Converting Mk 3 850 Left gear change to right shift

Gents,

Ive always found the left foot gearchange on my Mk 3 850 to be slightly notchy and no where near as nice as the traditional right hand gear change which Ive sampled on earlier Commandos on a few occasions. It's been done before and I believe converting from left to right gear change is as simple as changing the inner and outer g/box covers plus one or two other bits.

The real question though is how to convert the rear disc to left foot operation. Has anyone successfully carried out both these conversions and if so, can you provide pics to show what's involved step by step?

Would it not be easier to buy right shift gb with associated foot levers and fit that?

EDITED for accuracy:

I have seen a mkii left foot brake lever actuating the right side rear hydraulic MC of a Kawasaki via a modified foot brake cable. I'll look for the video wherein can be seen but it's not a how to, more a "take a look at what I've done".

Editted for accuracy:

Here's one video where the left side cable is used actuate right side Kawasaki rear mc and caliper. See the 24th minute plus other parts of this long drool session.



For further detail on how this was done you'll need to reach out to Dave Sanquist at Redline Norton.

The MK 111 can shift just as smoothly. Order in the 3 small bushes , one for the outer and one for the inner primary , also the one for gearbox entry.

<---That (Mk III running gear) has been converted to RHS and left side rear brake. You will need to remove and replace the outer and inner cover of the gearbox, bin the crossover shaft and shifter stub+gear and plug the holes left in the primary case. Then you have to figure out how to convert the foot brake, which is more problematic. Here's a shot of mine. I used the stock mount as a start. Cut the 3-point mount off the back of the Mk III rear master cylinder carrier. Grind it flat and weld on a cutoff peg (taper and threaded portion). This then bolts to the left Z-plate in place of the standard peg carrier. The line is routed up behind the left sidecover to the brake light switch and then across and back to the rear caliper. I tried to use the stock lever, heating it and twisting it around the other way, but it kept breaking, so I fabbed up a custom piece. Everything had to be re-chromed (did the foot lever twice before I gave up on it). Pic was taken before the custom lever got chromed.



The brake light switch is mounted to the pinned bracket I made to mount th left sidecover and sits directly behind the cover. I used an extended passenger peg to get the folding function. Note that this is a rearset mod with a Dunstall shifter setup on the right. All gb internals are Mk III.

My mk3 shifts as nice as my combat so I think you should try to fix first. Also I think it be a lot easier to go back to the earlier drum brake components that are availiable than reengineer a new actuator.

Don´t have pics of a mkIII that I converted to RH gearchange but this pic shows what I did to a Sports MkIII. Made an extension on the Z-Plate and fitted a small pump from Brembo. Of course the rearsets were then made to measure. If you use the standart position of footrests you would use a pre MKIII footrest and brake lever on the left side and with a little rework of the brake lever you could fit the pump on left side and actuate.

baldy said:

My mk3 shifts as nice as my combat so I think you should try to fix first. Also I think it be a lot easier to go back to the earlier drum brake components that are availiable than reengineer a new actuator.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm late to this thread. First, great job on your conversion Danno! Baldy, I agree about just replacing the worn bushings on the left shift design of the Mk III. My first one always shifted very well. Regarding swapping out the older drum brake wheel: The braking loss is not the real issue. The Mk III disc rear wheel has a "real" cush drive in it. Switching back to the drum rear wheel eliminates one of the best improvements of the Mk III. That swap is sure to greatly reduce the life of the gearbox.

Charlie K

I did that conversion to the Dreer monoshock prototype bike.

Kinda hard to make out the details, and I did a later re-work to remove the extra hole on the bracket I used to mount the Japanese master cylinder.