemblies, actually permanently grind off the section of the frame or rear sub-frame where the passenger pegs mount, to save un-necessary weight. A common mod for cafe racers.

And for a frame slider... "hard pegs" that don't fold, are more common for the main foot controls for the rider... some even have delrin inserts on the outside edge... as that is a much more common location for ground contact.

The passenger pegs are in a place that usually don't touch down.... higher up, and further back. by that point, the bottom of the engine case, primary foot pegs, rear swingarm, the bottom of the front fork, and other points have touched down, and become significantly damaged... or if the bike is at a crash angle that the tail touches first, the whole rear subframe gets severely damaged or destroyed from that angle and the bike's mass coming down on it.

TJDMAX > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 13:56

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Gotcha. I was confused on which part you were missing. The bracket would definitely fare better than the aluminum peg in the event of a low side, but again thats not the intended purpose of the bracket. Even being made of steel, its probably thin wall and it would bend pretty easily with a decent impact with the ground, but it would be better than nothing it sounds like.

And for the peg If you wanted it to still flip you could use a lock nut and tighten it just enough to allow it to pivot but hopefully stay up when you wanted it up. Not too difficult.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 14:06

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There are universal frame slider kits... If left-side rear peg is a point of impact... a structural bracket, and a bolted on delrin slider would do more to protect the tail than an alloy passenger peg made for nothing else than locating the passenger's left foot would. Chances are, if you can bolt the peg on in a fixed position, you could bolt a universal delrin frame slider to the same location. Most frame sliders are made to be somewhat generalized, and to be bolted on at structural locations, in place of stock bolts.

Modifying a universal part to fit and do a job is a hallmark of motorcycling :-) , as there are very few ready-made kits of most things for any but the most popular bikes. Generalized parts are much more common, and people then suit them to fit, or modify the parts or the bike to fit.

MountainCommand > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 06/30/2014 at 14:09

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Thanks for the reply!

I do think there might be an off chance for a passenger, so thats why i would want to have them on there. Plus in the rare scenario in which someone needs a ride and im the only and last option... Who knows. I'd rather have it and not use it, rather than need it and not have it.

Yeah the peg comes off on a bracket. The right side bracket connects to the exhaust pipe, so that has to stay.

And my bike currently has those solid foot pegs/ hard pegs for the rider. They do not fold. And there is proof of them working... One side has about 3/4 of an inch grinded off from the previous owner ha.

I guess if the bike goes down, theres more to worry about that the rear tail section, and i understand that. I guess im just trying to cover as many bases as i possibly can.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 14:15

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The biggest problem that I can see would be to throw a leg over and catch the far peg with your boot or pantleg. That gets stuck and you end up overweighting the kickstand to the vertical and away you go, dragged into the splits, gems to the frame (or worse!)

MountainCommand > TJDMAX 06/30/2014 at 14:17

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"but it would be better than nothing it sounds like" My thoughts exactly. I tend to think it was designed that way for a reason, and id rather have something there that was intended to be there instead of missing.

Once i get the parts to mock them up ill see what options i have. Thanks

MountainCommand > Jeff-God-of-Biscuits 06/30/2014 at 14:19

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Man, that sounds worse than actually crashing while riding!

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 14:23

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Only if people are watching... But luckily I have no first hand (or other parts) knowledge of the outcome. I did see a short guy try to chuck his leg over a tall bike and almost do something similar. Fate intervened and someone else was standing on the other side and caught the bike for him

MountainCommand > Jeff-God-of-Biscuits 06/30/2014 at 14:28

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haha. Thankfully i am 6'2 so ive got height on my side. I guess i will just see if it works, if not, ill make the pegs do something different.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > MountainCommand 06/30/2014 at 14:38

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That is cool.

You mentioned that the part you would be getting would be missing the pivot bolt...

If the peg looks like that one pictured, there is *only* the pivot bolt, otherwise the foot peg comes off of the bracket that holds it. You theoretically could clamp it down with a bolt tight enough that the bracket and the peg have so much friction that it doesn't pivot, but the pivot point is still where the peg fastens to the bracket.

Usually those are either a shouldered bolt, or a solid clevis pin with a hole in the end for a clip, ring, or split pin retainer to prevent the pin from coming out unintentionally.

A shouldered bolt, is basically a bolt that is only threaded on a portion of the shank, with a smooth surface between the threads and the bolt head.

As long as L = the length of the hole through the beg and bracket together, and D = to just a slight clearance less than the inside diameter of that hole, something like this should work... with a corresponding nut for the threads at the bottom.

Otherwise, a clevis pin:

Basically the same idea, with some sort of retainer at the bottom to prevent the pin from working itself out of position. Option K is very similar to a shoulder bolt... the pin head and the threaded nut have flats that can be tightened with a pair of open-end wrenches.