Thumb brakes

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:20 am

Anyone got any experience of adapting a bikes brakes to operate via a thumb brake on the left bar? I'm talking about the front brakes not the rear one, my foot still works. I've recently developed a problem with the nerves in my right arm leaving it fairly weak. I'm still able to grip the bars fine but my right hand's fairly numb and, if it gets worse, it could make feeling how hard/soft I'm braking a bit difficult and riding dangerous. This is all fairly new but not entirely unexpected but I want to be prepared for the worst rather than just hoping for the best.

boydie · Post by **boydie** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 8:21 am

Must be possible ronz, i would expect its a case of different length hose to suit different position. What about your throttle though!!!!

baldy · Post by **baldy** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:36 am

Robert Dunlop had a left bar mounted front brake lever fitted.This was believed to be one of the reasons he crashed......

johncat68 · Post by **johncat68** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:48 am

get a bike with CBS and not use front brake lever

June 11, 2008 Motorcycle 'driver aid' technology is becoming more and more prevalent; the 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R, for example, features a primitive traction/stability control system, and the latest Yamaha R1 and YZFR6 engines feature 'fly by wire' throttles, in which an ECU interprets and moderates throttle inputs before they reach the engine. Anti-lock braking is beginning to feature on almost all touring-style motorcycles, and Honda's Combined Braking system, or CBS, is fitted to several of the company's less sports-focused models, where it distributes braking farce between front and rear wheels even if only one brake lever is pressed. Honda's latest advancement in rider aid technology is to combine ABS and CBS into one electronically-managed system that prevents braking lock-ups and also manages weight transfer under heavy braking to help stop the rear wheel from lifting in an emergency stop.

Honda's top-flight sportsbikes already deliver completely ludicrous braking power and stability - now it seems they're going to get a computerized braking system that prevents lock-ups, corrects overuse of the rear brake, and manages the forward pitch that is common on razor-sharp handling bikes with short wheelbases.

The Japanese manufacturer recently announced its Combined ABS system, which adds anti-lock braking to a computer-controlled upgrade of the Honda Combined Braking System we have already seen on recent VFR800 and CBR1100XX models, among others.

bikerchick · Post by **bikerchick** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:59 am

You could ask NABD as they do these conversions all the time for people.

baldy · Post by **baldy** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:24 am

bikerchick wrote:You could ask NABD as they do these conversions all the time for people.

http://www.nabd.org.uk/adaptions/adaptionkits.htm#thumb

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:49 am

Cheers folks, I'll give NABD a shout. At the moment there's enough feeling in my right arm to work the throttle but, obviously, I'm not going to ride if it becomes difficult to moderate the throttle position. I've heard of left hand throttle mods but not sure if having throttle, brake and clutch on one side would be a bit much.
I'll just have to wait and see how my condition develops I suppose.

Post by al » Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:53 am

baldy wrote:
bikerchick wrote:You could ask NABD as they do these conversions all the time for people.
http://www.nabd.org.uk/adaptions/adaptionkits.htm#thumb

There is an interesting section regarding right arm amputees. I know you still have your arm Ronz but it does mention in there about on bikes with two front brake disks that one of them could be linked to your rear brake to give a Honda like combined system. The other caliper could then be controlled from a thumb lever on the left side.

But what ever you do end up doing, please get a grown up to do the work!!!!

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 10:57 am

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian) wrote:
But what ever you do end up doing, please get a grown up to do the work!!!!

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:44 am

I dunno, you put one set o brake pads in backwards.... That one's gonnae haunt me forever

Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:46 am

Ronz wrote:I dunno, you put one set o brake pads in backwards.... That one's gonnae haunt me forever

yip

Post by al » Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:51 pm

Dave wrote:
Ronz wrote:I dunno, you put one set o brake pads in backwards.... That one's gonnae haunt me forever

yip

Homer Simpson wrote:Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:14 am

Ronz,

does your disability require you to notify the DVLA or your insurance company?

You said yourself that it may prove dangerous...

... just a thought

Post by **Zathos** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:34 am

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Dr ... /index.htm

It's a big list, but the DVLA wont necessarily pull a licence. They will require frequent assessment by your doctor, but the upside of that is you get a new licence every few years and the old points mysteriously dissapear when they are no longer valid

If you get pulled and are assessed to be 'unfit' it's serious in the eyes of the law.

P.S. that includes making sure you can see properly.

Post by al » Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:22 am

Zathos wrote:If you get pulled and are assessed to be 'unfit' it's serious in the eyes of the law.

Do they make you do press-ups or something?

Post by **Zathos** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:29 am

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian) wrote:
Zathos wrote:If you get pulled and are assessed to be 'unfit' it's serious in the eyes of the law.
Do they make you do press-ups or something?

Sort of....

.....after some big burly bloke knocks yer teeth out so you can't 'bite down'

Cossackmannie · Post by **Cossackmannie** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:50 pm

Zathos wrote:[url] They will require frequent assessment by your doctor, but the upside of that is you get a new licence every few years and the old points mysteriously dissapear when they are no longer valid

New licence every few years, yes, but remember what the DVLA is like for 'losing' important info like 'Motorcycle entitlement' when you send off for change of address etc.

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:26 pm

Cossackmannie wrote:
New licence every few years, yes, but remember what the DVLA is like for 'losing' important info like 'Motorcycle entitlement' when you send off for change of address etc.

That happened to a friend of mine. He was forced to retake his test!

Cossackmannie · Post by **Cossackmannie** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:43 pm

Swampy wrote:
Cossackmannie wrote:
New licence every few years, yes, but remember what the DVLA is like for 'losing' important info like 'Motorcycle entitlement' when you send off for change of address etc.
That happened to a friend of mine. He was forced to retake his test!

I've got that covered- I'm never going to move house

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 5:29 pm

I spoke to a lovely lady at dvla and was told that seeing as I hadn't been advised not to ride by my doc that it wasn't an issue. Obviously if I feel unsafe I'll stop but the situation seems to have stabilised for the mo. Feels a bit weird and still a bit weak but there's enough strength left to be getting on with. Looks likely that it's permanent but scans in a couple of weeks will tell me more.

teamemmenracing · Post by **teamemmenracing** » Mon May 16, 2011 4:42 pm

Only input I can give on thimb brakes is - they are limited by the amount of power you can supply with your thumb, which in practice is minimal.
I had one on my last race bike - thought Id find out what all the fuss was about - mine was attached to the rear of course - worked well and I liked it, but took it off because in the event of a front brake failure I would need the rear to stop ......... not a happening deal.

An easy option for little cash would be to plumb in one of the front discs with a Tee split on the rear foot brake. leave the other disc with the original right hand lever as an extra ......

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Mon May 16, 2011 7:25 pm

Interesting idea!
I got the results back and I've been diagnosed with Degenerative Spinal Disease and will need some pretty serious surgery at some point involving bolting my c6 & c7 vertebrae together which I really don't fancy at all. Strength's still not back but hasn't worsened so I'm living with it for now.

metallninja · Post by **metallninja** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:36 pm

Rig the front brakes to the rear m/cylinder and the rear brake to a thumb brake?

Tis what I'd do. Will need a wee re-map of the grey matter but so did changing gear with a foot instead o` a hand.

Ronz · Post by **Ronz** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:41 pm

metallninja wrote:Rig the front brakes to the rear m/cylinder and the rear brake to a thumb brake?

Tis what I'd do. Will need a wee re-map of the grey matter but so did changing gear with a foot instead o` a hand.

Aye that could work better. Cheers.

AberdeenBikers

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