and the parking brake is down, should the trike still roll? I don't think so, but mine does now. I though maybe if it didn't work the squeal in the right brake would go away...not.
When the TG is parked on an incline...
- Thread starter Skeet7373
- Start date
Do you have it in neutral or in gear while parked with the parking brake on? I would put it in gear. And, just remove that parking brake, then you will not have to mess with it's noise and adjustments.
The best parking brake I know of - leave the bike in gear and wrap/tie a heavy rubber band/bungie cord (made mine from an old inner tube) around the front brake lever. You won't forget it's there and it doesn't cost much. A leather strap with a shiney buckle would be the high dollar version.
I leave mine in gear and don't use the parking brake. But I expect that's more laziness on my part than any other conscious decision. However, I would expect that if your TG is rolling with the parking brake on, then the parking brake has gone bad.
- Thread starter
- #5
Yep, with it in neutral and the pb on, it rolls, and of course with it in first, pb on it does not roll and does not roll with the pb off. I thought it was funny..just something else
My parking brake has not worked since about a 1000 miles. I now have 29,000 miles. It is a useless POS. If you want to keep adjusting it all the time you can keep it working, however placing it in 1st gear works better, 
My dealer charged me 1 hour shop time to remove the parking brake. It is in a box in the garage. It works really well there and makes no noises and never gets out of adjustment.
Used to use the parking Brake, but kept forgetting to take it off. Don,t use at all now.
Was on Grandfather Mountain half way up, pulled off into a parking lot. With two Goldwing two wheelers and truck stopped in front of them. Parking lot was so steep neither one had enough leg to hold wings up. Fortunately the wife and girl friend weren't seriously injured.
I tried to get off of the Tri Glide but the parking brake wouldn't hold. First gear wouldn't hold with the parking break. Every time I tried to get off the Trike would move.
I finally had to move and park It diagonally with the wife holding the brake before i could get off and help get the Wings back up.
Was on Grandfather Mountain half way up, pulled off into a parking lot. With two Goldwing two wheelers and truck stopped in front of them. Parking lot was so steep neither one had enough leg to hold wings up. Fortunately the wife and girl friend weren't seriously injured.
I tried to get off of the Tri Glide but the parking brake wouldn't hold. First gear wouldn't hold with the parking break. Every time I tried to get off the Trike would move.
I finally had to move and park It diagonally with the wife holding the brake before i could get off and help get the Wings back up.
I use a Velcro strap to wrap around the front brake lever and handgrip for these situations.
I took out the set screw on the hand break and replaced it with a thumb screw. Makes adjusting the parking break very easy. Also, because I'm forgetful and have left the parking break on a couple times I bought a mercury switch (tilt switch) at Radio Shack for about 5 bucks and put a light on my dash, just like the parking break light on a car. I live on a nasty hill and have a very steep drive way. If I park it on a the hill in gear, eventually the compression will bleed down and the trike will start moving.
Good Luck
Good Luck
One of the 1st things I did was get rid of the parking brake and switch to a strap on the front brake, problem of constantly adjusting the parking brake solved.
After reading about all the parking brake issues, I never had one installed on my conversion. I've had no issues with the trike moving...I leave it in gear with a velcro strap on the front brake lever. It seems to me that the parking brake is just another part which will fail...why tempt fate?
I second the opinion that Trent made! I took our PB off and it's one of the best things I ever did! I mean after all, my previous two wheeled bikes didn't have a PB, and what did I do......left it in gear!!! Besides, after removing the PB, I don't get any more questions like " Is that an umbrella?" or " What is that right there by the fender?"
yea if you do keep it you will have to readjust it all the time..its not the best setup..
Once pads wear down the parking brake adjustment changes..
when it does work its great once the pads wear they are useless..
Leaving it in gear is the way to goo..been doing it for years..
I even put on a wheel lock extra security for me..
Once pads wear down the parking brake adjustment changes..
when it does work its great once the pads wear they are useless..
Leaving it in gear is the way to goo..been doing it for years..
I even put on a wheel lock extra security for me..
azbob09
250+ Posts
How complicated is it to remove the parking brake?
Is there anything to watch out for or be careful of when removing it?
Is there anything to watch out for or be careful of when removing it?
Just remove the cables and the handle along with its mount, don't remove any hardware from the brake caliper. Its a pretty straight forward job, the cables are the only PIA to remove from where they attach to the caliper.
- Thread starter
- #17
Haven't decided if I'll have it fixed or not.
The parking brake has been an annual problem for me. Every Spring I've had to have it repaired and/or adjusted. If I forget and drive of with it engaged it goes out of adjustment and I'm back to the Dealer. It never has worked right - couldn't they have designed something better???
- Thread starter
- #19
Alot of the owners have said when the PB was disengaged, the brakes stopped squealing. I guess I'll just go and get me some of those wheel chocks and carry around..
What I do is leave it in gear and I carry a velcro strap and engage the front brake a wrap the velcro strap around it to keep it engaged.
took out the set screw on the hand break and replaced it with a thumb screw. Makes adjusting the parking break very easy. Also, because I'm forgetful and have left the parking break on a couple times I bought a mercury switch (tilt switch) at Radio Shack for about 5 bucks and put a light on my dash, just like the parking break light on a car.
Some good Ideas here!!
I rarely use mine but probably keep it just in case, but, definitely the velcro strap is a good idea. In fact, I'm putting a FRANKENSTEIN kit on my wifes Sportster and I think that velcro idea is a capital solution to no parking brake!
D.
As many complaint threads as I have read on here about parking brake problems, I guess I am baffled as to why all of those with continual problems just dont remove it. You may be surprised how little it is actually working even when it is engaged anyway. They are simply a poorly designed, useless attachment that you will not miss, I promise. I have left my TG parked on some pretty steep hills in 1st gear and it goes nowhere. If I had to leave it that way for an extended amount of time, I would do the front brake thing. That will hold that Trike 10 times better than that parking brake. My dealer was happy to remove it. They can't suggest that you do of course, for liability reasons, but they have no problem doing it if you ask, and are glad cuz then they never have to mess with it again.
Are you saying that your rear brakes are squealing? Or just the rear right side?
- Thread starter
- #25
The right rear has always made alot of noise. It was so bad it was embarrassing to stop at a light and people look at you. Were they looking at this beautiful expensive HD, or the beautiful old broad riding it, or wondering were all the brake squall was coming from. The dealer said they cleaned them, that was all. Now that the pb doesn't hold, the squeal is alot less. Is there a way to adjust the pb to work and not have all that noise from the right rear?
This is exactly why I love this site. Lots of good information about things I never thought about....yet.
Wow... Which dealer did you take it to? I can't imagine anyone thinking that was acceptable. We certainly wouldn't accept that answer from a car dealer in a new car.
Yours is a 2012, right? It should still be covered by warranty. I'd keep taking it back until they stopped the squeal.
Simple, and it works great!
- Thread starter
- #29
This service manager is a total idiot. My experience with this dealer has not been a good one. The owner/dealer also told a "Amsoil" dealer (the guy is on disability and trying to sell the products) and I quote the other guy, "I'll void any warranty if I know they are using Amsoil", and he said for the guy to not sell it to any of this HD's customers. This is a guy who has bought over 10 HD's from this dealer. So, I'm taking it to another dealer that is a good 30 minutes away from me.
I would have had some fun with this dealer, the 1st question I would ask is are you telling me I need to run Harley Davidson oil to maintain my warranty. If he would have made the mistake of saying yes, my next question is are you going to provide the proper Harley Davidson oil free of charge since it is a requirement for maintaining my warranty. Depending on how he answered that question would have been how hard I would have continued to work on twisting his tail. My final blow would to let him know I will be contacting Harley Davidson about his adamant requirement to run only Harley Davidson branded oil, we would also have a discussion about the Magnuson-Moss warranty act.
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