Hiway Pegs for the Honda Pacific Coast

Note: Click on the thumbnail photos for a full size image

On July 14, 1997 I picked up a used '95 Pacific Coast in Oklahoma City and proceeded to ride it home to Eastern Tennessee. My first day on the PC was 415 miles. The second day was 670 miles. In the intervening 6 weeks I have ridden approximately 4,600 miles. Needless to say, I like the machine tremendously. However, I concluded during that first long but enjoyable day that the PC needed an alternate foot position for long rides. I promised myself about 350 miles into the trip that I would figure out a way to mount some "highway pegs" on the front crash bars as soon as I had time. Of course, a major issue here is that the PC is such a good looking motorcycle, I didn't want to cobble it up with junk. After removing the front crash bar covers and carefully studying the underlying structure and a few "cut-and-try" attempts, I finally came up with a plan that works. In the end, I was able to mount a suitable set of folding pegs which I feel don't look too bad.

The pegs I used are standard folding passenger pegs from a Yamaha DT100 dirt bike but practically any would work. The trick is the brackets which attach the pegs to the bike. I fabricated a set of brackets which attach to the front crash bars (under the plastic, of course) with stainless steel hose clamps. The 1" wide steel brackets protrude thru the bottom of the plastic covers about 1.5 inches. The studs on the pegs fit thru a 1/2" hole drilled thru them and attach with a nut on the back. This photo shows the brackets without the pegs:

When folded the pegs are not visible from the riding position but are easy to extend with your toes. They are, of course, visible from the side and front of the bike but are relatively unobtrusive and I doubt that anyone other than another PC owner would notice them. When extended, they provide a reasonably comfortable alternative to the standard foot position. Here's a view of extended rignt side peg from driver's position.

The mounting brackets are made from 1.5" x 3/16" steel angle. Lighter weight (thinner) angle won't be strong enough (I tried it). The brackets are really quite simple; just a perpendicular cut across the one side of the angle and slanted cut at 70 degrees across the other. A second set of identical cuts 1" further down the length of the angle completes the job. The bracket for the other side is a mirror image (i.e. the 70 degree cut "slants" the other way. The 1/2" hole for the peg is on the perpendicular leg. Placement is not really critical; just drill as close to the end as reasonable to provide adequate strength. The following photo and drawing provide more detail.

Mounting the brackets to the center crash bar brace (Honda calls this a "bumper" on the parts fiche) is relatively simple although as noted earlier, the geometry is complex and rotating the bracket around the tubing significantly changes the attitude. I used two stainless steel hose clamps on each bracket but would have preferred U-bolts if I could have found some the right size. American U-bolts are either too large or too small. If metric U-bolts are available where you live, you may be able to find some that fit snugly around the crash bar tubing. However, should you end up using the hose clamps like I did, you'll probably want to tighten them with a wrench rather than just using a screwdriver. The hose clamps are adequately strong for just resting your feet; but probably aren't strong enough to support standing on the pegs. These views are of the mounted left side bracket from above and below.

It will be necessary to cut holes in the bottom of the plastic crash bar covers to allow the brackets to protrude through. The plastic covers normally installed by inserting the tabs at the rear first. With the brackets in place it is somewhat more difficult to accomplish this and the larger the holes in the bottom of the covers, the less impact they will have on installation. The cutouts in my covers are approximately 1" X 1.5" and provide adequate clearance for the brackets. This photo shows you where they belong. I used a Dremel tool to cut mine but a heated knife will work pretty well also.

Extending the pegs is a simple matter of pushing them out with your toes and finding a comfortable foot/leg position. One caveat however; when your feet are on the pegs, your calves will end up in the exit air stream from the radiator and leg position strongly influences the amount of hot air pulled in behind the faring. Keeping the inside of your lower leg in contact with the faring seems to minimize this effect by forcing the hot around the outside of your legs. Also, it does take somewhat longer to move your feet to the brake pedal/shifter that when on the standard pegs - Y'all be careful out there.

Good luck and enjoy!

Jim's Motorcycle Page