kopcicle
antidisestablishmentarian
Well let's see ,
...fuel on , prime , switch off pull through , right hand grip , retard to start switch on , establish idle with stop and mix screws .
Finally warmed up , in first gear , release foot clutch , apply throttle , apply advance . ...
....roll off throttle slightly , foot clutch , hesitate through neutral a bit , retard ignition , select 2nd gear , release clutch , apply throttle , advance ...
Now I've only been doing this for a few decades and my memory may be a bit foul but that's the way I remember it . I should mention that it was original and the throttle was on the left grip and the advance on the right .
So from that it was only a short mindfuck to the Brits and our early Sporster . I rode all kinds of motorcycles so yeah I mixed up the rear brake and shifter a "few" somewhat hilarious and or embarrassing times .
I did have a very minimal A65 with the bolt on 'tail that was foot clutch hand shift and no front brake . Throttle on the left hand ;-)
Foot clutch isn't for everyone . Used to be in the custom world it was done to clean off the handle bars ??!! It became a good reason to upgrade to the juice rear brake , limited sprocket selection and all . Those guys were called chicken shit for carnying a master cylinder ....
Then it was the rear disc and those guys were called chicken shit by the juice rear drum guys because they hadn't gotten over being called chicken shit by the mechanical drum guys .
Now as far as I know suicide is a hot line , one in the (brain) pan , hot shot , permanent vacation wtfever . All I know is the possibility of some sort of low speed incident on a group ride increased dramatically when the ride included a foot clutch bike with out a front brake . I'm not saying the spool is a bad idea ( Yeah , I am but not for purposes of this discussion) but it's not for everyone . I'll just say that if I sense for an instant that that guy is an " I ride a foot clutch , spool front because its cool , I'm cool , its the cool thing to do be , be seen doing " I won't ride near him . around him , by him , same direction as him , same route as him . Nothing personal . A well worn flattie with or without a 'trap owned by an equally well worn greybeard ? Totally different story .
Recent perplexing and wtf moments ,
XS650 shows up with throttle in the usual place (right grip) and the hidden cable through the bars . Clean , no big deal .
The clutch is on the left grip ? Hidden cable , and , rolls forward to disengage .
Wait , that's not all . It has a stick of some kind of flimsy junk metal with a "8 ball" shifter knob grafted to it sticking up off the shifter shaft .
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TANK .
Oh , yeah . He says the no front brake thing is for safety . He doesn't want to go over handle bars . 24" apes ....
Short story .
One of our number had a front wheel taco'd in a parking lot the day before a memorial run for a well respected rider . The only thing he had was 23" off a Honda dirt bike so it got adapted and the knobs shaved off with a belt sander . Not wanting to destroy the chrome on the springer with a brake stay for the generally useless anyway brake , it was run as a spool , on a jockey shifted Pan . There were several up hill stops before lefts on the route so whoever was behind him backstoped his rear tire when needed or made room up the middle of the side by side column so he had a free , rolling pass at the turn . That Monday we were able to replace the original rim and tire and all was back to normal .
Throughout that summer a bunch of 23" skinny spools showed up on various rides . Most were on tank or jockey shifted , foot clutch bikes only because it was seen , ONCE , on a bike , on the run , and was different and somehow cool (rather than expedient or stupid) . By the next year not one was to be seen anywhere .
Do what you want its your bike , your ride , your neck . I'll ride a classic on occasion , with the right mind set . I can't say as it is much fun since I'm totally locked into the process and driving way far ahead of the bike to the point where I may miss a hazard nearby . These days I don't own a right shift let alone a foot clutch . My "custom" rides are conventionally controlled and unconventionally ridden . (look , I'm old , not dead and the hooligan comes to the surface once and again still ) . I found the wisdom (or chicken shit) in near telepathic control of a bike because the attention , awareness , ability of today's drivers has deteriorated to the point of one in ten being a danger . I want to live to ride another day . I don't need to be seen riding , I need to ride to maintain my sanity .
Hope it helps .Hope a few found humor in it . Hope you all have a good , safe day .
