Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Pegs or foot boards

what is the preference and why. I have pegs now, dont really mind them, but was wondering about the other. I am not sure they look so "sporty", but what of function? Do they really offer that much better positioning options? DO they get in the way of braking and shifting much, or at all, do you need the heel and toe shifter with them? Is there much difference between the Triumph and the Rivco boards?

One of the first mods was floorboards. I'm a bit height challenged at 5'7", and the 170 mile ride home after purchase was my first ride on a cruiser. My legs were pretty sore, and boards give me the chance to move my legs around a bit. From having my heels on the front end and propping my toes on the crash-bars (nearly simulates highway pegs), to having my toes on the back of the boards with my heels hanging off (making your feet feel pretty much under you), that's a pretty good change of angle. No problems with braking or shifting. They do have a bit of a cheezy mounting system. They're not spring loaded and the bolts are a loose fit so they can flop and rattle, not real high grade stuff. They scrape every now and then, but hey, it's a cruiser and they are a super help during 12+ hour riding days!

And the time I dropped the bike in a gravel laden turn, the right board held all the weight, scraping over the ground, and prevented damage to everything except the brake pedal and right pipe. Very, very strong.

No question for me boards are better. You are able to move your feet around and as far as shifting no problem. My only complaint with the triumph boards is the finish. They could have put more time in finishing. Other wise I can't live without them.

Depends on the look you want. Boards are much more confortable. Pegs look sharper if your bike is not dressed.

My bike has some stuff on it to dress it a bit, nothing too fancy....the air dam, classic badges, knee pads, fly screen, bullets for the plate, chrome battery cover with a emblem I added, choke knob, ( soon, a new seat, if Corbin ever gets their act together ), Sceptre pipes. Has anyone compared the Rivco product to the stock Triumph one ( I notic the Rivco folds up ), and are there any other options? I like how I see on some ( actually, many ) bobbers, the footboard is rounded, thus it looks more sporty, it has the length and all, but just a more pleasing shape. Plus, having an option for black, instead of chrome, would be nice too.

Thanks for the responses.

Check out the Kuryakin Switchblades. A lot of guys have them too. I have the Triumph boards but probably would have gotten the switchblades had I known about them before.

Have the floorboards and love being able to move my feet around on them. My biggest complaint about the pegs was my right foot naturally gravitated to where my toe rested on the brake pedal. Not good.

If I might suggest...

When you buy the floorboards, wear your boots with the highest toes (i.e., from the sole to the upper material). Have the shop that is mounting the floorboards adjust the shift and brake pedals such that your boot toes can slide under the pedals, plus maybe another 1/8 inch clearance. This will give you another couple of inches to slide your foot forward along the boards when you want to streach out your legs.

Okay, it seems that footboards are the way to go. SO on my list of the next add on, they go.

If you can, find someone close by with them and sit on the bike. Some guys just hate them. It would be very bad to spend the $$ on boards only to find for whatever reason you can't stand them and have to go back to pegs.

Good points. I did just that. Asked an assortment of riders, who all have said that once they have ridden with boards, they wouldnt do without. So, I figured it all seems good to me, so I ordered them this afternoon. Thanks.

I have ridden about 3000 miles with pegs and 1000 miles with boards. I started with the pegs and then tried the boards because I thought it would be more comfortable. I didn't like the shift action from 1 to 2 with the boards (I kept the standard shifter) and I couldn't get my legs comfy with the boards (I'm short and squat, so they tended to bow out more than on the pegs which sort of lock them in place). So then I went back to the pegs and things were good for a few months but on long rides, the soles of my feet started really bothering me from the pressure of the pegs so I went back to the boards again, which I have had on the past month. Now I prefer the boards because I can get my feet farther back behind me to give me a more upright riding position and on long rides I have more options with where to place my feet and I've found how to hold my legs so they don't get tired any more.

The other thing to consider is that when riding hard in the twisties, with pegs, you scrape the peg and then your boots can hit the ground but with the boards, the boards just touch down. This may seem like an advantage to the boards but gawd, is that board scraping noise aweful compared the the sound of just a peg scraping, not the mention the whole thing folding up on your foot is very unnevring.

I have heard lots of good things about the switchblades and I was looking at getting a set of Kuryakin Iso pegs with stirups too - best of both worlds, but I worry with the adapters they may stick out farther which would decrease ground clearance even more. Let the sparks fly!

Especially the right peg, which, when pushed, is a lefty-loosie turn, whereas the left peg is a righty-tighty turn.

After 4 bikes I had never rode with floorboards. After riding a friends Softail Deluxe, I thought...hey these are pretty cool. Much more comfortable, but I would like to try the Kuryaken switchblades first. I wouldn't want to loose cornering ability and I heard they do drag if you are too aggressive in corners.