Footshift?
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Tourer
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 322
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From: Cumming, GA
Footshift?
Has anyone tried a foot shift with a 45 WL?
I've ridden bikes for 50+ years and I just can't handle the foot clutch and tank shift.
It leaves one hand on the handlebars and I have enough trouble with TWO hands!
Did i mention I'm an old fool? 76 and counting
I've ridden bikes for 50+ years and I just can't handle the foot clutch and tank shift.
It leaves one hand on the handlebars and I have enough trouble with TWO hands!
Did i mention I'm an old fool? 76 and counting
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From: la la land jerzey
we ride them all after they are fixed young feller
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From: Long Island, New York
Practice, practice, practice then some more practice. Big open parking lot on flat ground, circles, figure eights etc.
It definitely takes a minute to get it all figured out, but soon enough it becomes muscle memory. The biggest issue I had when i first got my bike running was that I didn't realize how poorly she was running. From bad carb to jenky everything. As they get sorted out they become easier to ride, more predictable. I find it a lot of fun and rewarding every time we get a nice clean shift.
And it is always a wondrous miracle when she starts with the kicker, always. Good luck.
It definitely takes a minute to get it all figured out, but soon enough it becomes muscle memory. The biggest issue I had when i first got my bike running was that I didn't realize how poorly she was running. From bad carb to jenky everything. As they get sorted out they become easier to ride, more predictable. I find it a lot of fun and rewarding every time we get a nice clean shift.
And it is always a wondrous miracle when she starts with the kicker, always. Good luck.
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From: OH
FWIW: (nothing) Had a UL motor in a VL frame converted to foot shift.
What the 45 really needs is a 4 speed box, the gap between 2nd & 3rd is just too wide
JMO
What the 45 really needs is a 4 speed box, the gap between 2nd & 3rd is just too wide
JMO
Last edited by eighteight; Sep 12, 2024 at 09:28 AM.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 322
Likes: 92
From: Cumming, GA
New (reproduction) 4 speeds were available until covid and then war in Ukraine.
Now, the 4 speed seems to be out of stock and you can only get a kit to convert 3 to 4. Not sure why just a kit and nothing not a new one?
Now, the 4 speed seems to be out of stock and you can only get a kit to convert 3 to 4. Not sure why just a kit and nothing not a new one?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Long Island, New York
4 speed probably is a good thing, 2nd to 3rd is way TOOOOO far apart. 30-40 MPH is basically no man's land with a 31 tooth motor sprocket, too much for second and not enough for 3rd. But one of the old guys told me when a I asked his opinion on a four speed, "...sounds like a lot of shifting."
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From: la la land jerzey
And its less HP then your lawnmower so exactly who do you think your going to scare with another gear it cant pull other then down hill
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From: la la land jerzey
I get it - have ridden a pile of them and some are better then others — but its a 1920s dirt farm road machine for local transpertashion as in the first design was at the end of using a bicycle frame with a gas engine — it was a major improvement at the time - cheap to build - easy to own and repair - and it did the job
fast forward - the interstate system was only being built in the 60s with paved roads that were to small anyway but today you take your life in your hands going up an a RT 80 kind of thing with a classic
if you use it for its original intended use its a great piece to own — if your hell bent on making a air balloon a F16 jet fighter — you need very deep pocket for the tools to fix it along the way // forget the money that’s like a leaking sink in a motel
fast forward - the interstate system was only being built in the 60s with paved roads that were to small anyway but today you take your life in your hands going up an a RT 80 kind of thing with a classic
if you use it for its original intended use its a great piece to own — if your hell bent on making a air balloon a F16 jet fighter — you need very deep pocket for the tools to fix it along the way // forget the money that’s like a leaking sink in a motel
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From: OH
I`m just trying to go up N.E. Ohio hills at 35 mphI remember talking to J.W. Boon at Wauseon, claimed a 45 had great touring abilities.
But Holland is flatter than a billiard table