Hi guys,
Any one know much about these? Ive seen them at a few bike shows, just wondering if anyone here had any personal experience with any of the newer kits that are supposed to be heaps easier to use. Certainly a diff look, apparently a pretty spooky ride though?
G'day Bunyip
Can't help you with the modern kits that you are chasing but I am interested in any information your question might prompt (always thought the springer would be cool with an open Primary and Jockey shift).
On a side note - and not wanting to seem a smartarse - I understood that a "Jockey Shift" referred to the short, hand shifter located just below your arse on the left hand side of the gearbox (presumably when changing gears resembling a Jockey using a whip ?) whereas the "suicide shift" referred to a foot clutch without a friction damper or such (meaning if your foot slipped off the clutch and the bike is in gear - well, you get the picture) . . . . . . . .
Not sure whether the modern ones are suicides; jockeys or suicide/jockeys. Wouldn't fancy learning how to use it in the city either way . . .
Let us know how you go !
Cheers
Philthy
KiwiDave has a hand shifter on his 85 evo and doesn`t seem to have any problems.
Hi Guys,
From what I understand "suicide shift" was a term used to describe a hand shift, foot clutch (with rocker spring removed) and no front brake motorcycle.
In a hill situation where you had to stop at a light or sign, you ran out of feet to both operate controls and keep the bike upright.
Looked cool with a clean front though!!!!
Cheers,
Cris.
Dave you forgot to mention their Fwoar value!
"Fwoar look at that, a hand shift, they look so cool"
That's some real handy knowledge there, thanks kiwidave!
But cool as they look they're called 'suicide' for a reason. You're at the lights, the bike tips a bit to the left so down goes ya foot and AWAAAAY we go inta the intersection! Not for me but good luck with ya project.
A bit of practice & you can ride without thinking. it becomes second nature. Turn handlebars slightly left at the lights & your bike will always drop to the right leaving foot on the clutch. Drop the clutch & the bike stalls so no risk of going into intersection.
G’day Bunyip. I tried to post this before but had some computer trouble so we’ll see what happens this time.
Some people say the term suicide clutch originated from a rocker clutch set-up that did not operate properly for one reason or another and the pedal would move by itself, therefore allowing the clutch to become engaged without the rider intending it to do so. Some people say that even a proper suicide clutch set-up (similar operation to what you’d find in some cars) is not really a suicide if the bike has a front brake. My opinion is that the lack of a front brake has no bearing on whether or not the term suicide clutch applies; it is the clutch pedal set-up itself which determines the description. Will we ever know the real origin of the term suicide clutch? Probably not.
I’ve read about something called a Pasadena suicide and it may be a term applied to a Lee clutch pedal which was used in conjunction with a Harley rocker clutch mounting bracket. It seems that people removed the Harley rocker pedal, spring, etc, and then fitted the Lee pedal to the Harley mounting bracket which would result in a neat-looking suicide set-up. But I cannot say for certain that the Lee pedal had something to do with the term Pasadena suicide.
Suicide shift? With no offence meant to anybody I have to say that there is no such thing as a suicide shift. Why? Because the act of shifting should not cause any problems and therefore it should not be linked to the word suicide. Some people incorrectly use the term suicide shift when referring to a bike with any sort of hand shift, regardless of what sort of clutch is involved. And the phrase suicide shift may have resulted from people being confused about what constitutes a suicide clutch. Some people use a hand shift lever with a hand clutch lever attached to it and a guy on another forum called that set-up a suicide shifter because he had to take off with only one hand on the handlebars. But I told him there was nothing suicidal about that.
More info to follow.
Eric
Jockey shift: As mentioned above, purists insist that a true jockey shift has to have an early-style trans lid as opposed to a ratchet-style or later lid but I disagree with the purist opinion. I think the term jockey shift came about after people drew a comparison between a bike rider operating a short lever and a jockey using a whip. And although the short lever may have appeared on early-style lids before appearing on ratchet lids, I think the term jockey shift applies to any short lever regardless of which type of lid is used because jockey shift relates to the position of the hand/arm and not necessarily the type of lid.
Hand shift: I don’t think the term hand shift means any one style in particular. A jockey shift, a tank shift and a frame-mounted shifter can all be called a hand shift. Why? Because the shifting for all three of those different set-ups is done by hand.
Tank shift: That’s the type you’d find fitted, for example, to a standard WLA or standard Knucklehead although a lot of other Harleys had the same thing as original fitment. The hand shift lever usually attaches partly to the tank and normally pivots via that point. The upper part of the lever runs through a gate which is fastened to said tank. This set-up is mostly found on the left side but Harley also made a set-up available for use on the right-hand side for certain applications, depending on model etc—for example, the UMG, a Big Twin Flathead built for the NYPD for 1937–39 had a tank shift on the right-hand side as original fitment.
One more post to follow.
Frame-mounted shifter: A frame-mounted hand shifter was available from H-D for the 1966–early-79 Shovelheads. The shift lever pivots via a support bracket mounted to the frame’s left front downtube. These frame-mounted shifters are often referred to as police shifters but that reference only came about because some police officers preferred a hand shift bike as opposed to a foot shift machine. But the fact is that anybody could purchase a frame-mounted shifter from H-D so to call them a police shifter is wrong. There were two different shift levers, one for 3.5 gallon tanks and one for 5 gallon tanks, and both can be found in Harley’s normal parts catalogs for 66–early-79 models. Some people even call these a tank shift but that, too, is wrong because they do not connect to the tank; they are attached to the support bracket on the frame tube which is why they are referred to as a frame-mounted shifter.
Sometimes you’ll see a hand shift on the left side positioned between the heads and it pivots via a bracket often bolted to the top crankcase stud and the top engine mount. Usually these are either homemade or aftermarket but I haven’t heard of any term in particular for them so to me they are just another kind of hand shift.
And for anybody considering a suicide clutch I agree with the advice indicated above: before converting to suicide, try balancing on your right leg at traffic lights etc and keep your left foot up. Even if you feel yourself starting to lean left slightly, stay calm and try to correct yourself without lowering your left foot. If you have your girlfriend, wife, or both of them on the back then advise her/them to sit still when you're stopped. Also, after you convert to suicide, or any type of foot clutch for that matter, be aware that sooner or later someone will notice no clutch lever on the handlebars and you may be asked if your bike is an automatic. Eric
Also, after you convert to suicide, or any type of foot clutch for that matter, be aware that sooner or later someone will notice no clutch lever on the handlebars and you may be asked if your bike is an automatic.
