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BLS blocks and brake pedal adjustment.


Blake

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Just installed the BLS lowering blocks. They installed fine and are made well but I could not get the brake pedal low enough. I ran out of adjustment both on the brake lever and the brake light switch. At its lowest setting I had to lift my foot to apply the rear brake. I use the rear brake a lot in slow maneuvers and this is not working for me. I had to take the blocks off and readjust everything to factory spec. 

 

Can anyone give me some advice on how to get the brake pedal to adjust lower? 

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The adjusting rod needs to be shortened by 1 to 2 threads.  If you adjust it out so that you can flip the U shaped turnbuckle off, a Dremel can be used to cut enough off the rod.  The cutoff wheel will want to walk off the workpiece and hit surrounding parts, so be sure to protect them.  Once the rod is shortened, reassemble and you can move the brake lever down to taste.  You'll also need to do something about the spring that activates the brake light or the light will be on continuously.  To deal with that I got a very small split ring at a hardware store, threaded it through the hole in the brake pedal and attached the spring to it.  That gave it just enough extra to keep the switch in its working range. That's been working fine for about 20,000 miles.   I really enjoy the extra room the blocks give my knees, particularly on long rides!  Enjoy.

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Hey cogswell, thanks. So you are adding the split ring to extend the brake light spring so you're not at the end of the adjustment correct? Did you do anything about the side stand hitting the lowering block?

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2 hours ago, Blake said:

Hey cogswell, thanks. So you are adding the split ring to extend the brake light spring so you're not at the end of the adjustment correct?

 

Exactly

 

Quote

 

Did you do anything about the side stand hitting the lowering block?

 

Yes.  I removed the side stand, then drilled and tapped a hole where the stand hits the stop on its bracket.  I used a drill press to keep the hole square to the surface.  A bolt (I think 4mm)  was then threaded in with some loctite.  It took some test fitting to cut it to the right length so as not to bottom out in the blind hole.  I then used a file to reduce the thickness of the bolt head to get the stand to clearance the block.  I kept it as high as possible - it clears the block by maybe 1/4" or so.  If you want I can probably scare up a photo or two of it if that's helpful. 

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Esteemed members, is there a chance of pictures of how to do this with this setup?  It seems it's the way to go and honestly I can't figure it out.  It just seems the thread goes into the brake cylinder = can't figure out how shortening can lengthen?   If there's another member who can share, my knees and I share many thanks.  :-)

 

Dave

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2 hours ago, dgordon said:

Esteemed members, is there a chance of pictures of how to do this with this setup?  It seems it's the way to go and honestly I can't figure it out.  It just seems the thread goes into the brake cylinder = can't figure out how shortening can lengthen?   If there's another member who can share, my knees and I share many thanks.  :-)

 

Dave

 

To clarify, are you wondering why the M/C rod needs to be shortened?  It does seem paradoxical that the threaded rod must be shortened to get more adjustment out of it . . .  :unsure:    If that's the question, have a look at the pivot point of the pedal - it's in front of the threaded rod.  For the front of the pedal to go down, the portion behind the pivot point (where the rod attaches) therefore goes up.  The trouble is, the threaded rod is too long for that to happen, bottoming out in the turnbuckle before the front can get low enough to accommodate the now lower peg.  Remember, the pedal pushes the rod up in to the M/C.   So to keep it from bottoming out, it must be shortened.    Unfortunately I did not take any photos during install - I'd be happy to take one now but it would not look any different than prior to surgery. 

 

My best counsel would be to loosen it all up and start unthreading the turnbuckle.  Once you see how it comes apart it will become more apparent why you're shortening it.  Once you have the turnbuckle completely off the rod (replace the locknut on the rod to clear the threads after cutting), shorten as described above and re-assemble.  I would not take more than 2 threads off the rod - 1 to 2 should give you what you need.  More than that might not leave enough adjustment to remove the lowering blocks to put it back to stock.    I can't recommend highly enough to have something behind the rod if using a Dremel - the cutoff wheel WILL walk off the work and gouge something on the bike if there's nothing preventing it.   If you want a photo of what was done with the side stand, that would show some detail - I'd be happy to provide that if interested. 

 

Best of luck with it. 

 

 

 

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Gosh, thank you Veefer.  When I had my 01 I bought a set of the BLS blocks but couldn't adjust the brake correctly.  The pegs also felt really low and worried about losing toes. :-)  However, I never scrape the peg feelers and honestly looking to lower now with my 07. Don't want another bike, love my veefer.   It sounds like these are the bomb, and apparantly you're never too old to learn.  :-)  

 

Dave.

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