I just posted this to another forum in response to a question about a parking brake for a Hannigan trike.<br />
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So FWIW ........<br />
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On my Quads there is a spring loaded device that slips into the brake lever opening/gap (between the end of the lever and the pivot housing) when the lever is pulled. <br />
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You have to hold it in place, then release the lever for it to stay in there, but it makes the brake stay on.<br />
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As soon as you pull the brake lever again, the spring moves the device out of there, allowing the brake to operate as normal, and keeps the device from entering the area at the wrong time<br />
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I have a machine shop in my garage and am going to see about making something similar for my trike.<br />
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As a side note ...... I am also going to be making a mod to my pegs so they can stay folded up like the passenger pegs. <br />
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I like the room that the floor boards provide with them removed, but prefer to have them in traffic.<br />
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When I do that mod I'll take a closer look at what's needed to do the "parking brake" mod to the front brake.<br />
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If worse comes to worse, just a simple clamp to hold the front brake on will also work, but I want it to be as clean as the parking brake on my quad ... which is a Polaris Sportsman 700 (in case you have access to one and can better see what I'm talking about).<br />
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Here's an image of one that is 'kind-of' like the one on my quad.<br />
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<img src="http://i21.ebayimg.com/02/i/08/d3/93/10_1.JPG" border="0" alt="" /><br />
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It's the little rocker lever at the top right of the main brake lever.<br />
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You engage it by lifting the leftmost part away from the main lever, when you have the main brake lever pulled in, so it fills the gap and holds the brake on.<br />
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Once you pull the brake lever again, it springs out of the gap, and operation is normal.<br />
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The brake on a Polaris quad is on the left side, and the parking brake device on mine is designed to be less prone to being engaged at the wrong time, than (IMO) is this particular type (I would want a spur on the main lever in front of this type, so the act of engaging it was not so prone to being as ...... arbitrary) but the theory remains the same.<br />
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Anyway, I'll come up with something that doesn't negatively impact the existing mechanical integrity of the GL's parts. <br />
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P.S. If you want quick and dirty ... a simple small wedge (with a hole drilled into the fat end so it could be tied to your right bar for keeping) could be slipped into the gap between the lower tab extension of the brake lever and the housing, when you have the brake pulled. Just be cautious of the small switches and hold the pointed egde of the wedge against the tab so it pushes against the top of the switch's domes, as opposed to the sides of them.<br />
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But I want something .........
that is as elegant as the one on the Polaris. <img src="images/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" />