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Thrashin’ Supply’s Adjustable Brake Setup for M8 Softail

The Thrashin’ Supply crew spends a lot of seat time on Harley-Davidson FXRs, Baggers, and Milwaukee-Eight Softails. When you ride as much as they do, you get creative with how to make tweaks in making your motorcycle fit you best. Thrashin’ Supply’s Adjustable Brake Linkage was one such modification that made sense for the crew to develop for Harley’s Milwaukee-Eight Softail models. 

 

The Thrashin’ brake linkage allows you to fine-tune the height of your brake arm without having to remove the linkage from your bike. It fits Milwaukee-Eight Softails with mid-controls and includes all necessary mounting hardware. You can also choose black anodized or chrome finish, depending on your style. 


And if you’re going to go that route, you might as well update the brake arm itself with one of Thrashin’s new Softail Brake Arms, too (below). The new Softail Brake Arm is made from billet aluminum and comes in a black-anodized finish to increase lean angle over your stock application. The Brake Arm fits 2018–2023 Harley-Davidson Softail models with mid-controls. 

We popped over to the Thrashin’ Headquarters in Moorpark, California, to get a glimpse into how these new brake bits function on an M-8 Softail and to see how they were installed. Thrashin’s Juan Arceo walked us through the step-by-step installation. 

 

Thrashin brake install
Tools: You’re gonna need a 1/4-inch drive socket, 1/2-inch open end wrench, 5/16-inch deep socket, 3/16-inch Allen bit, a T-27 Torx bit, and some blue threadlocking compound for the new supplied hardware.

 

Juan started by removing the factory linkage’s 3/16 Allen bolt up front. Notice the Thrashin’ Brake Arm was already installed.

 

…And then Juan removed the rear aluminum ARP bolt from the Thrashin’ Brake Arm (which will be a T-27 Torx for stock applications).

 

Juan was able to remove the brake arm and linkage as one unit, but he had one bolt left to remove, the 3/16 Allen socket. Note: Be mindful of the stock linkage’s orientation to the brake arm. You’ll want to mirror that setup when installing the Thrashin’ Linkage and the supplied spacers in place.

 

Make sure you use some blue threadlocker when installing the new Thrashin’ Linkage. You’ll also want to make sure that the supplied Thrashin’ spacers go on the inside of the linkage when installing the bolts.

 

Starting with the front 3/16 Allen bolt, Juan installed the new Linkage in place with the spacers behind the heim joints.

 

Juan then reinstalled the Thrashin’ Brake Arm using the 12-point ARP hardware and threadlocker from before.

 

Once everything was installed…

 

…Juan was able to make adjustments to the Brake Arm height with one hand before tightening down the jam nuts.

 

Once he found the desired location for his riding position, Juan checked for any clearance issues, and also that he had full range of motion of the brake arm. Once that checked out, he tightened down the front heim joint jam nut.

 

And finally, he tightened down the rear heim joint jam nut and installation was complete.

 

Here’s a different view of both new components installed after being set to the desired location. All in all, a simple installation that allows you so much needed options based on your riding positioning.

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