Pivot Pegz – A quick and effective handling upgrade?
- Julian
- October 16, 2019
- 9:25 am
- No Comments
You would think that motorcycle manufacturers would be pretty good at designing something as simple as a pair of footpegs for your brand new and extremely expensive motorcycle. And yet often what you get looks like a school metalwork project, and as for any type of design or clever technology, you can forget it. Perhaps it’s time to look at a set of Pivot Pegz?
THE DESIGN
OK so if ever a product had an easy to understand name, the Pivot Pegz are right up there. The pegs were designed way back in 2000 and although they have gone through continual development since that time the principle is the same. Where normal pegs stay still as you move your feet back and forwards during a trail ride, Pivot Pegz will pivot forward or back as you move, with a full 20 degrees in either direction. The movement is controlled by external spring mechanism that always returns the pegs back to the central position, and the same spring gives suitable resistance to movement unless under load, so the pegs are rock solid all the time.
The advantage to this pivoting is clear, in that as your boot moves it remains in contact with all of the footpeg surface, rather than moving to the front or back edge as happens with conventional pegs. This gives vastly improved levels of control when stood on the pegs, and when braking or changing gear. And with riders from motocross, enduro, rally and desert racing choosing to use Pivot Pegz, then it seems that the science is pretty convincing.
And just in case you did need more convincing, then if the peg is moving then the wear on your boots is far less, meaning the soles on those lovely Alpinestars are going to say in far better condition for longer. Bonus!
THE FITTING
So we decided to try a set of Pivot Pegz on the KTM 690 Enduro R. In fairness to KTM, we’ve never had much a problem with the stock pegs, even fitting a pair of old EXC pegs to our Yamaha Tenere 660 – we had to replace the truly awful stock pegs.
But in the interests of science and product testing we went ahead, expecting a lot of swearing and pain as is usual with refitting spring-loaded footpegs. So first off we took the precaution of wearing safety glasses ….
And man were we glad! First off you take out the split pin and remove the washer, before gently tapping out the original pivot pin with a small drift. Once out and as expected, the KTM spring pinged off at 120 mph past the glasses and off into the furthest corner of the garage. Without the glasses this could have taken out an eye in a second …
The refitting of the new Pivot Pegs is easier, and as it turns out, much less dangerous thanks to the more secure design on the main folding pivot spring. Secure hooks on both ends of the spring keep it fully in place so you just need to smear a bit of copper grease onto the pin, push the peg into the mounting bracket and with a bit of wiggling the pin will go back in and with a few taps, relocate. After that it’s back on with the washer and either re-use the old spilt pin or use the one supplied, but as that seemed a tad small, we just replaced with a new spilt pin the same size. Job done in ten minutes per side and all eyes undamaged.
THE TEST
So with the pegs fitted it was time for a test, and conveniently we were set to go on an end of season two-day trail trip in the UK with a combination of sweeping roads and great trails travelling from Bath down to the Dorset coast and back. The weather had been decidedly autumnal with heavy rain over a week or so, leaving the lanes drenched and slippery – just the time you need good grip on your boots. Would the Pivot Pegz live up to expectations or fall at the first? There was only one way to find out …
So the Pivot Pegz performed well over the 300 miles on the trail. The movement is not as noticeable as you might imagine, but at the end of two long days of riding they had certainly proved comfortable and with good grip in very slippery conditions. From seated or standing, the big KTM needed to be fought about on occasions, and the Pivot Pegz made the job easier, even if we wished that the outer spikes on the pegs were the same as those on the sides.
APPEARANCE
We like the look of the Pivot Pegz – the highly polished chrome surface looks ‘factory rider’ cool, the spikes are suitably aggressive and the engineering is beautifully rugged.
DURABILITY
The sensible design and sturdy components and pivoting action mean these pegs are likely to last far longer than standard pegs. You will be transferring them between bikes for years to come, guaranteed.
COMFORT
The Pivot Pegz are more comfortable than the stock pegs but are slightly shorter so it’s a bit of a trade off. On a long trip comfort is important and in these conditions they work well especially with soft soled boots.
VALUE
OK so we have to score low on this one as the Pivot Pegs are an eye-watering £174.24 compared to a mere £62.04 for a stock pair of KTM pegs and springs. Are they nearly three times as good? Maybe not.
RIDE EXPEDTIONS RATING - PIVOT PEGZ
We’re seriously impressed with the fit, finish and action of the Pivot Pegz as they do exactly what they are supposed to do and look fantastic on the bike. The main problem we have with them is the prices as nearly £180 is super steep for a set of pegs no matter how good they are. But like the Raptor Pegs we reviewed a few years back, quality costs and if you can afford them, these are a good choice.
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This post first appeared on Cambodia Motorcycle Tours | Ride Cambodia, please read the originial post: here
