To those thinking about trying a .....

[John V]

Originally Posted by dredmo

From what I hear (no personal experience), what you say is true at first, but easily overcome after a bit of riding. What I hear is the worst thing is the fact that you have to take your hand off of the handlebar to downshift, and most panic situations require downshifting - now you're downshifting with one hand on the bars.

I'm no expert, but in a few conversations I've had about them, that has been the main concern.

Don't quote me.

Hm, yeah, hadn't really thought of that.

I reckon the folks building these bikes don't give much though to that kind of thing, based on the number of choppers I've seen with no front brakes.

[3LOU5]

Originally Posted by dredmo

From what I hear (no personal experience), what you say is true at first, but easily overcome after a bit of riding. What I hear is the worst thing is the fact that you have to take your hand off of the handlebar to downshift, and most panic situations require downshifting - now you're downshifting with one hand on the bars.

I'm no expert, but in a few conversations I've had about them, that has been the main concern.

Don't quote me.

Yes, that's correct. In a panic stop, all you do is simultaneously stomp down with the left heel and right toe (rear brakes). Might as well forget what's happening on the handlebars, since there are no levers there.

The "taking-off-the-left-hand-from-the-handlebar-to-shift" is a bit unnerving. And what further complicates the whole shifting process is the fact that this transmission was based on 1940s technology, and because there was a lot of "slop", had little to no feel in regards to what gear I was in.

These bikes are not meant for performance, and the fact that they completely switch the controls to what we now think is "normal" reiterates it. I mean, why the hell build a bike with no front brakes when 70% or so of your braking is done there, right? The reason is, and the majority of the riding community might not agree with this, is for looks. There's something to be said about clean lines where there's not too many cables and levers and calipers and rotors ruining the look of the front end.

And I think, and in my opinion, the whole foot clutch/hand-shift thing just makes motorcycling more fun.........if a bit more dangerous.