Motorcycle transmission questions - 1 down 4 up?

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by LWJ

^^^Temporary sidenote. I am really not a fan of HD bikes. Don't get me started. Except. Higgins' old Sportster is pure fricken porn. Damn. That is a great looking motorcycle.

Back to the regular channel.

Thank you, that is very kind of you. It's been a life-long love affair, that's for sure, having bought it when I was 19 years old (I'm 64 now). Many bikes have come and gone over the years, but this one has been "the keeper". Just something about it.

There is really only one downside, and it relates to the context of this thread. Pretty much no one I ride with regularly can ride it. None of them ride anything with a right hand shift. They are as concerned as I am that they will absentmindedly stomp on that shifter when looking for the rear brake. That could be bad... Which is a shame, since like many groups of riding buddies, we sometimes like to swap bikes for a bit.

So, yeah, that Federal mandate wasn't all bad. Imagine getting into a car that has the brake pedal on the left and the clutch in the middle. That was all standardized long before motorcycles were.

[froggert]

I was going to ask who uses the rear brake then realized it was a Harley.

My bikes were a mix of regular and GP shift and moving from bike to bike wasn't bad at all. I'd find first after getting on the bike and just go from there.

[E Sully]

Originally Posted by Steve F

Unless it is an early Norton, then it's 1 up 3 down and on the right side!

My bikes were Japanese 1 down, 4 or 5 up. I also regularly road my neighbors Triumph X-75 Hurricane, which was 1 down 3 up, but on the right side. This occasionally led to a downshift when I would go for the brake pedal.
This is now a bit more confusing, as the '72 Kawasaki H2 I picked up a couple years ago is different from my Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha's. It's the first one where neutral is down, not between 1st and 2nd. I guess you could accidentally hit neutral when down shifting, but haven't done it yet.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by froggert

I was going to ask who uses the rear brake then realized it was a Harley.

My bikes were a mix of regular and GP shift and moving from bike to bike wasn't bad at all. I'd find first after getting on the bike and just go from there.

Heh heh... Yup, that is the reputation, isn't it? Notice, however, the front disc on that old bike. Without it, I probably would have died a long time ago (like sometime in 1980). The rear brake is, you see purely decorative. Almost completely nonfunctional. Only there to meet a legal requirement. It's a mechanical drum, who's shoes are perhaps an inch and a half wide. Who on earth ever thought that thing would be useful on anything bigger and faster than a baby stroller was delusional, or optimistic, or something...

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Heh heh... Yup, that is the reputation, isn't it? Notice, however, the front disc on that old bike. Without it, I probably would have died a long time ago (like sometime in 1980). The rear brake is, you see purely decorative. Almost completely nonfunctional. Only there to meet a legal requirement. It's a mechanical drum, who's shoes are perhaps an inch and a half wide. Who on earth ever thought that thing would be useful on anything bigger and faster than a baby stroller was delusional, or optimistic, or something...

Heck the rear brake on my first Ducati was as useful as a seatbelt on a bomb. It was OK for hill hold but forget about stretching the suspension or scrubbing speed into a corner.

[LWJ]

Higgins,
I get the nobody can ride it thing! I have a friend with a 1950 Indian. We look back and forth and nobody wants to attempt to ride the damn thing!

Also, I did a quick search shopping for old Sporto's. You bike is that awesome!

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Higgins,
I get the nobody can ride it thing! I have a friend with a 1950 Indian. We look back and forth and nobody wants to attempt to ride the damn thing!

Yeah, boy, that is another level entirely. Foot clutch, tank shift - but different than on a Harley. On a Harley, it's "toe to go" - push down on the front pedal on the rocker assembly to engage the clutch. On an Indian, you push down on the back pedal. That, and some Indians had the throttle on the left grip.

Originally Posted by LWJ

Also, I did a quick search shopping for old Sporto's. You bike is that awesome!

Hoo boy, there's an endeavor fraught with peril. The most unloved Harley of all time, and the most abused. Financially accessible to the lowest rung on the Harley enthusiast ladder, some real cave men who find amazingly "creative" solutions to their problems. Not that there aren't good ones out there, and they have not yet come up on the "collectors'" RADAR, so they are much more affordable than other classics with which they competed of similar vintage, like the Bonnevilles, Commandos, Gold Stars, etc.

Speaking of which, I used to ride quite a bit with a local vintage enthusiasts' club. Not "Harley guys" by any stretch, most rode old British "sporting" bikes of about the same vintage as my Sporty. None of them ever had a kind word for Harleys, but most of their ribbing was directed at the "Big Twins" - Panheads, Shovelheads, and maybe Knuckleheads. Us Ironhead Sportster guys had a saying, though - "I never wanted a Harley, but I always wanted a Sportster". Different machine entirely.

Different enough, actually, that my smart ass (and I mean that in the best spirit) British bike mounted antagonists had absolutely nothing for my Sportster. A well sorted, slightly hopped-up Ironhead like mine will absolutely run away and hide from the best the Brits ever had on offer. The disc brake on the front certainly helped, but many of their later bikes had them as well. It was simply no contest in a straight line, not even close.

In really tight twisties, things got a little more even, but all of the bikes from that era were cursed with "flexi-flyer" frames and noodly front forks. None of them were great, and the Sportster could at least hold its own with their best. Kind of a dead heat. But, well, once it was time to get on the throttle, they had no hope. Different league altogether.

[froggert]

It's great to see one in good running shape. Years ago, I had an Ironhead Sportster project bike that was basically a frame and boxes of parts. Unfortunately it never got past that stage.