1 possible brake switch replacement for the bmw part Sat Dec 24, 2022 7:44 pm
charlie99
VIP
hmmm Brake switches .....
some long time ago i bought some switches out of great Britain in the hope of replacing the bmw brake switch part , which for this old pensioner is horribly expensive at $55 + delivery etc. these days . so a solution for a cheaper option was sought .
just now i have exhausted my stock of good working replacements , and i have still an issue on old Gerty , with the foot brake switch with a shortened action which is just confusing for the following rider i guess .
basically the switch plunger plastic section is now particularly short , meaning any slight pressure activates the brake lamps , either by accident or even pothole bashing .
so finally i have had to resort to attempting to use these switches i bought, way back when .
a main issue is that the replacements are threaded with something like a 6mm thread
the bmw switches are 8mm x 1.0 pitch
thankfully Murray a local member here (redrock mania ) came to the rescue with some technical help as he had the tools , lathe etc that i didnt have at hand , although i had planned to use the resources at the mens shed where i volunteer my help a couple of days a week .
anyhow we got discussing the idea and murray took the sample parts away with him and came up with a result .
my thoughts were to make a threaded sleave acting as an adaptor between the two different threads
Murray tried brass as the adaption piece without success as the brass couldnt really support the strength reguired in its wall thickness , but another attempt proved that mid steel would do the job.
since making an adaptor that kind of fits Murray has discovered that the switch thread is likely an imperial 1/4 inch x 32 tpi rather than 6mm x 0.75 pitch .
but in any case he has screwed the latter onto the switch leaving a possible fix for the initial issue of the foot brake operation.
Murray has ordered a suitable tap to make the switch to adaptor thread a complete success for future use
so we will see the outcome in the not too distant future .
whats left to do now ?
make a Mould for some silicon to cover the electrical connections at the back of the switch - cable
or
just use some glue lined dual wall heat shrink for that purpose , (which i have used extensivly on just about everything motorbike related , which certainly keeps the crap out of entering and is still flexible enough to make life easy , rather than the hard setting single layer heat shrink that we mostly know and is more commonly available. )
some pics ?
i guess this will explain it all, mostly,
with many thanks to Murray for spending the time and effort in this endeavor.
some long time ago i bought some switches out of great Britain in the hope of replacing the bmw brake switch part , which for this old pensioner is horribly expensive at $55 + delivery etc. these days . so a solution for a cheaper option was sought .
just now i have exhausted my stock of good working replacements , and i have still an issue on old Gerty , with the foot brake switch with a shortened action which is just confusing for the following rider i guess .
basically the switch plunger plastic section is now particularly short , meaning any slight pressure activates the brake lamps , either by accident or even pothole bashing .
so finally i have had to resort to attempting to use these switches i bought, way back when .
a main issue is that the replacements are threaded with something like a 6mm thread
the bmw switches are 8mm x 1.0 pitch
thankfully Murray a local member here (redrock mania ) came to the rescue with some technical help as he had the tools , lathe etc that i didnt have at hand , although i had planned to use the resources at the mens shed where i volunteer my help a couple of days a week .
anyhow we got discussing the idea and murray took the sample parts away with him and came up with a result .
my thoughts were to make a threaded sleave acting as an adaptor between the two different threads
Murray tried brass as the adaption piece without success as the brass couldnt really support the strength reguired in its wall thickness , but another attempt proved that mid steel would do the job.
since making an adaptor that kind of fits Murray has discovered that the switch thread is likely an imperial 1/4 inch x 32 tpi rather than 6mm x 0.75 pitch .
but in any case he has screwed the latter onto the switch leaving a possible fix for the initial issue of the foot brake operation.
Murray has ordered a suitable tap to make the switch to adaptor thread a complete success for future use
so we will see the outcome in the not too distant future .
whats left to do now ?
make a Mould for some silicon to cover the electrical connections at the back of the switch - cable
or
just use some glue lined dual wall heat shrink for that purpose , (which i have used extensivly on just about everything motorbike related , which certainly keeps the crap out of entering and is still flexible enough to make life easy , rather than the hard setting single layer heat shrink that we mostly know and is more commonly available. )
some pics ?
i guess this will explain it all, mostly,
with many thanks to Murray for spending the time and effort in this endeavor.
__________________________________________________
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'86 K100 RT..#0090401 ..."Gerty" ( Gertrude Von Clickandshift ) --------O%O
'86 k100 rs.. #######.. "Fred " (f(rame) red ) ( Fredrick leichtundschnell ) - -
bits and pieces from many kind friends across the k100 world ...with many thanks ..
1987 k100rs ######## "Red" - (red sports rs TWB style )
1989 K100rt #009637 "Black Betty" (naked rt ala Nigel , now sporting an rs main fairing )