metratech footpegs

[GED 01]

IVE JUST FITTED MY NEW FOOTPEG CONVERSION KIT and im a bit gutted,theres nothing wrong with the quality or what its suposed to do ,my bikes feels like a cruiser its that comfy ,no more knee ache ,but my problem and it appears a big one is the gear change lever /pedal just wont adjust downwards enough which means i have to ride with my toes on the pegs or with my foot at 45 degrees otherwise i hit a bump and im downchanging,also i have set the lever at its lowest point to try and alliviate the problem which has not really worked as the lever is fouling my foot [the gear lever is too high ],also down changing is ok from 6th gear to 4th but then i cant change from 3rd to 1st as the lever is now hitting the porkchop,i also have to lift my leg to down change gear,which isnt very good in mid corner,or for quick shifting,,,ive spent 2 days trying to sort it out and cant think of a solution other than to re fit the old pegs which i dont want to do as its unrideable for any distance due to the discomfort ,imho the gear lever should have a greater downward angle so it sits a good 50mm below the level of the footpeg,in neutral,as anybody else who has these fitted had similar problems and worked out a solution because at the moment my bikes unrideable and ive spent a weeks wages on these footpegs and i would prefer them to stay on the bike help please anyone

[jrt]

Are you using the stock gearchange lever? If so, one easy way to effect a solution is to cut the toe off, bolt a 1/8" plate in it's place and drop the toe as much as you need to. It will change the radius, but not much. Another way would be what I did- make a new gearshift lever. Sorry, I don't have much.

[rocker59]

You're talking about the MATRA, Inc. forward controls?

 

You want the shifter peg 2.4-inches (50mm) below the level of the footpeg?

 

You've adjusted out all the available adjustment in the linkage to the tranny arm?

 

Have you contacted John at Motratech and asked him about this?

 

Sounds like you may be asking too much from the available adjustment.

[GED 01]

Are you using the stock gearchange lever? If so, one easy way to effect a solution is to cut the toe off, bolt a 1/8" plate in it's place and drop the toe as much as you need to. It will change the radius, but not much. Another way would be what I did- make a new gearshift lever. Sorry, I don't have much.

 

making a new lever is beyond me ,and making a plate is somthing i have thought of,although i feel it may look untidy,another solution may b to cut the lever in half grind off enough metal to create a greater angle of the lever and have it rewelded but will the weldbe strong enough,aluminium welding is somthing i know nothing about ,

[GED 01]

 

if you look at the pic you can see the distance in height between the footrest and the gear lever its about 4inches its that height for a reason i reckon moto guzzi found this being the best geometry to change gear

 

johns motratech one are about and inch on maximum adjustment,which means i have to lift my leg to change gear and lift it again to put the ball of my foot back on the footrest at a 45 outwards angle ,some people may prefer this or its not a problem ,for me it is

[HaydnR]

Just a thought but the pics on the motratech site show the pegs fitted to a cafe sport which have the higher bars. Your bike has the clipons, so I wonder if this puts you in a position with your toes pointing down further?

[GED 01]

hopefully u can see some pictures below showing the motra tech pegs in the neutral position and in first gear position [it is fouling the porkchop] compare to the 2 other pics of origional; pegs and see the differance in the space between the footpeg and gear lever,yes my feet do point down and there a alpinestars 13.5 or uk12

 

 

 

 

[dlaing]

Because of the change in foot angle, it makes sense that the pedal should be relatively higher, but it appears that it exceeds your ergonomic range.

Perhaps a stupid question, but have you tried adjusting at both the splines of the output shaft and the length adjuster(assuming this kit retains that adjuster)?

It may take the right combination of spline position and adjuster length.

The obvious is to go counter clockwise at the spline, but maybe you need to go clockwise and then shorten the adjuster.

Or maybe go counter-clockwise and lengthen the adjuster.

Assuming you have tried that, and assuming you don't want to have your left femur shortened, then you don't have many options.

Here are all the ideas I came up with.

Contact John and either have him supply a fix or return it.

Sit further back (probably not ideal)

Modify it so the peg is higher (losing comfort).

Get a shorter adjuster(Anyone know if these are these standard parts? Would a shorter adjuster hit the same limit?)

Have a talented welder shorten the adjuster(again assuming you won't hit a limit.)

Cut the adjuster in half, thread each end, and connect with appropriate long nut. (not sure what is need to make that work, but could be cheaper than a welder and increase adjustability.)

Perhaps by flipping the lever on the spline it could be set to do upside-down shifting (I think the angles are all wrong for that to work)????

[GED 01]

hi ,ive spent the last 3 days with the pegs ,today i put the guzz ones back on ,ive tried every adjustment possible,but i can only lower the lever so far,see the pick of me pressing down on the lever that is as far as i dare go ,at this setting hitting 1st gear is 50% succesful and u can see the gear lever hitting the pork chop.

