Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Fastway Adventure footpegs

Santa finally showed up with a much awaited delivery this afternoon: new footpegs!

Although the WR250R comes with some half-decent footpegs (they're all steel and sharp), the other half of that equation is they're small and uncomfortable if you have to stand on them for any length of time. They also grind your soles to pieces, and this was a contributing reason for replacing my moto boots recently.

A slightly larger peg than stock offers more control and less fatigue on long trail days. After looking at various options online, Fastway (aka Pro Moto Billet) seemed offer some of the highest quality and best set of features in terms of adjustability, and the reviews to back them up. Many riders raved about the Adventure footpeg model for it's size and improved control as a result. While I was a little dubious of going to such a large design, I put faith in the review and decided to order a pair from Gnarly Parts. All the Fastway pegs require an insert kit (ordered separately) to fit the peg to your particular bike.


As you can see, the Adventure is substantially larger than the stock. In fact, you could probably have a picnic with a couple of buddies sitting on each one, they're so huge. I think the optimal size would be about a centimeter shorter, but Fastway doesn't seem to offer anything in that size and you need to go a couple centimeters shorter.


Some assembly is required. There are two lengths of pins to install, which lets you tune the profile under your foot. I opted for the tall pins at the back and middle, and short pins in front to more or less match the profile of my boot midsole. The kit includes red thread locker, which is a nice touch.

Installation is fairly straightforward but I had some minor fitment issues. First, the inserts are a tight fit in the aluminum peg body. The kit includes a small mandrel for hammering the inserts into place, but I found this clumsy and used my arbor press instead. Of course, once I installed one insert I discovered it was about 1.5mm too long to fit in the OEM bracket on my bike. I was able to turn the insert to a precise length using my metal lathe. Alternatively, you could probably file them carefully by hand.


There are two return springs, colour-coded silver and gold. Their fitment on either the left or right side depends on whether you mount the pegs in their low or high position. The height difference isn't much; the low position is about only 5mm lower than the OEM pegs and high about 5mm higher, but with my long legs, I'll take any extra room I can get. Changing the position means pressing out the insert (use the included mandrel) and flipping it over in the peg body. There's really only one way the springs can be installed in either scenario, and with a little fiddling and exertion you can push the peg into position so it aligns with the hole and then drop the original pin through to hold it in place.

One other adjustment is the resting angle of the peg. I don't see the point of this feature on the WRR, where the footage bracket constrains adjustability, so I just installed the adjustment bolt in its lowest position (no washers) which left the peg sitting horizontal. The pegs do swing back if hit from the front, although the range of motion is limited and may not offer much useful protection except when scraping the pegs in a corner. Although, this scenario seems unlikely on a dirt bike with such high ground clearance.


With a Forma Terra (size 11) boot on the peg there's about a centimeter of peg protruding past the side. I'm curious to see how using the full range of foot positioning that's possible on these pegs can improve riding control. If the reviews are accurate and my skills are up to it, it there should be a noticeable benefit.

No comments:

Post a Comment