Pedals

[DIZZY]

Hi all,im ready to start making the brake and clutch pedals and could do with advice on how to go about it.

Any help would be a great help,if you know what i mean 

[spanners]

one on each side normally works   

[tbone]

one on each side normally works   

Thats helpful 

[tbone]

Let me start by apologising for the materials used in the following pictures.....I couldn't`t find any pedals that i have previously done so used what was at hand in the shed! 

A pedal mechanism is made up from 5 basic components, as follows.

The pivot point.
The pivot.
The arm.
The pad.
The tang.

[skiprat]

I always use same method, turned up steel boss that will accept some rubber sealed bearings with a 12mm bore, I also make the boss have an OD of 38mm

then to make the levers that will be joined to them, I start with flat bar holesaw 1.5" at the end to give a nice fit onto the bearing boss, then shape the rest of it accordingly, same for the smaller part that will be operating the linkage etc

footpegs also follow the 38mm theme, if they all the same diameter then they flow together, M12 high tensile bolt welded to the frame mount, making sure that the bearings will run on the full diameter portion, and an alloy footpeg with M12 tapped up the middle, if you wish either use a thread lock, or cross drill and put a m4 grubscrew in lightly onto the threads, this will stop it coming off

dont forget a crush tube twixt the bearings and a washer either side of the outside

these are all my own work, different variations on the same method

these are on my trike

Pedals

Pedals

these I made for my hardtail gsxr chop, all my own work!!!
same methof for the pivotting part, footpegs are solid alloy billet core, sleeved with brass tube, as I couldnt afford brass bar, then cross drilled and inset with genuine .38 special nickel plated cartridge cases

Pedals

Pedals

this was the first set I ever made, back in about 2004ish same principle, just not as well executed, crap gasless welder and big unsightly bolts etc

Pedals

Pedals

[zakboy]

Think there are quite a few options open hear to you dizzy,as your so local to me if you need any hands on help or just some one else,s thoughts on the matter give me a shout be no trouble for me to pop over,... its always easyer when you can see the trike in front of you.zak

[tbone]

Well there you go!
While i was taking photos of the scrap in my shed Skiprat has beaten me to it 
Not a lot more that I can add really, personaly I dont use bearings or bushes but thats up to you.

Very nice work there Mr Skiprat. 

[DIZZY]

Thanks guys, it all helps,did you put pictures on Tbone?,only i couldnt click on any if you could it would be a big help. Thanks Skiprat  great ideas my only problem is,ive already done the footpegs and mounted them.I was thinking of the seperate pedals as on the flapster?But i think theres an issue with leaverage and length of the pedal? sorry im a bit thick !!

Thanks Zakboy,great offer,will be in touch if i have probs mate thank you.

[tbone]

No i didn`t mate, they would have been a similer design to Skiprats, although not quite up to that standard  .

Whether or not a footpeg is attached doesn`t really matter, the method would be the same, think of the footpeg as a large nut that stops the pedal sliding off.

[tbone]

The pivot point is exactly what it says, the point at which the pedal pivots.
This is dead simple, just a piece of suitably sized round bar or a bolt, that is attached to the frame, either welded directly on or bolted on via a bracket. With my trikes, i have always welded directly to the frame as they tend to be mid controls rather then forward controls.
The bar in the pic where its clamped in the vice is 22mm dia, this is the bit attached to the frame. The easiest way is drill a 22mm hole through the frame rail, insert the bar and weld up, but you could also notch the end of the bar and weld straight to the frame.
The bar is then stepped down to 18mm and this is where the pivot sits, then there is a 12mm thread on the end.

[tbone]

The pivot is just a piece of tube, in my case its 36mm wide, 18mm ID with a 2mm wall.
As I said, the pivot slides onto the step in the bar and has a washer either side of it, the washer stops the pivot rubbing the frame.
Skiprat says he uses bearings in his pivot and I know Andy uses bushes but i`m happy running without either.

[tbone]

The arm is the long bit, that joins pad to pivot.
This can be flat plate or round bar, I prefer plate with a minimum 5mm thickness.
(yes this is an angle iron spanner, its all i had pre shaped. But I have used real spanners in the past  )
The arm is welded to the pivot at one end and the pad attaches at the other.
I have some autocad drawings that i did of pedal arms somewhere, but they can be straight or curved, flat or bent, down to personal choice.

[tbone]

The pad is the bit you push with your foot.
Again its down to choice and the style of the arm but generally if using a flat arm, a piece of bar is cut, drilled, tapped and bolted at 90 deg to the arm, the length of the bar is dictated by the width of your foot.
A round bar arm usually has a square pad welded on the end, the size of the square is again down to you.

[tbone]

The tang is the small tab where the rod attaches to the pivot.
The tang can be integral with the arm, or as in Skiprats pics, it can be seperate.
The mounting position of the tang will be dependent on the attaching rod as you want the rod to run as horizontal as possible.
The key thing with the tang is its relationship with the pad, and this is where your pedal ratio comes in!
I keep banging on about pedal ratio, i know, but its crucial to having a good brake.
You need a minimun ratio of 6:1.
If the pad is 6 inches from the pivot, the tang needs to be 1 inch away, no closer
You can have a 3" pad and 1/2" tang but you must keep at least that 6:1 ratio.

[DIZZY]

Thats brill thanks alot for taking the trouble to explin ,it will help a lot