How to Install Foot Pegs

Motorcycle and ATV foot pegs provide a convenient platform for the rider's feet. Besides acting as a resting point for the feet, foot pegs bear the rider's full weight if he partially stands or crouches to absorb heavy road shock. Foot pegs can have gripping teeth fashioned out of steel, commonly seen on dirt bikes and ATVs, or they can be spring-activated with a beveled spacer and contain non-slip rubber pads. A bike owner can install his own foot pegs, using a few basic tools.

Instructions

1

Stand the bike on its utility kickstand, if so equipped, or lean the frame against a center post if it has no kickstand, as might be the case with a dirt bike. Examine the configuration of your current kickstand design. If you see a foot peg pin and cotter pin with a spring around it, remember the exact orientation of the spring and where the spring ends clip on the foot peg mount. Use a pair of needle-nose vise grips to pull the cotter pin out of the foot peg pin.

2

Tap the pin out of the foot peg mount with a screwdriver. Pull the foot peg off. Place the spring back into the new foot peg mount and insert the pin through it to hold it still. Use a pair of needle-nose vise grips to clamp the end of the spring to the outside edge of the foot peg. Remove the pin. Place the foot peg onto the foot peg support, positioning the other end of the spring in the notch on the bike frame.

3

Insert the foot peg pin back into the foot peg mount hole by lifting up on the peg against the spring pressure. Align the pin hole with the mounting hole with a screwdriver, then shove the pin all the way in. Place a washer on the end of the pin head and stick a new cotter pin through the pin end hole and flare the ends of it with vise grips. Perform the same procedure on the other foot peg.

4

Tilt the foot peg in its upright position if you have the bevel hinge type peg, typical on Harleys and other large motorcycles. If the rubber foot pad sits inside the peg frame, look for a bolt or screw head on the underside of the peg and remember its location.

5

Place a socket on the foot peg frame bolt and an end wrench on the nut on the other end of the bolt. Twist the nut counterclockwise with the end wrench and remove it. Slowly pull the bolt out and catch the beveled spring spacer.

6

Align the new foot peg over the support frame mounting holes. Push the beveled spring spacer into the slot between the peg end and the support end, but make sure the square edge of the spacer faces the inside of the support frame. Tap the spacer inside with the end of a screwdriver; it will be a tight fit.

7

Place the bolt back through the mounting holes and screw the lock nut on the bolt by hand. Tighten the nut clockwise with an end wrench while holding the bolt still with a socket. Remember the bolt on the underside of the peg. Unscrew the bolt with a socket or screwdriver. Pull the rubber pad out of the peg frame. Wedge it out with a screwdriver if necessary.

8

Examine the adjusting screw on the end of the peg shaft. Use a screwdriver to adjust the shaft either out or in, depending upon the peg length you want. When finished, snap the rubber foot pad back into the peg frame with your hands. Use only a tiny bit of Vaseline to help wedge it into the slots. Screw the bolt back into the underside of the peg with a screwdriver or socket. Perform the same procedure on the opposite foot peg.