The Brakefix secures the front brake on a motorcycle.
This holds the bike on a slope or a hill, in the garage or on a trailer.
The Brakefix helps to prevent the motorcycle from rolling when parked.
And it adds extra security when the bike is on a front wheel stand.
It’s simple, nicely made, inexpensive and it works.
Unless you live in Flatland, you probably need a Brakefix.
This became apparent to me recently.
I parked a borrowed motorcycle on the side of the road; a road that appeared to be flatter than a pancake that went through a pasta maker.
I lowered the side stand and started to walk away, when all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the bike started to roll.
Before I could do anything about it — and you have to be careful in this situation that you don’t get hurt — the bike was on its side.
One damaged ego and 80 bucks later for the broken directional (fortunately that was all), I learned my lesson.
Motorcycles just don’t seem to have the beefy side stands like they did in the old days. Or did they ever?
Example: The BMW F 800 S (Blog) has a spaghetti-strand of a side stand that I barely trust in the garage and not at all on the road.
If the floor isn’t perfectly flat and smooth, forget it.
The big, hefty 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS (Blog) is another case; its side stand looks thick enough to do the job, but it’s too straight up and it folds back too easily.
I have to be really careful when getting off that bike to make sure the side stand is fully deployed and stays that way.
So…why not put the bike up on the center stand? More easily said than done if you’re on a hill…
That’s where the ingenious Brakefix front brake lever holder or “brake jammer” comes to the rescue.
The Brakefix has four adjustment points and a snap lock for storage. Brakefix in the storage position.
The Acebikes Brakefix
The Brakefix is another product by Acebikes, the Netherlands-based company that also makes the Acebikes Steadystand (review) front wheel holder; the Acebikes Tyre Fix (review) tire hold-down strap; the Acebikes Steadystand Cross (review) for dirt bikes and more.
It’s made from some type of heavy-duty plastic with a metal bar that snaps into one of 4 notches.
The two parts form an adjustable “C” shape that is locked into place to hold the front brake lever tight.
The notch towards the back makes a snap that holds the Brakefix for storage.
Slap it over the brake lever and hand grip, squeeze the brake and tighten the Brakefix. There’s nothing to it and here’s a quick video for illustration:
Do You Need It?
Yes, you can use a bungee cord or a long strip of hook-and-loop, but it’s faster, easier, safer and all-around better to use the right tool for the job: the Brakefix.
Putting the bike in first gear may not hold it. I tried this with the F 800 S. Placing it in first gear, the bike will roll about 70 mm (2.75″). That’s enough to make the side stand fold over. Placing it in first gear will NOT hold the bike on a slope, but the Brakefix holds it tight.
Also, leaving the bike in gear when the bike is being trailered may not be a good idea, due to the rocking back and forth and motion of the trailer. I would absolutely not rely on the “in gear” method to hold a motorcycle steady.
Other Uses: Whenever I flush and bleed the brakes, I like to keep the front brake lever tight overnight. The pressure in the system dissolves any air bubbles left over.
Before the Brakefix, I would wrap a bungee cord around the brake lever and hand grip, but bungees are dangerous and I’d end up with grooves worn into the rubber hand grip. Plus, it can be difficult to adjust the amount of pressure on the lever.
The Brakefix is the perfect solution for that task.
Conclusion
The Brakefix is a simple, easy-to-use device that may just pay itself back in spades. If you’ve ever had a motorcycle roll off the side stand, you know just what I mean.
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From “B.P.” (August 2015): “I was just looking at (the Brakefix) again, for purchase (but no review), because I mentioned it in passing in a brake-bleeding thread on one of the Victory forums.
And so I looked again and Wheels and Wings (U.S. distributor) now has it. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that if you click on the link to order one, you’re taken to eBay. There, the item is $14.95… plus $7.50 shipping. Put another way, the shipping adds 50% (!!!!) to the price of the item. And that stuck in my craw sufficiently that I said, well, I can’t print that, but I didn’t order one.
At one of the dealers in the Netherlands, the thing is on sale for €8.99 (about $9.80 USD), marked down from what I think is the list price of €9.99 ($10.89 USD).
It looks like with shipping/handling/tax (I pretended to buy one, but my Dutch isn’t what it used to be) within Europe the total was €12.99 ($14.16 USD).
In some fairness to W&W, if you order a second one, the price goes up $2.00.
On the other hand, that annoyed me, too; I mean, if I order a hundred of these things, is W&W going to be losing money because, on average, I’ll be paying $2.06 shipping per unit, instead of $7.95? I doubt it.
If you have any influence with W&W, you might suggest they get real, regarding shipping on a $15 part (and one which costs about a third less across the pond, to boot).
From “C” (June 2015): “Here in Melbourne, Australia, a local motorbike transport company gave me a couple of their branded widget they use to lock the front break lever on during transport.
It is just a double-sided Velcro strap sewn to a metal D-ring. Cheap and works as good as this Brakefix thingy, which seems almost overly complicated.
Best of all, this simple Velcro strap with a D-ring can be easily made by anyone.”
Rick’s Reply: Kind of funny, you guys are totally missing the point. Yes, you could replace just about anything with a cheaper/simpler alternative.
Examples: Harbor Freight spanner instead of a Snap-On. AFX helmet instead of an Arai. Olympia gloves instead of Held. Joe Rocket jacket instead of Dainese. Work boots instead of Sidi. A Ural instead of a BMW R1200….
Yes, you can use a piece of string to do the same thing as the Brakefix.
But it’s so much nicer to use a beautifully designed tool that is just right for the job…
From “D.W.” (June 2015): “Very cool piece of kit, and I agree about side stands not being what they used to be (maybe because the bikes were so much lighter?).
I have a K1200r with a marginally better stand than your F800, and my fix was always to shift to first, and then roll the bike ‘downhill’ until I took out the transmission / shaft drive slack and then drop it on the kickstand.
That said, I didn’t learn that until I did exactly as you did- turning away and getting a few feet before hearing the spring retract noise and watching in slow motion as my shiny new(ish) ride collapsed like a wounded deer. Sadness. I’m buying a Brakefix.”