Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Footplate

Hi - New to the forum,
I have a new (07) BA and have just had footplates fitted and was advised that I also needed the rocker gear changer. Well it looks good, but is very awkward to use. You have to lift your leg to change up and at 60 or 70 mph thats not so easy and in slow traffic situations it can unbalance you.
So my question is Has anyone had this problem and If so how do you get around it, or is there a technique to using the rocker that I have not figured out

I'm gonna start by saying Hi too....

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I have a new (07) BA and have just had footplates fitted and was advised that I also needed the rocker gear changer. Well it looks good, but is very awkward to use.

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That's a dam good salesman. There was no need for the rocker - I'm riding mine around with the boards on and without the rocker quite happily. I have ridden one with a rocker and hated it.

My advice. If you don't have the original shift lever go and get it. Then get it put on and use the adjustments in the rod to the gear box to allow space under the lever for your foot. Then ride!

I know there's gonna be someone come back with how they love the rocker and "this" is the technique but I got in first...

Hi GinaS
Thanks for the advice, I was thinking of that, going to go back to Jack Lilly (where I bought the bike) and talk to them.
In Bristol eh! I have been thinking of riding out there some weekend soon.
Andy

Another one here using foot boards with the standard shifter. Rocker changes belong on mopeds.

We've had people cut the rear stud thing in half to give them room for their feet, but I'd just go back to the standard one and tell em you want your money back.

Hi Mat
Did you have to adjust the standard shifter in any way? I was thinking of cutting the heal shift bit off a) so that my foot fits on the plate and b) so as to change up without having to lift my leg up. Got back from a ride last night with aching muscles in my left leg.
Andy

I love the foot boards, and the toe/heal rocker didn't work for me. I'm with Gina on this one. I hate salesmen telling me what I "have to" get.

I put a 1/2 inch thick rubber bushing (packing for a sink faucet) under the lower two bolts for the foot board/peg mount. This tilted the boards back some which is more comfortable for me.

Wendy has the floorboards with no rocker shifter. I ride it and ofcourse she does neither of us have any interest in the rocker lever.

Steve
Any chance of showing me a photo of what you did, I was thinking the exact same thing as I was riding yesterday.
Andy

I've had floorboards on my bike since she was 6 months old and have never had a issue with the standard shifter. I did adjust it though.

Take a look at your shift rod. If you loosen those nuts on either end, you can turn the rod between your fingers and adjust the shifter up or down to wherever is comfortable for you and then tighten the lock nuts. If I remember correctly, the nuts are 8mm.

In a previous incarnation my bike was a V* 1100 classic that came with a floor board and rocker shifter standard. In 5 years of owning and riding the bike, I never once used the heel shift. I just used it normally.

On a side note. The America, IMHO, is a much better ride.

I have the rocker with aftermarket pegs (not boards), so i can't speak to technique, but I like it with my set up. I wear dress shoes most of the time since I commute the bike, and it really helps me avoid "shifter-toe". There was a thread on modifying the heel/toe shifter that was popular. I'll see if I can't chase it up if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

Oh- hi.

Thanks for your comments. If anyone has, or comes across any ways of modifying the gear shift I will be very interested.
In the meantime I am going to phone the salesman as your comments have certainly given me the ammunition to get my old gear lever replaced, and perhaps refund the cost of the rocker gear.
Andy

Here's a handful of threads:

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...true#Post206303
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...true#Post163895
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...true#Post158604
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...=true#Post98872
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...h=true#Post5819

Thats great thanks Phil.

I'm sure I'll be able to sort something out now.

Andy

Andy

Welcome to the boards - where abouts in Surrey are you? (I was "dragged up" in Woking)

I am supprised that the JL salesman stiffed you for the rocker - I had a test ride when they had their Shepperton shop and they didn't try any pushy stuff with me! Good luck trying to get a refund.

Shaun

Hi Andy and welcome to the most important site, you will ever come across owning a BA.

I also have the boards fitted but with standard gear change, no adjustment changes on mine at all.

Go back to JL and ask them for the original gear change lever, they should give it you back as it belongs with the bike anyway..

Hi Andy. Here's the pic of the spacer you asked for. Its rubber packing for a sink faucet. I took off the two bottom bolts, loosed the top two, and slipped them in.

You'll have to readjust the shift linkage. The easiest is to rotate the shift lever at the rear of the linkage clockwise by one spline, and fine tune the linkage from there.

I also added some plastic washers to the bolts underneith to take the wiggling out of the boards. I hated that.

Hi Shaun, good to meet you.
I live in Hersham for the past 6 years but was dragged up in Haselmere.
JL salesman just said if I have the boards fitted I have to have the rocker. I didn't know any better then, but now I'm-a-gona have some serious words with them tomorrow.
Love this chat site and hope I can contribute to you guys sometime.
Andy

Not that I'm feeling angry on your behalf....

But if you HAD to have them, then they'd be sold with the rocker as a complete thing...

Go and rant!!!

Well, I went back to the dealer and told him about this website (which he didn't seem to know about) and all the info you guys have given me. I also called Triumph head office before I went and they confirmed that they don't advise people that its essential.

So - got my money back and they replaced the original and adjusted it - OH BOY! SOOOO much better.
There should be a health warning against the rocker gear changer - With a different sitting position or if you have the original foot pegs I can see it might work, but not on the Bonny with footplate's (or is it Footboard).
So I'm a happy Bonny bunny now.
By the way I got a workshop manual while I was there so if anyone needs any specs from it just let me know.
Andy