Highway Pegs (fitment)

[Scott9999]

Found a cheap set of highway pegs for my 2018 RT, to mount on the Wunderlich (clone) engine protection bars.  I really wanted a little more than a "peg", though I might eventually regret that.  I last used highway pegs on a Honda 600 back in the 1980's, (which of course tells ya how much legitimate touring I've done with my previous two BMW RT's (like, none, at most, hour commutes or two hour weekend local rides).  So, I'm not sure how these things will work out.  I'm initially attempting to mount them lower, and further back, since I doubt my back will handle riding with my feet somewhere up in the air (particularly without a back rest to lean against, but that may eventually be coming, too). 

 

So, anyhow, the question.  I've only scraped a peg once, and that was unintentional.  I just down ride with my pegs (or knees) scraping the ground.  I'm the ...um.. more sedentary Beemer rider? 

 

Still, I'm concerned that these pegs may be mounted too low or wide for safety. Again, with my riding style, I'd have the pegs up and stowed if I intentionally hit the twisties.  However, one never knows for sure when a sweeping turn with speed will turn more adventurous, via misjudgment or intent.  I believe that these pegs are made to be mounted on a vertical bar, versus the lower horizontal bar on my bike.  That would put the pegs higher and more forward that what I want, though I will probably test with that position as well.  This is what I have mocked up, thus far.  Any feedback?

 

 

 

Pegs would stow better than these, as would mounting on the forward, vertical bar.  I may just have to return these things.  

[MichiganBob]

I hate to be a spoiler but I found highway pegs to not serve as real highway pegs on my 02, 12, and 18 RT's. I've had them on other bikes and could ride on them for many miles. But the later RT tanks force my legs into uncomfortable angles.  However I do run them on my 2018 for one purpose. They allow me to stretch my legs, especially when my knees start hurting.  A few minutes stretch and my legs feel good again. So for me it was a worthwhile investment. I'd be real careful with the way you've got them mounted. I'd go higher and use them mainly as a stretching device. The stretch can be with my feet on them but i prefer to lay my leg straight out on the peg and the peg supports the stretched leg.  It might look a little funky but I'm way past being concerned with how I look. My goal is to manage discomfort and pain, especially with some wear and tear and a touch of arthritis in my 73 years plus football, racketball, and weight lifting knees. Good luck on this.

[dirtrider]

8 hours ago, Scott9999 said:

Found a cheap set of highway pegs for my 2018 RT, to mount on the Wunderlich (clone) engine protection bars.  I really wanted a little more than a "peg", though I might eventually regret that.  I last used highway pegs on a Honda 600 back in the 1980's, (which of course tells ya how much legitimate touring I've done with my previous two BMW RT's (like, none, at most, hour commutes or two hour weekend local rides).  So, I'm not sure how these things will work out.  I'm initially attempting to mount them lower, and further back, since I doubt my back will handle riding with my feet somewhere up in the air (particularly without a back rest to lean against, but that may eventually be coming, too). 

 

So, anyhow, the question.  I've only scraped a peg once, and that was unintentional.  I just down ride with my pegs (or knees) scraping the ground.  I'm the ...um.. more sedentary Beemer rider? 

 

Still, I'm concerned that these pegs may be mounted too low or wide for safety. Again, with my riding style, I'd have the pegs up and stowed if I intentionally hit the twisties.  However, one never knows for sure when a sweeping turn with speed will turn more adventurous, via misjudgment or intent.  I believe that these pegs are made to be mounted on a vertical bar, versus the lower horizontal bar on my bike.  That would put the pegs higher and more forward that what I want, though I will probably test with that position as well.  This is what I have mocked up, thus far.  Any feedback?

 

 

 

 

 

Pegs would stow better than these, as would mounting on the forward, vertical bar.  I may just have to return these things.  

 

Morning Scott 

 

It's difficult to tell from odd-angle pictures but those things sure look like the will contact the ground way before your foot peg feelers will.

 

If you have a piece of plywood (or even stiff cardboard) that is long enough to touch both front & rear tires at the road contact patch then you can do a quick check of the leaning ground clearance. 

 

Either have someone hold the motorcycle upright, or put it on the side stand then work off the right side. 

 

With the added low foot peg deployed place the plywood or cardboard against the front & rear tires right at the road contact patch.  Then with it staying tight to the tires lift it up at an angle until it touches the foot peg feelers, see if it contacts the added low foot peg first. 

 

If the plywood touches the lower foot peg before the foot peg feeler then you have big problems as that is going to happen when riding, & happen at the worst possible time.

 

You also need to keep in mind that the plywood test is the best possible condition (no rider weight on the motorcycle & no additional  suspension compression, So if that lower foot peg grounds out before the foot peg feeler touches the ground then it will be worse  (much worse) with the rider weight/luggage weight & cornering suspension compression.   

 

[realshelby]

I have found "highway pegs" to be more useful when they allow you to stretch your legs/lessen knee angle. What you have in the pics would be a bit of a change, but not so much compared to the factory pegs. While I do put my feet on the highway pegs I have, I also like to lay the back of my foot/leg on the top of them to fully stretch my legs out. This can be a real difference maker on high mile days....especially if you are not so young anymore! 

Those pegs allow you to experiment with location.  I too would be worried about road contact in the position shown. Those pegs look rather versatile. I would see if they would fit on the vertical part of the bar as close to the top bend as they allow. 

[MichiganBob]

Good Day. And make sure that where ever they are mounted that they won't harm the bike if they tip over. On a past bike, i had them mounted by the cylinder cover. The kickstand sank in hot asphalt and over it went. It forced the peg joint into the cover and punctured it. JB weld got me home. Lesson number 46,729.

 

[Scott9999]

Good suggestions, and thanks to you all.

 

When I have time to get back into the garage and play with my "toys", I'm going to attempt to mount these pegs up higher on the bars, well away from risk of an incidental pavement strike, and hopefully, in a usable position to stretch my legs.  Pretty much as Bob describes, these highway pegs will mostly offer me a comfortable (and safe) position to stretch my legs, while maintaining control of the bike.  This would probably only be while slabbing, and I'd probably put my feet back on the factory pegs whenever I got within a quarter mile of traffic front or back, i.e. that's pretty much how I recall using those pegs back in the 1980's.  So, the size of these pegs may be overkill for the actual purpose intended, i.e. they just looked like a good solution when I made the purchase.   They ARE quite stout, and should be easy on the feet (i.e. boots).

 

I was already thinking about D.R.'s type of solution, but I'll probably just tip the plywood up to the bike with it planted against both tires.  As he says, that's a best case scenario, and not realistic due to rider weight, shock/spring compression, etc..  After reflection, I want at least 6" clearance between any potential pavement strike of the highway pegs before the factory pegs, allowing for all possible conditions.

 

Common sense works wonders, don't it? 😏

 

I'll post pictures if I decide to keep 'em, of how they look, and a follow-up down the road, after I've used them a bit.

[Rotor]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:26 AM, MichiganBob said:

Good Day. And make sure that where ever they are mounted that they won't harm the bike if they tip over. On a past bike, i had them mounted by the cylinder cover. The kickstand sank in hot asphalt and over it went. It forced the peg joint into the cover and punctured it. JB weld got me home. Lesson number 46,729.

 

I saw that exact thing happen to a Goldwing years ago (not me).  Ended in a tow off the BRP.

[Scott9999]

Forgot to update this thread.  Decided to just return them.  Just seemed like a bad fit for me, and indeed, that probably covers highway pegs.  Even with a backrest, I think having my legs spread wide (or even, one at a time to rest 'em) is going to mess with my occasionally sore hips.