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Best way to fix bent brake pedal

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Jorge
As my luck would have, not even a week after I replaced my bent brake pedal (from a trail incident), I managed to bend the replacement while crashing in sand.

Both times the pedal does a complete u turn. I can stomp it to a “functional” shape but can’t bend it back to its original form. Unfortunately, removing the pedal is a pain in the *** so I’m looking for options to fix this without the need to unmount from the bike, It appears this will happen any time I drop the bike on either side at speed (my clutch pedal is also bent, but less so).

Here’s how it looks right now:

229080


Any options? As you can see, it’s an all metal that will continue to bend regularly.
 
Nope, take it off and put it in a bench vise. Will be good as new
 
I would also recommend taking it off. But if you want to try it on the bike you'll have to hold backup with something where the bend starts and use a hammer. If you take it off and don't have a vise, just elevate it between two points and use a hammer to straighten it. An old man told me one time when I was young, If it got bent cold , straighten it cold.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
vice and big crescent wrench.

Chuck it up right at the bend.
Go slow, watch the point of the bend.
It's cast aluminium.
If you see spider webs, the metal is fatiguing.
Move the lever in the vice to support that area and keep bending, again watch for spider webs.
You may have to move it in the vice several times.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I got to remove it... 😞
 
Too much leverage on the rest of the bike.
 
Hard to tell if there is enough space but...
maybe a c-clamp or two with something very stiff (old brake pads) can be applied to get it mostly unpretzeled.
 
hmmm ... I like simple fixes.
And all those pieces are available at Lowes or Home Depot.
 
That looks like a perpetual problem. Is there an aftermarket replacement with some more hair on it? I'm not going to try it on the bike for fear of breaking the housing. Aluminum is tragically unforgiving.
 
That looks like a perpetual problem. Is there an aftermarket replacement with some more hair on it? I'm not going to try it on the bike for fear of breaking the housing. Aluminum is tragically unforgiving.

Unfortunately it looks like there isn’t.
 
once you get it squared away, buy or build from your local hardware store a "brake snake"
while not 100% foolproof, they do help
i used these years ago when i raced GNCC back east

What he said! This is the ticket so it won't happen again. You can get them at RMATV or Motorsport.
 
I realize now it’s a brake lever and not “pedal”. I’ll look for those.
 
Listen to JMZ. He's likely to forget more about working metal than most of us will ever know.

BTW, brake levers are meant to be sacrificial. If you go back with anything other than stock make sure it will give before the shift shaft does. Levers that could break the shaft were a real problem on some BMW models.

m
 
Ok, so I got a brake snake (bought from Amazon). What would be the best way to use it?
 

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Ok, so I got a brake snake (bought from Amazon). What would be the best way to use it?
Looks like a good job straightening out the brake lever. Just a small hole thru that silver pan bracket seems like a good place to secure it. You may want to post what you purchased but it's a simple install if it's what I think it is
 
Drill a hole in the pedal and in the skid plate forward of the pedal. You want it to still be able to function but not much slack when the pedal is fully depressed.

Did you buy one or diy?

I'd do it like this
f3c679fcb133271b76f8ce3739cc6fe8.jpg
 
I'm sure the other folks are speaking from experience but from an engineering perspective, keeping the lanyard as perpendicular as possible to the pedal will provide the most resistance to bending.
 
I'm sure the other folks are speaking from experience but from an engineering perspective, keeping the lanyard as perpendicular as possible to the pedal will provide the most resistance to bending.
That's a much better way of putting what I was trying to show
 
Looks like a good job straightening out the brake lever. Just a small hole thru that silver pan bracket seems like a good place to secure it. You may want to post what you purchased but it's a simple install if it's what I think it is

This is the one I got: Outlaw Racing ORBS Brake Saver Snake Style Protector https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NMSBPQK/?tag=twowhetex-20
I'm sure the other folks are speaking from experience but from an engineering perspective, keeping the lanyard as perpendicular as possible to the pedal will provide the most resistance to bending.

That's a much better way of putting what I was trying to show

So perpendicular works best. It’s not what I see from the picture with the red line, though.
 
I'm sure the other folks are speaking from experience but from an engineering perspective, keeping the lanyard as perpendicular as possible to the pedal will provide the most resistance to bending.
Putting it a angled as possible is better to help grass and debris get pushed aside....
 
Perpendicular is best because it minimizes deflection.
However, sometimes there just isn't anything to bolt the other end to.

Don't bolt it to something vital like an engine case bolt.
Look to a frame member or skid plate.
 
I was stuck on "vise grips" to straighten it. Perhps instead of looking at the lever look further upstream, like some crash bars or someting up high to provid a better crash point diagonal from the frame/engine guards to the groun instead of the brake lever?
 
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