Modern Vespa

It wasn't a huge issue but I thought I would post this for everyone that has fitted pegs. Especially the elliptical ones from JCW.

Coming into work this morning on a near 90 deg and slightly uphill left hand turn I managed to scrape the left side peg and boot heel. My reaction was to straighten up a bit but because I still had more turn to make I had to go right back down again and dammed if I didn't hit again. By then it was only the peg since I had moved my foot back onto the running board.

The hinge on the peg worked well and scraping did not effect handling as I could have stayed down in the corner. Coming up was my startled reaction mostly from feeling my heel slightly touch down.

Whoops!

So it folded up some the second time you scraped? That's good; and replacement is easy if you scrape it to a sharp point!

I treat mine strictly as highway pegs and fold them up if I am on two lane twisties or in the city taking typical 90 degree corners. No scraping so far. Its no secret we tend to lean a lot further into corners than a typical MC...

Here is what scares me about peg contact. Cruiser pegs have a feeler on the bottom, on the Honda Shadow it's a rounded acorn screw sticking out about a centimeter, that contacts the ground well before the peg (or your heel) to warn you you're getting close. Obviously the first warning on any of the pegs I've heard about for the UFP (except maybe the Kuryakins - Turbojav?) is actual peg contact. That's fine if you are touching down on glass-smooth concrete. My worry is that you are pushed over 40+ degrees in a tight turn at 40+ mph and your inboard foot is over a pothole, or a change in road surface, and as your peg touches down there's a vertical barrier right in front of it. Not something the peg is going to fold up over, but something the peg is going to run smack into and catch on. Now, I do appreciate that the same thing can happen to the centerstand, but the centerstand is way inboard (far less torque applied to the overall scooter, torque = force x distance) and nobody's foot is on top of it.

Pegs like the Dixies are both less likely to contact (because they're smaller), but if contact with an obstacle were to happen, more likely to catch (because of the square profile). Pegs like the ellipticals are more likely to scrape (because they are so much bigger) but perhaps less likely to catch (because of their round profile). An additional consideration: the Dixies are aluminum and would likely tear apart - I once dumped my Shadow and even at only a few mph, the aluminum peg sheared right off. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Other pegs like the ellipticals are solid steel and would probably not shear off. Again, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm guessing that the speednuts holding the bracket down would go first, and I figure that's problem whether your foot is on the pegs or on the floorboard.

And what would happen if the heel of your boot snagged on the edge of a pothole? I get shivers thinking about that, which is one reason I am a total wuss about MP3 turning and, as a matter of policy, have to agree with B24's conservative approach to peg use in aggressive manuvers. It's also why I was simply astonished when I saw scooter drivers in Paris racing around dragging their feet on the ground.

While the peg did scrape easily along the relatively smooth Florida asphalt I agree a large crack or pothole could be bad news with this peg. Usually I kick the pegs up when I get into town but not today for some reason. Good wake up call to go back to "in town pegs up!"

After the second strike (with my foot off the peg) it popped up to about 45 deg and stayed as that is just where the friction starts to catch the peg when folding it up. I think this second strike was a bit harder since I had to drop back into the curve pretty hard to stay on the road...still went a bit wide though. (Apologies to persons waiting to cross the street on the corner )

Feeling my heel touch, even though it was slight made me realize how low it rides even though I had the peg in the arch of my foot. The contact was to the outside and rear edge of my heel but it left barely a mark at all.

On mine the peg hinge is not horizontal but angled back a bit so the flat top is parallel to the bottom of my boot with my feet forward.

Note this peg the hinge in angled back a bit:


Note this eliptical peg the hinge is vertical, but it could be rotated like the first one. The roundness of the peg does not need the angle but it still works.


Bottom line put the hinge parallel with the extension of the bracket and it will still have a tendency to fold it hit from the front.

No Problem on the Dragon


I also think my odds to stay up with the peg possibly folding if dropped in a hole are much better than what will happen if it is the center stand with no give.

My pegs are 'inline' with the bracket and fold up no problem on desperado cornering - noting I have a 150/70-14 on the back and I now lean further.

Here is the scrape. I have my pegs mounted slightly angled to the rear. Actually it was two hits...not too bad.

Edit: I meant to say I now have

Interesting thoughts about the pegs being in-line with the bracket ears. For the most part, flat and elliptical pegs do not articulate, and so unless you have a most fortunate preferred foot angle, you will have to choose between in-line (best for safey i.e. folding up under impact) or best for comfort (parallel to however your foot will typically rest). The point being that if the peg's folding hinge is set parallel to the bracket ear, the peg itself will tend to fold up if it hits something and not catch on the side of a pothole, potentially leading to a disaster.

Note that this entire discussion does not apply to a round peg. Since a circle is infinitely symmetrical, a round peg should ALWAYS be set to fold parallel to the bracket ear.

The JCW elliptical peg is an example (there may be others) where the footpad and the hinge can be set independently, optimizing both comfort and safety. After reading the points raised here, I have re-adjusted my pegs so the hinge is parallel to the ear but the peg surface itself is somewhat more horizontal. Thanks for the discussion, I feel safer already!

Yep, that's exactly how I installed my pegs. It also means it's quick'n'easy to tap them outwards or knock them back inboard for a spot of filtering.

My boot-heels tend to touch the ground before my pegs anyway...

Yep that's how mine look now too. Before, it was a bit hard to get the pegs down when they were straight up.