I would like it with a finger notched lever that fit into a clevis on the lever like old school...brass would be especialy cool. I wouldnt ride it but it would be good to look at. As for helping disabled riders I think every single person on the forum would whole heartedly support what this does for them.

 

I've got this mod on my list for a sporty build. One thing i will say about the widow maker is that i wish it tucked in closer to the tank.

 

I always get a chuckle when I see guys who ride around on vintage styled bikes with 2 cylinders, air cooled engines and a gas tank between their legs, bagging on other riders because they build or accessorize their bikes in an old school manner. It really cracks me up when these same guys talk about safety (betting on most not wearing helmets) when there is nothing safe about a motorcycle period. Can it be made more dangerous? Sure…but the cold reality is the only thing separating any rider from serious injury or death on the roadway is ultimately that rider’s skill.

Not every rider is the same, some riders prefer the look of old school bikes but want something with modern engineering (metric anyone?). For HD riders there is nothing modern about an air cooled engine…you can improve upon it, you can hot rod it, you can re-engineer it but it will never be “modern”. If you bought a Harley and think it’s modern, unless it’s a v-rod, you’re either fooling yourself or you really bought it so you could impress people with the decal on the side of your tank.

So what’s with all the hate about a tank shifter? Note that this is not a jockey shift (behind the leg) nor is it a suicide shift (foot clutch) but an old school tank shifter or what used to be called a police shifter. I have had one for a couple of years now and honestly have been trying to figure out how to get one of these on my petcock Dyna without whacking the petcock. My softail has one and I have a 92ci engine in it, which isn’t the biggest and badest but isn’t under gunned either.

The ride? Well the ride is what it’s all about isn’t it? I sometimes have to take corners with one hand on the bars, I always start off using 1 hand, sometimes I stop with one hand (though I can emergency brake with 2 hands and downshift afterwards). You know what? These things are fun as hell to ride with. I know of at least one other old school biker who is now in his 60’s using one and he always has. I know a couple of guys using true suicide shifters too and they love them. But then of course they ride old bikes like a shovel, works on their own bikes and I do not recall ever seeing any of them wearing a pre-tied doo-rag. It’s about choices I guess.

So maybe old school scares some of you guys but that doesn’t mean you have to be a bunch of pansies about it bagging on other people’s rides under the guise of calling it unsafe or un-modern. None of us here are truly modern and none of us are really “safe”. Some of us ride safer than others, some of us are better riders than others and jockey shifts, suicide clutches and tank shifters aren’t for everyone, hell neither is red meat, hard liquor, pans, knuckles or springers but they are for those who love them. If it scares you fine, but bagging on it just makes you sound like one of those people who like to lecture everyone who rides on how dangerous motorcycles are what with all their “donor cycle” rhetoric.

These guys are offering a cool product. If you’ll look at my pic you will see I am not a customer, mine is homemade but nonetheless the design characteristics are similar. I love mine. My bike is built for me and me alone. I did it for the ride, not to stand out at a bike show (I’ve never entered it into a show). I also didn’t do it so I could park it out front of a bar so that all the RUBs would be impressed, I did it because I wanted to experience…the ride.

 

Time for some humor.

 

To me the hardest thing is starting from an up-hill red light, third back from the light, and making a left turn. Gotta creep up, then the turn. It is challenging!

 

Midcity, nobody bagged on a tank shift it was really more of a clutching issue. Also why dont you stick to sharing your experiance and leave the name calling out of it.

 

I do have a Labriola setup in the garage ready to go on soon, just havent got round to it yet. Should be fun.

 

For any person with a damaged or loss of limb that needs something like this then great! Anything that enables someone to keep riding is great for that reason!
And further more anyone who keeps riding with this situation, then a big fair play to them! I really admire them 100% & will easily call them real men or women for that case!

My opinion is for me & I don't need this to enable me to ride (thank god!) & what I am saying is, if it was that good & the way to go, all bikes would have them & all bikes produced would have them?

Scared? Far from it, 160mph on a sports bike around back roads is what scares me nowadays, that's why I've sold it & give up Doing it! Awkward, pointless & ugly, don't make something scary?
As for modern?? I'm referring to evolution, you know, the way things improve, move on, then you look back & say, what were we thinking?

You still on dial up, cause its old skool & cool?

You can't & don't do things to be cool, you either are or you ain't!!!

 

The Labriola is a quality product.
Just plan on a learning curve, during which you're going to kill the engine in very unfortunate situations.
Took me about 5,000 miles to get comfortable (round trip to Sturgis). I was still killing it once a day while in Sturgis. Now I've got it!!!!
And it is a blast. Only reason to do it is that its Coooool!

 

Reread some of the posts, "...central heating..."-chap, ect.

If using the word "pansies" hurts anyone's feelings just let me know 'cause obviously I was talking about you and I'd like the opportunity to 'pologize.