Floor Boards / Highway Bars etc.

[Mandorider]

Just wanted to know what some of you have done or would suggest in terms of Floorboards and or Highway pegs/boards. I have seen a few driver floorboard kits on ebay and such for pretty cheap but, I have read that some folks have needed to modify the heck out of them. (I dont necessarily mind doing that by the way, only if its worth the effort) Just wanted to hear your thoughts. I have an 81.

 

[joedrum]

i dont use them ...it makes me want to bend my feet more ...and most are a downgrade in shifting ...but thats expected id say ...i think there great for the passenger when two up my wife likes them alot :mrgreen:

 

[AApple]

I've got Markland boards front and rear on mine, and round hiway pegs mounted on the case guards up front. I use the hiway pegs 99% of the time, just because it's more comfy for me.
The shifter with the front boards has not been a problem for me, as long as I am wearing boots. If I ride with sneakers, it's a lot harder for me to make the upshifts, due mostly to the design of my particular boards/shifter. Then again, the rubber pads are missing on the shifter pedal, so that prolly has as much to do with it as anything. I can't imagine going back to pegs. It's really more of a personal preference, to be honest. Some like the boards, some don't.
Mama really likes the rear boards...feels a little more secure, and it's easier getting on/off with them. :good:

 

[dan filipi]

I'm 6'2" and have tried boards, I fall into the category of don't like them mostly because they get in the way when putting feet to the ground and doing the step back bit backing up the bike.
Cruising down the highway they're ok though, they are a tradeoff.

I'm running stock pegs with highway boards, well one board and one peg because one board is broken but being tall with size 13 boots highway boards are great but even then I can't really stretch out and often lay my legs on the engine guards on long trips to stretch.

I have a set with an offset I'm going to try out. These should move the highway boards forward some.
I'll post some pictures later.

 

[danf]

I have both, I really can't say which I like better as both are great, the stock pegs give you a sense of being part of the bike, shifting seems easier and braking seem better too, you will find yourself leaning the bike more in turns or curves, the floorboards has it's advantages too, those who have floorboards know that shifting can be a pain unless you modify the shifter or lower it, see the way they designed the shifter they put the thing way high on the rear peg for your heel, I simply lowered mine so when I go to find it I don't have to point my toe and raise my heel sky high to shift, I lowered it 2" or so using a piece of flat stock and repositioning the shifter peg to the flat stock and bolting that to the oringinal hole where the shifter peg was before.. it's perfect now..The floorboards are perfect for the long hauls and they really dress up the bike, the first time I scraped bottom of the boards I screamed like a little girl... :smilie_happy: I didn't like that..

 

[slabghost]

I like the highway pegs on the crash bars but even those are a bit short for me as well. I haven't tried floorboards yet so I don't have an opinion on them.

 

[bk2valve]

I am playing with the idea of making a pair of floorboards of expanded steel like the enduro Ural have....Any ideas or has anyone made anything like this? I would love a close-up photo of someones floorboards and how they are mounted...
Thanks in advance...
Brian

 

[dan filipi]

My engine guards are off for other stuff.

I acquired a set of foot pads (I guess they are).
They are nice on long rides, put your foot up there and lean into your leg.
These boards are nice. I like the feel and they have a small tab on the bottom to help keep your foot there.
They are hard to find.

(click for larger gallery images)

IMG 1171

• dan filipi
• Mar 5, 2012

My left highway board and foot pad

The right side board is broken so I still have the peg on that side, one of a pair I bought a few years ago from JC Whitney.
They are ok, better than no highway pegs for sure.

IMG 1173

• dan filipi
• Mar 5, 2012

My right highway peg and foot pad

These boards I bought from Cyborg a couple months ago.
They look like they'll work fine after I do some mods to make them sit at a position I like.

IMG 1172

• dan filipi
• Mar 5, 2012

Newest set I'm going to install

 

[silverbullet]

I like the floorboards. When I bought my 1500 it was the first thing to go on the bike. When I reclaimed my 78 it was the first item to be replaced with new. I like being able to move my feet around. I don't like the position of the pegs. My knees get to scrunched up. I like the comfort of being able to move my feet around on the boards during long days in the saddle. Having Highway pegs or boards are also a definate plus. The more positions I have for my feet, The more comfortable I am in the saddle.
That in itself for me far outweighs any negatives of floorboards. At least for this rider.

 

[fysty-1]

I love my floor brds but I have TH shifter & the only minor problem is the shifter is a liitle sloppy. This I hope to rectifie when I make a new TH shifter that would would be a direct link to the shifter shaft. But I don't have any problems with my FB's but I have tried hwy pars & due to the out curve of the case guards, it is too uncomfortable against my calves and the pressure on my inner thighs to have to spread my legs that wide to put my feet on the pegs. :Egyptian: :Egyptian:

 

[danf]

I will see about getting a better photo but the Hwy. pegs are like Dan's lowest photo..

 

[Crabt287421]

I have the Markland boards on the front of my 83 Aspy. These boards were bought by the previous owner. I guess he took off the original pegs and threw them away. I wish I had those pegs. When you get into a corner the boards hit the ground. Just in case you didn't know this, It scares the crap out of you! If your wife or another passenger is on board you have two people tensing up or startled. This is not the best thing to happen when on a curvy highway at 45 or 50 miles an hour. So my advice to you is don't do it. The passenger boards are Triplexa. My wife loves these boards. Now lets talk about the shifting. The shifting system doesn't work very well. Thank god the Aspy has the shift indicator on it. I have problems finding neutral, shifting up and shifting down. There is way too much play in this shifting system. DON'T DO IT. They do look nice tho??

PS My advice is to use the Markland boards off a 99 1500 SE instead of the highway pegs. I have not tried this yet on my 1100 but I love them on the 1500. The plus is that they attach to the crash bars. IF the bike goes over. It will not go farther then 45 degrees, big plus when try to pick it back up. Wife and I found this out in Pipestone, Mt. Bad Crown in the road while turning the bike around and lost balance. Didn't hurt the bike or the boards but it was awful heavy to pick up. Would not want to pick up the 15 if it was all the way down.

 

[bk2valve]

Here are some photos of my new floorboard build. I had an extra shifter lever so I sawed a slit about two thirds of the way through it from the bottom, heated and bent it up to where I can get my toe under nicely and welded a pieshape piece of steel into the gap, ground off the unnecessary steel and installed...It works sweetly...

Pardon the phone quality photos...
Brian

 

[danf]

I love it man, that's really neat..

 

[joedrum]

hmmm ilike the the mesh steel of it all all

 

[dan filipi]

hmmm ilike the the mesh steel of it all all

Me too!
It adds to the ratness of it all, Nice!

 

[bk2valve]

Thanks guys...it is industrial for sure...ratness rules! lol

Really nice for just jumping up on the bike but about the 3rd or 4th time I rack a shin on that puppy I may be going back to nice OEM footpegs....

JoeDrum it is very good to see you feeling well enough to get some computer time in...I'm glad!
Brian

 

[Mandorider]

BK: Nice indeed. I love it. Thats thinking outside the box. I love how you utilized the original mounting to get around all the extra tubing and bracketry (if thats a word) associated with the aftermarket systems.

 

[Anonymous]

BK: Nice indeed. I love it. Thats thinking outside the box. I love how you utilized the original mounting to get around all the extra tubing and bracketry (if thats a word) associated with the aftermarket systems.

LOL if Farkles is a word I cant see why backetry cant be !

 

[dan filipi]

We screw up the English language pretty bad here sometimes so don't worry about it. :read: