Trailmaster EFI 200 - Reverse Lever vs. Parking Brake?

[jharding]

I'm trying to figure out the levers in the front area of my Trailmaster EFI 200

I know the one is for Drive/Neutral/Reverse, but I'm getting conflicting information about what the other one does.



There are stickers pointing to the top lever as the parking brake and the bottom lever as the "reverse lever" or the DNR lever

The manual confirms this in one section -


but in another, it looks like its referring to the parking brake as the reverse lever? Or is it referring to the DNR level as the reverse lever in both images in this diagram.


I am just wondering because I have always felt like something was holding the vehicle back when in drive. Like when I let off the gas, it slows down without even hitting the brake. And I hear something whining near the back brake disc when I let off the gas and coast.

this is the disc and it only has 11 miles on it


I drive with the parking brake pushed forward, like in the picture on the sticker, just not sure if I'm missing something with this parking brake when I go in reverse, does it need to go towards me?

Maybe the brakes need adjusted to not rub when in drive?

I appreciate any help. The TM manual certainly isnt any help

[jeff jackson]

To go forward, both levers must be in the forward position. Leave the front parking brake in the forward position unless you are parking it. However, the parking brake is a poor design and may still allow your buggy to roll even when applied (in the reverse position).

And, how well does the new EFI buggy work? Is it strong accelerating? The carb version just gathers speed on acceleration. You are one of the first with the new EFI.

[jharding]

I was able to figure out what the rubbing noise was on the rear brake. There was a bolt that held the rear brake caliper bracket to the frame and it extended past the end of the threads and into the disc! The lighter colored rub mark on the disc towards the outside is from the bolt. I backed it off a 1/8" and no more rubbing.

As far as acceleration, the engine has to get to a certain RPM to engage the clutch, but when its in gear and the pedal is to the metal, it definitely goes. Idle is smooth and engine sounds good. I havent driven a carb buggy so cant compare, but it definitely moves!

I found documentation on another buggy model on how to adjust the parking brake. It says to lift the rear wheels off the ground and adjust the adjustment bolt for the parking brake until significant brake friction is felt, then back it off a 14 turn. With the wheels off and the parking brake on , the wheels dont move easily, so it feels like its manually braking it. But on the ground and the parking brake on, I can still push it to move it. I might adjust it a little bit to make it more secure with the brake on for transport. It also mentioned slack in the cable and how to adjust that, but not sure if I need to do that and if it should be at the lever or the brake side of the cable. The documentation says to do it at the brake side of the cable