Suicide Clutch
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 770
Likes: 2
From: East NM
RE: Suicide Clutch
They used to take off the rocker clutch on the Nuckles and Pand and replace them with either the car type clutch from a servicar or some homemade pedal. Now, picture yourself coming up to a stopsign at a busy intersection. (remember, the old clutches used to drag enough that it was bloody hard to shift to neutral below maybe 5 MPH) You push down on the clutch and, just before stopping, the bike starts to lean over to the left. At that point, you:
A. Hang on and let the bike fall.
B. Crank up the wick and run the stopsign.
C. Let go of the clutch, hope that your brakes are good enough to kill the engine and put your left foot down.
And, that's why they call it a suicide clutch.
Even with a rocker clutch, the old tank shift bikes were interesting to ride. They came with the front brake lever on the same side as the shifter. So, if you forgot to downshift to first before you stop and you were on a hill, you had a problem. Your left foot was needed to work the clutch. Your right foot was on the ground and you couldn't use the rear brake. Your left hand was holding the front brake. If you had a jocky shift conversion, there is no way in hell you can reach the shifter with your right hand.
A. Hang on and let the bike fall.
B. Crank up the wick and run the stopsign.
C. Let go of the clutch, hope that your brakes are good enough to kill the engine and put your left foot down.
And, that's why they call it a suicide clutch.
Even with a rocker clutch, the old tank shift bikes were interesting to ride. They came with the front brake lever on the same side as the shifter. So, if you forgot to downshift to first before you stop and you were on a hill, you had a problem. Your left foot was needed to work the clutch. Your right foot was on the ground and you couldn't use the rear brake. Your left hand was holding the front brake. If you had a jocky shift conversion, there is no way in hell you can reach the shifter with your right hand.
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