Does anyone know????

[BigBod]

Does anyone know when it became a legal requirement to have a parking brake on a trike and is the law retrospective.

A friends trike failed MOT today for no parking brake. :( The trike was sold by a bike shop this time last year with a full MOT. Looking to see if there is any recourse on the dealer that sold and MOT'd the trike.

Many thanks in advance.

[Blackjack]

I'm pretty sure you'll find there's no recourse on the MOT front as all the test says is that the vehicle was fit to pass an MOT on the occasion of the test (i.e. not necessarily five minutes later!).

After a 12 month, you'd have a bit of a problem proving that the trike wasn't actually fitted with a parking brake at the time of the test or indeed when it was purchased.

[Mad Dog]

I cant imagine wanting to ride a trike without the ability to hold it steady wherever I parked it.

A motorcycle has this facility by virtue of side or centre stand (albeit limited)

[Blackjack]

I cant imagine wanting to ride a trike without the ability to hold it steady wherever I parked it.

A motorcycle has this facility by virtue of side or centre stand (albeit limited)

Sidecars.

No usable stand, no parking brake.

[Sir Ewok]

Have a handbrake on my trike (underneath) and have used it about three times, once to see if it actually worked and once for the MOT. Used it once when front was jacked up.....
That's what a gear lever is for and hill starts are done on the front brake....

[Doro]

don't think our handbrake works very well, but a couple of bricks usually suffices :D

[Doro]

oooo

and I suppose some trikes you can leave in gear for added protection


but I do know the handbrake thing has been law for our last two MOTs

[Gypsy]

yeah our hand brake works :D last mot i had to wack it with a hammer cos it had seized due to lack of use :D

[guydewdney]

i find it odd that you need a parking brake (actually an 'emergency brake') - as the law for bikes is "two working, effective braking systems" (foot and hand) as is the same for a car (foot and hand).

its legal for you to have two independant brakes on one wheel (e.g a drum and a disc - yes ive seen it done)

you can have a parking brake on a front wheel.

from here (http://www.ukmot.com/3-1.asp) it states that on a 3 wheeler it needs to stop 1 wheel



as long as the total brake efficiency is up to scratch i cant see why.

but its sucha bone of contention, its just easier to have a) a hand operated front brake, b) a foot operated back brake and c) a parking brake (mechanical) - we used calipers off a volvo 440 with handbrake in the caliper for example (and a jag xjs handbrake lever which is really cool cos it drops down flat even when applied)

[Blackjack]

its legal for you to have two independant brakes on one wheel (e.g a drum and a disc - yes ive seen it done)



Older Volvos, Alfa Romeos, and some BMWs all had a set up with a small drum in the centre of the disc. Was a real pain in the ass, but it did work.

Back to Big Bod's original problem. a thought has occurred to me. This handbrakeless trike, it doesn't have a hole drilled through the front master cylinder clamp does it? Near the lever pivot area? I've seen trikes that had a "handbrake" that consisted of a pin that you drop through a hole after youve pulled the front brake on that keeps the lever back and the brake applied...........

Seems to me that would fulfill all the legal requirements whilst being easy to overlook.

[TaxiDave]

How about on a car engined trike, has anybody ever seen the same handbrake set up as on a Land Rover where a drum behind the gearbox operates on the prop rather than the rear wheels.

[Gypsy]

nicked fom the other thread

Ok peeps "handbrakes" we all call em that and no doubt will forever more but (told you there always was one) when we're dealing with regulations, directives, acts and MSVA we call them parking brakes, why? well for one if we're operating a handle bar steered vehicle we usually use our right hand to operate a "service" (the braking systems used to slow or stop the vehicle under normal use) brake and, as was pointed out by our potential grass chopper, merc and some others (usually septic cars) have a parking prake operated by the foot. So if we call it a parking brake we can operate it with whatever body part suits.

Now for MSVA (if its already registered then MSVA doesnt apply) a bike trike (and handlebar steered quad but not a three wheeled moped) requires a parking brake that operates on the wheels of at least one axle, so both rears or the single front.
The parking brake must be able to be applied from the driving position (either side)

The control must be operated independantly from any service brake so a bungy around the handlebar lever is a no no.

It must be held in the "on" (applied) position by purely mechanical means so no hydraulic or pneumatic or magical systems.

All clear? as mud? good read the next Trike Tek I think Alik is gonna expand on all this

Cheers

Chris

[BigBod]

Older Volvos, Alfa Romeos, and some BMWs all had a set up with a small drum in the centre of the disc. Was a real pain in the ass, but it did work.

Back to Big Bod's original problem. a thought has occurred to me. This handbrakeless trike, it doesn't have a hole drilled through the front master cylinder clamp does it? Near the lever pivot area? I've seen trikes that had a "handbrake" that consisted of a pin that you drop through a hole after youve pulled the front brake on that keeps the lever back and the brake applied...........

Seems to me that would fulfill all the legal requirements whilst being easy to overlook.
Simple as it sounds I think that with it being linked to the hydraulic system it could still fail.

[BigBod]

nicked fom the other thread


Thanks Gypsy, I did read all that but I still can't find a date that it was a legal requirement for a 'parking brake' on a trike. Is is just since the inception of the MSVA rules in 1998. Was it a requirement before this.

I really just want to see if we can pursuade the dealer that sold the trike to fit a brake for nowt. Need to be sure of my facts though.

[Alik Windrush]

Yrah you could have the handbrake working only on the front wheel but it must be mechanical. Drilling the front brake lever a popping a pin in won't suffice if the brake is hydraulic.

[Gypsy]

i think it is now a legal requirement on ALL trikes of ANY age

[dracken1]

ok does all that mean that if you have a cable drum front brake or a cable operated front disc. that blackjacks pin through a hole thingy would be ok?

ahh read it again and now it wont as it has to be independent.

i've got some mazda 323 rear calipers here that use a cable system to the piston. so they are also the parking brake maybe gafting one of those calipers onto the front end would be ok. as i hate the look of a hand brake

[Mitch]

it's been a requirement for as long as I can remember (about 10 years I think! If not longer)

[Alik Windrush]

[QUOTE=dracken1]ok does all that mean that if you have a cable drum front brake or a cable operated front disc. that blackjacks pin through a hole thingy would be ok?

ahh read it again and now it wont as it has to be independent.

Yep it would be fine... Independant cos it also works with the lever...

[xjtriker666]

ya cant drill an pin front or rear brake levers ..it has to be a mechanical handbrake ....it will fail m.o.t..

[BigBod]

Thanks everyone, my friend managed to talk to someone from the 'Ministry' yesterday and it would appear that handbrakes on trikes have been a requirement since time bagan almost.

Looks like it's back to the dealer who supplied the trike to see what they have to say about it all. Should be easier now with all the facts.

[Pagan]

I have ridden trikes for about 9 years and there has always been a requirement for a parking brake. You used to be able to get away with a line lock in the hydraulics, but they are wise to that one now as it is supposed to be a separate system.