Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Gear change lever - options?

Using my toes to change gear is having seriously damaging effects on my footwear Has anyone any recommendations for alternative rocker-type levers where I can kick down with my heel instead? And if so, is this something folks find easy to adapt to and use?

Siggy

I've had great sucess with the stock "heel/toe" shifter. I did have to modify it. I bend the back portion in towards the shift rod, try to get it parallel to the rod, I also machine or file out the top portion of the "half moon" slot near the center of the shifter to give more adjustment up and down for final alignment. I also found that reducing the length of the front and rear shift knobs helps, I cut mine down to four rubber rings on the front and three rings on the heel portion. It especially helps on the heel section to help get the shift knob out of the way of your heel, when used with floor boards.

I put up a photo of the modified heel/toe shifter; it will I hope, give you an idea of what I did to the shifter.

Thanks for the photo, Larryshep. I'm not sure I'm a floor board guy but it looks like the heel/toe shifter may work for me.

Siggy

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Never used one so it's not an endorsement, just info. I wear riding boots, they get shifter scuffed, but I hit 'em with some Kiwi and drive on. Some riding boots have an extra leather piece for just this. Hell, you're a motorcycle rider, right? What's a little shifter scuff?

Sig,
Actually, I have been waiting to see if Fryguy or Boogieman or Dinqua or Brent would come up with a "suicide shifter" for these bikes.... It's about the only thing that hasn't been addressed yet...

Gee, Grump, now I am intrigued! What is a "suicide shifter?" Sounds dangerous and edgy - which of course enhances its appeal

Siggy

Suicide shifters came from police bikes. Old Indians had a car type stick shift on the right side of the bike, and the throttle was controlled with the left hand. The clutch was foot actuated. This freed up the right hand so the cop could shoot at felons while riding(might come in handy today for those road rage cagers you come up against).

Read more about it at this link:

Jockey shift history

As I remember the suicide clutch it was called that because when you moved the foot clutch pedal ever so slightly it was in full engagement, no easing the clutch on those types.

Sal:
Thanks for the link. Looks pretty easy to do, wonder if "Fab Kevin" could make an adaptor for us? I think the suicide clutchs were also sometimes called "mousetraps", they're the ones with the big spring on the foot clutch. I never rode one, it might be interesting.

Finding neutal to be able to put both feet down at a stop looks challenging! I'm sure most of those real choppers don't have neutral idiot lights either.

Actually, you're right on track about the origin of the term "suicide clutch". If while sitting at a stop sign with the bike in gear,clutch disengaged with the left foot, waiting for traffic to clear, you started leaning to the left...

If you think a normal spot in the road is tough, think about one that's uphill. Most of these bikes only had a rear brake, so you're right foot is busy keeping the bike stopped. Since your left foot had to man the clutch, you soon realized the need for a 3rd foot. A lot of guys just do a rolling stop if the coast is clear...or so I'm told.

Larry's right that it's actually the clutch setup that makes it a suicide shift. It's just one of those things that's transmorgified into another name...suicide shift.

Here's a small little companythat specializes in this sort of thing. Watch out for the apparel section though, might not be work friendly.

Not to start an argument, by any stretch, but I was told that it was called a "suicide shifter" because you had to take one hand off the handlebars and reach relatively low to make each shift. This is purely from memory, so again, not meant for a heated discussion. We had a neighbor who had a HD with a sidecar that had this when I was just a youngun, and he told me that.... I still remember when my dad's car broke down and this neighbor would take him to work in the sidecar...! My mother wasn't happy...... I still see my dad sitting in the sidecar holding his lunch box.. No helmets, no glasses, and the roads were dirt back then.... Sorry for the trip down memory lane...

Al,
Actually the "mousetraps" were a option that converted a foot clutch to a handlebar lever clutch. My friend has a gorgeous '54 Panhead Harley that is slightly bobbed and he added a "mousetrap" to it, so it's like riding a more modern bike.
I've riden a foot clutch bike once, another friend's 1928 Indian Power Plus, and I can say that it takes a little practice to master the technique.

I may be wrong but I believe from your description of "reaching low to shift" you are describing what I think a lot of people called a "jockey" shifter. The reference I made goes back to the early 50's when the Harleys had eaither a 3 speed or 4 speed shifter on the left side of the gas tank and a left foot operated clutch. The old memory is just a bit fuzzzy.

And here I thought the terms "suicide shifter" and "jockey shifter" were interchangeable.

I'll bow to those wiser in the old ways of bikes, because...well, I'm not that old.

I always thought that there was a difference between jockey shift and suicide shift though.

I've always understood it to be "jockey shift" and "suicide clutch". Maybe Greybeard will weigh in with his knowledge.