Riding a Commando with one foot

baz · Mar 30, 2022

gortnipper said:
Ignore the bobber-ness

1969 Norton Commando Bobber

At least with this setup it'd be minimal movement on the gear knob
And with a decent idle and a decent clutch not so bad
But in an emergency when you really want your hand ready to grab the front brake
Or you need to make a sudden manover etc I'm not so sure??

Mart UK · Mar 30, 2022

Don't see the difference on the road. When I'm braking hard, my clutch is in and back brake, not engine braking, then I'm not on the throttle, until I've changed into the right gear. Hand change would be a bit slower changing gear, but the same principle. Ditto for using engine braking. A delay before blipping the throttle, but can be done. I once had a hand change shovelhead. Took some getting used to.

baz · Mar 30, 2022

Mart UK said:
Don't see the difference on the road. When I'm braking hard, my clutch is in and back brake, not engine braking, then I'm not on the throttle, until I've changed into the right gear. Hand change would be a bit slower changing gear, but the same principle. Ditto for using engine braking. A delay before blipping the throttle, but can be done. I once had a hand change shovelhead. Took some getting used to.

There's a difference in an "emergency" in distance traveled between having your hand around the twist grip or having two fingers touching the brake lever
So I'd imagine there's a lot more distance traveled if you had your hand on a gear knob when an emergency occurred
Normal everyday braking would be pretty much the same I'd guess?

Don Tovey · Mar 30, 2022

alan hodge said:
when i bought my 72 T120 about 15 years ago, the chap i got it from had a similar situation here's what he made

I was thinking of something simple like this. In the 60's/70's some Japanese bikes had gear change levers like this.

baz · Mar 30, 2022

Don Tovey said:
I was thinking of something simple like this. In the 60's/70's some Japanese bikes had gear change levers like this.

I don't know about Japanese bikes but my pre unit triumph had a toe and heel gear lever

franko · Mar 30, 2022

This off of a sixties Ducati Monza Jr. It is #1 :

Interbak · Mar 30, 2022

If he decides to go the heel and toe route I’ve got one he can have, I’ll never use it. The spline for the shifter shaft would have to be enlarged, no idea what it’s from, came with a big parts lot.

Tornado · Mar 30, 2022

baz said:
There's a difference in an "emergency" in distance traveled between having your hand around the twist grip or having two fingers touching the brake lever
So I'd imagine there's a lot more distance traveled if you had your hand on a gear knob when an emergency occurred
Normal everyday braking would be pretty much the same I'd guess?

Thats why its called a suicide shifter, Eh!

baz · Mar 30, 2022

Tornado said:
Thats why its called a suicide shifter, Eh!

I'd guess so
The term "suicide shifter" is quite new to me
Where as the term "suicide clutch" IE foot clutch has been around forever so maybe it was gleened from that?