Question for older riders: Foot Clutch / Hand Shift Harleys
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,068
Likes: 1,473
From: Texas! Ya mean there's someplace else?
A great modern-day help comes from Baker - a transmission top that puts neutral at the bottom of the pattern instead of between 1 and 2. Love the Baker tranny and N1 top on my suicide/jockey '87 Sloptail.
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 83
Likes: 24
From: Kansas City
Right, but there is no single technique, that allows a single answer.
My point is/was that every rider will operate differently,,
Even the same operator will do things differently in various situations.
Asking for a specific answer to this is mute,, there is no chance in He!! your going to get a specific answer to a variable situation.
Think about it.
My point is/was that every rider will operate differently,,
Even the same operator will do things differently in various situations.
Asking for a specific answer to this is mute,, there is no chance in He!! your going to get a specific answer to a variable situation.
Think about it.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,717
Likes: 273
From: Minnesota
what would a rider training course teach
Your trying to imply 2015 mind set to 1940's issues.
My God man,, there were still horses on the road in rural areas, steam engines were still harvesting crops.
Best guess off the top of my head is leave it in gear,, you can't make a bike move if it's in neutral,, the idea was to get the bike to move down the road,,
Maybe there was a coasting technique,, to save fuel,,
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 575
Likes: 4
From: SouthWestern Ontario
In 1965 I got my motorcycle license by paying I think $2.00 for it with no test. This was in rural Ontario where there were not many paved roads. I was 12 years old before I knew what a curb was.
Anyhow, learning to ride my first "45" took all of one scoot up and down the laneway. The foot clutch and hand shift were all I knew until I took an interest in the Brit bikes a few years later. There was nothing like sliding those old hardtails around the turns on the dirt or gravel roads. I added the reverse gear to the transmission with a kit available for $14.00, which was a sizable sum for me, only making 75 cents an hour, part time after school & weekends. That added a new element of motorcycle mastery and many mishaps. Yeah, Ive been ****-up in the ditch a few times. lol. Today, there are lawnmowers that can outrun those old flathead WLAs.
Just a little insight from the archives in my mind.
Anyhow, learning to ride my first "45" took all of one scoot up and down the laneway. The foot clutch and hand shift were all I knew until I took an interest in the Brit bikes a few years later. There was nothing like sliding those old hardtails around the turns on the dirt or gravel roads. I added the reverse gear to the transmission with a kit available for $14.00, which was a sizable sum for me, only making 75 cents an hour, part time after school & weekends. That added a new element of motorcycle mastery and many mishaps. Yeah, Ive been ****-up in the ditch a few times. lol. Today, there are lawnmowers that can outrun those old flathead WLAs.
Just a little insight from the archives in my mind.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,594
Likes: 178
From: east texas
I rode them , they sucked by todays standard's.
my first was a 61 cube 1948., no front brake, pillion seat, and broke down every few miles.
converted the rocker to suicide, made it worse..
bought a 650 triumph..(1956)...then several more limey bikes
finally, went back to HD in 1986,,,wow the evolution was here.
OLD aint good !!!
my first was a 61 cube 1948., no front brake, pillion seat, and broke down every few miles.
converted the rocker to suicide, made it worse..
bought a 650 triumph..(1956)...then several more limey bikes
finally, went back to HD in 1986,,,wow the evolution was here.
OLD aint good !!!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,490
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From: Santa Klaus County, Cali
Well there is no synchro into first so it is a must that you get to neutral, come to a complete stop and then shift into first gear.
On my 49 EL the stock front brake is on the left side. I get the bike to neural position, make sure clutch is not engaged, use brakes to come to a complete stop, shift into first, and keep left foot on the clutch so that as soon as the light changes (or whatever needed for me to come to a stop) it is merely a matter of engaging the clutch and moving forward.
It takes a bit of practice. The other thing you have to remember is to look farther ahead on these old bikes mainly because it takes longer to stop on front and rear drum brakes. Nice thing it that the bikes about half of what modern day iron weighs so it is easier to stop.
On my 49 EL the stock front brake is on the left side. I get the bike to neural position, make sure clutch is not engaged, use brakes to come to a complete stop, shift into first, and keep left foot on the clutch so that as soon as the light changes (or whatever needed for me to come to a stop) it is merely a matter of engaging the clutch and moving forward.
It takes a bit of practice. The other thing you have to remember is to look farther ahead on these old bikes mainly because it takes longer to stop on front and rear drum brakes. Nice thing it that the bikes about half of what modern day iron weighs so it is easier to stop.
Last edited by panz4ever; Sep 5, 2015 at 10:02 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,719
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From: Boston suburbs
Funny you say that...I let my buddy ride my fatboy today with a jockey set up (LaBriolia) so he could decide if he wanted to put one on his dyna. He decided against it, said it was "not natural"
I rode his dyna and had to think about "hand clutch, foot shift" and I rode that way for 25 years verses less than 1 riding jockey
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Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,712
Likes: 410
From: Puyallup, WA
I have never owned a suicide shift, but my Dad did. I have ridden a few briefly and couldn't tell anyone how I did it, been a while. I do remember riding a very old Indian, when you pushed the clutch in you could push the pedal in towards the motor and hook the clutch pedal on a hook to hold it disengaged. I have no idea if this was stock or added later.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 339
Likes: 199
From: NE PA
Never rode a rocker clutch, but I had a Knucklehead bobber, jockey shift, suicide clutch. I generally kept it in gear for engine braking and when I got stopped slipped it into neutral. It had an open primary, so needed to be real careful how the foot went on the peg - my boot heel still has grooves from it. I usually just put my right foot down and kept the left on the peg.
It was a great looking bike, but dangerous as hell to ride with that setup and crappy brakes - front was the stock cable actuated drum, rear was an exotic European Sprotor (combo sprocket/rotor) with very little fluid capacity that would boil off and not work at all if abused very much. I miss it, but with the traffic I get in it was a little too exciting.
Here's a pretty good shot that shows the clutch, with chain linkage and shifter:
Here's the other side, just for hahas:
It was a great looking bike, but dangerous as hell to ride with that setup and crappy brakes - front was the stock cable actuated drum, rear was an exotic European Sprotor (combo sprocket/rotor) with very little fluid capacity that would boil off and not work at all if abused very much. I miss it, but with the traffic I get in it was a little too exciting.
Here's a pretty good shot that shows the clutch, with chain linkage and shifter:
Here's the other side, just for hahas:
