Manual brake issues HELP!!!

[GeorgeG4]

Not bad, not bad at all. You showed GOOD ingenuity, and it looks presentable.
More importantly you got your brakes working good enough that you feel comfortable driving your kart. Way To Go.

Thank you!

 

[Karttekk]

There was never a doubt! Nice work.

 

[Snaker]

No, I literally checked with every hardware store in town and automotive stores and Aubuchon. None of them have yokes.

So I ended up buying a couple sticks of threaded rod and a turnbuckle put a slight offset in the rod and then I welded a bolt on each end. I also flipped around my brake caliper, so the lever is down. I then took the brake pedal off, drilled another hole higher up for more leverage. I can actually say that the brakes work now they’re not perfect but they will stop you. I believe I haven’t had a chance to test it really because we’re getting a lovely snow storm here.
I’ll post pics when I get some.

Not sure if the effect would be all that noticeable but mounting the rod farther out on the pedal would reduce your leverage.
More movement vs less leverage
Moving the mount towards the pivot would result in less movement vs more leverage

At the caliper end, mounting the rod farther out would give more leverage.
More movement vs more leverage

So for max leverage the rod would be mounted towards pivot on the pedal and away from pivot at the caliper, with the limit being the amount of foot action movement acceptable for full brake power

 

[Snaker]

Another thing that can help, but may not always be possible is having both levers positioned as close as possible to a 90 degree angle to the rod at the point of max braking.
Not at first brake contact but when its biting down at max, 90 degrees is good.

 

[GeorgeG4]

Yeah, not really possible in my application I do not think. I think the way I’ve got it now will work. We will see.

 

[Karttekk]

Yeah, not really possible in my application I do not think. I think the way I’ve got it now will work. We will see.

You finally got something going, enjoy what you've accomplished. Not to say any other suggestions aren't valid, since it's working satisfactorily just get riding.

 

[Sandmanbjj]

This is a great thread. I needed a lot of this information. My brakes have never been beyond barely functional.

 

[Sandmanbjj]

Using inspiration from this thread I picked up some adjustable yokes and threaded rod. I took apart the forward and reverse handle on my kart since it isn't being used. I welded up a spring support and drilled a hole in the handle then Added the spring. I just need to attach the threaded rod to the handle. And I will have a hand brake. Since I still had none

 

[Sandmanbjj]

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=816368693883901

 

[Sandmanbjj]

That's a pic I posted on Facebook I couldn't upload it here.
I will post the other end and the finished product when I get that far. Haha

 

[nobled2]

Not sure if the effect would be all that noticeable but mounting the rod farther out on the pedal would reduce your leverage.
More movement vs less leverage
Moving the mount towards the pivot would result in less movement vs more leverage

At the caliper end, mounting the rod farther out would give more leverage.
More movement vs more leverage

So for max leverage the rod would be mounted towards pivot on the pedal and away from pivot at the caliper, with the limit being the amount of foot action movement acceptable for full brake power

I realize this is an old thread but this seems wrong to me for the problem the OP was having. Leverage didn't seem to be the problem, getting enough pull on the cable seemed like the issue.

Putting the cable far away from the pedal and closer in on the caliper would have given more pull on the pedal end and required less pull on the caliper end.

Pretty sure this might have solved problem instead of having to go to full length rod

 

[Master Hack]

I find using old roller chain is a nice alternative to rods and cables. It doesn't stretch, it can be put in a tube to go around bends.
You can easily use a bellcrank to change the leverage and/or direction. All thread rod is purdy soft.