Forward and Mid Controls: Fitting and the Part People Forget

Moving the pedals moves your brake geometry with them, and that needs resetting.

Fitting the controls is bolt-on and satisfying. What catches people is the two things that move WITH them: the rear brake pedal geometry, and the shift linkage. Get the brake pushrod adjustment wrong and you either have no rear brake or a rear brake that is partially applied the whole time — which cooks the pads and can boil the fluid.

Tools

• Hex/Torx drivers and spanners
• Torque wrench
• Thread locker as specified
• Brake bleed kit if the rear line is disturbed
• Service manual

Before you buy

Kits are specific to model and year, and often to whether your bike already has mid or forward controls. Check the listing against your exact bike.

Reach matters more than looks. Forward controls put your legs out in front, which is comfortable on a straight road and worse for control and for your lower back on a long twisty ride. If you can, sit on a bike set up the way you are about to set yours up.

Check whether the kit includes new lines and cables or expects you to reuse yours. Moving the pedals can put the existing brake line and shift rod out of reach.

Ground clearance changes. Forward controls on a lowered bike touch down earlier — it is worth knowing that before the first bend rather than during it.

Fitting

Photograph the originals from several angles before removing anything, including how the shift linkage is adjusted and how the brake pushrod engages the master cylinder.

Support the bike properly. You will be applying real torque to fasteners low on the frame.

Fit everything loosely, then set positions, then torque. Mounting plates that are tightened before the pedals are positioned end up fighting each other.

Use thread locker where the manual or the kit specifies it. These fasteners live in vibration and they are not somewhere to improvise.

Torque everything to the manual figures. Foot controls are safety-critical — a shift lever that falls off mid-ride is bad; a brake pedal that does is worse.

🔴 The brake pushrod, which is the whole point of this guide

The rear brake pedal acts on the master cylinder through a pushrod, and that pushrod has a specified amount of FREE PLAY before it starts to apply the brake.

Too much free play and the pedal travels a long way before anything happens — you can run out of pedal before you run out of stopping.

Too little and the pushrod holds the master cylinder piston slightly in, which stops fluid returning to the reservoir. The brake then drags constantly, heats up, expands the fluid, and applies itself harder — a runaway that ends with a locked rear wheel or boiled fluid. This is the failure mode people do not see coming.

Set the pushrod free play to the figure in your service manual after fitting the new controls. Then check that the pedal returns fully to its stop on its own.

After a short ride, stop and feel the rear disc. Warm is normal; too hot to touch when you have barely used the rear brake means it is dragging.

Shift linkage and the final check

Adjust the shift rod so you can reach every gear comfortably — you should be able to get under the lever for an upshift and on top of it for a downshift without moving your foot off the peg.

Check for full engagement of first and of top with the bike on a stand and the engine running, before you rely on it in traffic.

Check nothing fouls at full suspension compression and full steering lock: lines, cables, the pedal against the frame, the shift rod against the primary.

If you disturbed the rear brake hydraulics, bleed them and get a firm pedal before the bike moves.

Parts for this job

Check fitment for your own model and year before ordering — add your bike and we will flag what fits.

Other Harley how-to guides

This guide covers procedure and judgement. Torque figures, fluid capacities, gaps and tension settings are specific to your model and year and must come from the factory service manual for your motorcycle — we deliberately do not print numbers we cannot stand behind for your bike. Independent aftermarket retailer, not affiliated with Harley-Davidson, Inc.