...fuel on , prime , switch off pull through , right hand grip , retard to start switch on , establish idle with stop and mix screws .
Finally warmed up , in first gear , release foot clutch , apply throttle , apply advance . ...
....roll off throttle slightly , foot clutch , hesitate through neutral a bit , retard ignition , select 2nd gear , release clutch , apply throttle , advance ...
Now I've only been doing this for a few decades and my memory may be a bit foul but that's the way I remember it . I should mention that it was original and the throttle was on the left grip and the advance on the right .
So from that it was only a short mindfuck to the Brits and our early Sporster . I rode all kinds of motorcycles so yeah I mixed up the rear brake and shifter a "few" somewhat hilarious and or embarrassing times .
I did have a very minimal A65 with the bolt on 'tail that was foot clutch hand shift and no front brake . Throttle on the left hand ;-)
Foot clutch isn't for everyone . Used to be in the custom world it was done to clean off the handle bars ??!! It became a good reason to upgrade to the juice rear brake , limited sprocket selection and all . Those guys were called chicken shit for carnying a master cylinder ....
Then it was the rear disc and those guys were called chicken shit by the juice rear drum guys because they hadn't gotten over being called chicken shit by the mechanical drum guys .
Now as far as I know suicide is a hot line , one in the (brain) pan , hot shot , permanent vacation wtfever . All I know is the possibility of some sort of low speed incident on a group ride increased dramatically when the ride included a foot clutch bike with out a front brake . I'm not saying the spool is a bad idea ( Yeah , I am but not for purposes of this discussion) but it's not for everyone . I'll just say that if I sense for an instant that that guy is an " I ride a foot clutch , spool front because its cool , I'm cool , its the cool thing to do be , be seen doing " I won't ride near him . around him , by him , same direction as him , same route as him . Nothing personal . A well worn flattie with or without a 'trap owned by an equally well worn greybeard ? Totally different story .
Recent perplexing and wtf moments ,
XS650 shows up with throttle in the usual place (right grip) and the hidden cable through the bars . Clean , no big deal .
The clutch is on the left grip ? Hidden cable , and , rolls forward to disengage .
Wait , that's not all . It has a stick of some kind of flimsy junk metal with a "8 ball" shifter knob grafted to it sticking up off the shifter shaft .
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TANK .
Oh , yeah . He says the no front brake thing is for safety . He doesn't want to go over handle bars . 24" apes ....
Short story .
One of our number had a front wheel taco'd in a parking lot the day before a memorial run for a well respected rider . The only thing he had was 23" off a Honda dirt bike so it got adapted and the knobs shaved off with a belt sander . Not wanting to destroy the chrome on the springer with a brake stay for the generally useless anyway brake , it was run as a spool , on a jockey shifted Pan . There were several up hill stops before lefts on the route so whoever was behind him backstoped his rear tire when needed or made room up the middle of the side by side column so he had a free , rolling pass at the turn . That Monday we were able to replace the original rim and tire and all was back to normal .
Throughout that summer a bunch of 23" skinny spools showed up on various rides . Most were on tank or jockey shifted , foot clutch bikes only because it was seen , ONCE , on a bike , on the run , and was different and somehow cool (rather than expedient or stupid) . By the next year not one was to be seen anywhere .
Do what you want its your bike , your ride , your neck . I'll ride a classic on occasion , with the right mind set . I can't say as it is much fun since I'm totally locked into the process and driving way far ahead of the bike to the point where I may miss a hazard nearby . These days I don't own a right shift let alone a foot clutch . My "custom" rides are conventionally controlled and unconventionally ridden . (look , I'm old , not dead and the hooligan comes to the surface once and again still ) . I found the wisdom (or chicken shit) in near telepathic control of a bike because the attention , awareness , ability of today's drivers has deteriorated to the point of one in ten being a danger . I want to live to ride another day . I don't need to be seen riding , I need to ride to maintain my sanity .
Hope it helps .Hope a few found humor in it . Hope you all have a good , safe day .