 

its not a problem adjusting the lever its a problem that the end of the lever sits too high look at the pics again as i said the toe rubber is only about an inch lower than the foot rest ,i need it to be the same distance as the guzzi pegs,about 4 inches or at least 2 inches ,the only solution i can see is to cut somwhere on the gear lever grind a angle and re weld ,but the last 6 inches of the lever has hollow out areas which could be a problem to try and re weld and maintain strength,un less i cut nearer towards the rear of the bike near the footpeg, but i would like to know can you re weld aluminium and keep enough strength so the gear lever wont snap off when i change gear

[Ryland3210]

Because of the change in foot angle, it makes sense that the pedal should be relatively higher, but it appears that it exceeds your ergonomic range.

Perhaps a stupid question, but have you tried adjusting at both the splines of the output shaft and the length adjuster(assuming this kit retains that adjuster)?

It may take the right combination of spline position and adjuster length.

The obvious is to go counter clockwise at the spline, but maybe you need to go clockwise and then shorten the adjuster.

Or maybe go counter-clockwise and lengthen the adjuster.

Assuming you have tried that, and assuming you don't want to have your left femur shortened, then you don't have many options.

Here are all the ideas I came up with.

Contact John and either have him supply a fix or return it.

Sit further back (probably not ideal)

Modify it so the peg is higher (losing comfort).

Get a shorter adjuster(Anyone know if these are these standard parts? Would a shorter adjuster hit the same limit?)

Have a talented welder shorten the adjuster(again assuming you won't hit a limit.)

Cut the adjuster in half, thread each end, and connect with appropriate long nut. (not sure what is need to make that work, but could be cheaper than a welder and increase adjustability.)

Perhaps by flipping the lever on the spline it could be set to do upside-down shifting (I think the angles are all wrong for that to work)????

 

Gerard was shipped the latest version of kit, which has a widened range of adjustment with shortened connecting rod, so the connecting rod mod and spline rotation won't help. The limit is where the lever contacts the pork chop on downward stroke. I plan on trying reversing the rotation direction this winter like my Norton had just for fun, and I think it is more logical than today's standard. That won't change the limit either, however.

 

The shift levers are cast, not machined, so changing the tooling is not a simple matter of changing the CNC program. It's an expensive deal. Gerard's kit has the new alloy, which did not require heat treating, so cutting out a trapezoidal or triangular section and welding it back together should not be difficult, and there is no heat treating to be re done afterwards. It is not pressure die cast, so the porosity which could cause problems if it were (like the Moto Guzzi parts, for example) when attempting welding. An alternative might be to work with someone skilled enough with a torch to heat the lever up and bend it. That would probably look better as well.

 

Gerard has contacted me directly, so I'm working with him on a solution.

 

Cheers, John

[GED 01]

hi john thanks for the reply,you say heat it up ,is it possible to do this safely,or is a hit and miss procedure,i dont want to wreck the pegs,if there isnt a solution to my problem then i would prefer to sell them on and try and recoup some money,

 

how hot does the alu have to be ,would a blow torch suffice or oxy acetalene be re quired ,where would the best place to warm it and bend it be ...sorry for all the questions

[BrianG]

Ryland, reversing the shift pattern is easy.... http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...l=reverse+shift

 

I cut my teeth on a Norton as well, and have converted every street motorcycle I've had since, to the GP pattern.

 

Note that in this pic I have adjusted the shift lever to the lowest point possible, short of fouling on the porkchop. Even with stock foot-peg location I find this almost insufficient.

[John in Leeds]

This particular problem was aired here posts #95 and #99 from me. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...10389&st=90

 

John Ryland obviously did not want to modify the lever to remedy the problem for reasons of cost. I believe the fabrication of the die for casting this component was the largest of his capital investment. I have removed metal from both the gear lever and the pork chop to gain the maximum downward movement and still have to lift my foot from the rest to change gear downshift. I will when time allows add a drop piece to lower the gear lever end about 3/4" and that will fix the problem. Not as nice as a properly designed lever but good enough with the improved foot position. Sorry I can't help more than that.

[GED 01]

This particular problem was aired here posts #95 and #99 from me. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...10389&st=90

 

John Ryland obviously did not want to modify the lever to remedy the problem for reasons of cost. I believe the fabrication of the die for casting this component was the largest his capital investment. I have removed metal from both the gear lever and the pork chop to gain the maximum downward movement and still have to lift my foot from the rest to change gear downshift. I will when time allows add a drop piece to lower the gear lever end about 3/4" and that will fix the problem. Not as nice as a properly designed lever but good enough with the improved foot position. Sorry I can't help more than that.

hi john have you thought about heating them up,

[John in Leeds]

hi john have you thought about heating them up,

 

 

Heating and then bending an alloy casting? I don't think so. A drop plate will be sorted shortly, it will just look crap.

 

BTW it's good to know I'm not the only person who requires these ergos for a sweet change