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Easy pass, as when I am in the twisties acting a fool, how I have been riding forever, is the instinct and the one time I tried it on a Road King, good god. Talk about being in the wrong gear at wrong time and it just felt like it was hard on the shifting mechanism.
Ive run different length shift levers. Settled on stock shift levers with size 14 boots. I have them both adjusted low, just above hitting the left board when fully depressed. You can fine tune with the shift linkage.
My 1st heel shifter came on a 2005 RKC and it took me awhile to get use to it and now love it. I find I can shift faster and easier with it and have had several Euro bikes as well and miss the heel shifter on them. My 2021 RK only came with a toe shift and I had HD install a heel shift before I picked it up. For me, it's great!!!
I like heel shifter but it takes lot of floorboard room and have to adjust foot placement. So got this stealth heel shifter from Paul Yaffe. So far like it. Its not intrusive.
I'm definitely a fan of heel shifters and have been since I bought my first bike that came with one years ago.
However, the OEM H-D heel shifter kit puts the heel shifter a little too high for me which makes it awkward to lift my heel comfortably to shift. The height can be adjusted with the shift rod length or by shifting the lever splines on the shaft but it's limited because it'll contact the floorboard if you go too low.
I ended up replacing the stock length shift lever with a 1.5" extended lever from Softbrake and it made a world of difference. The extended lever puts the shift peg out behind the floorboard which allows the lever to be adjusted much lower. It not only reduced how much I have to lift my heel to shift, but also opened up the entire floorboard for my foot.
Some people seem to like heel shifters right away, some learn to like them after they get used to them, and others never seem to like them. I'm not sure how a heel shifter would change your foot placement any more than downshifting a toe shifter though.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
