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my dads got a 2007 fxst softail and standing at 5' 4" had to make the bike fit him....A reach seat, dropped the rear an 1" i believe........Just wondedring if anyone knows of a shorter shift lever.....its a lil out of his reach.....so is the brake, but i think one of those clamshell brake covers would prob work......anybody have any other suggestions...........................thanx
I had mine shorten about 7/8" works great, but does increase the amount of pressure needed to up shift. . . . . I had it done by a local machinist and then I painted it satin black and baked it in the oven . . . . poor mans powder coat.
I tried a shorter shifter on mine and it was very difficult to operate. Harder to shift gears and if you think it's hard to neutral now, it's next to impossible with a shorter shift lever. I grew used to the standard length and wouldn't consider anything else now.
Funny you mentioned that. I had this hairbrain idea to manufacture shorter shifters and brake pedals for Softails and Baggers. (I had a Sportster and Streetbob before my Heritage which had mid-controls). I even talked to a couple machinists. When I went to the dealer and sat on Softails or Baggers or anything with floorboards I always thought that I wouldn't be able to reach the pedals. (I'm 5'4"). He must have a pretty short inseam 'cause I got a C&C seat which lowered me and moved me forward about an inch. At least that's what I asked for. Maybe a custom seat? My biggest problem was reaching the kickstand. I ended up getting an Arlen Ness which mounts toward the rear and it solved that problem. I've never sat on a Reach Seat but if that's not working you might want to try a custom seat before shortening the pedals.
Ok. Sorry. I just noticed the picture in your original post. Is that a Standard? I'm still learning the model numbers. Hmmmm, I see the dilemma. It has forward controls? I was thinking it had a heel-toe shifter. I don't think I could reach that either. I know this doesn't help but a model with a heel-toe shifter would probably solve his problem.
Ive seen in j&P mayb............a relocate kit for foward controls....moves the mount back...recalling from memory it was only good up t0 99 vtwins....mayb i can something made for him if possible....i'll take a closser look at his bike 2 day
Here's a little info on reaching the shifter on a Heritage Softtail. I am 5.2 and could not reach the shifter so here's what we did. I purchased a Mustang seat which allows me to sit closer to the foot controls however I still could barely reach the shifter. The husband lowered the back end which helped reaching the ground but still not the shifter. We then purchased a Harley Sportster shifter lever which is a shorter length and removed the front and rear lever that was on it. He did have to grind down the shaft just a bit with a drimmel to get the bolt in but it was a very small modification. I read everywhere online that using a shorter shifter lever makes it harder to shift but it's not as bad as they are saying. With my HD riding boots being so thick and sturdy I didn't find it that difficult. I did add a peg extender for extra support.
I had mine shorten about 7/8" works great, but does increase the amount of pressure needed to up shift. . . . . I had it done by a local machinist and then I painted it satin black and baked it in the oven . . . . poor mans powder coat.
That's what i did too. I cut about 3/4" off right behind the peg mounting boss, ground a good taper on the shaft and tig welded the boss back on.
Perfect for me.
All I found when shopping were longer levers. I didn't notice the shifting being any more difficult once the lever was shortened. Any welding shop can do it.
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shorter shifter
shift lever
