Anyone tried electronic shifting?

[bunnyman]

I got curious as if I would have found a Duc a few years younger, I could have installed electronic shifting in a seemingly easy manner. There is one BIG however here- http://www.pingelonline.com/eshifter_universal.htm seems universal.

I am intrigued, but I would rather not be a guinea pig (as I know I am not the first cat to try it). But I wonder if any of y'all have tried it?

 

[hillsy]

Unless you plan on drag racing with a lock-up clutch there's not much to gain by using air/elec shifters.

 

[VonYinzer]

Ya man... Thats race bike territory. For the street, any man with all his limbs, should keep it simple.

 

[dakine_surf]

Yeah very much a drag bike thing, but one of my best friends is a Marine who lost his leg from 6 inches below his kneecap (IED under his tank exploded under his feet... everyone lived but the concussion of the blast shattered every bone in his left foot.) He rides a GSXR and a street bob, both have the electronic shifters. He probably could do it with his prosthetic, but he says it is hard to feel the gears so he has these things installed. He is back out and riding hard cause of these things so I have nothing but praises for them...

I have ridden his gsxr, and while I would not buy this set up for any of my bikes, it is actually pretty cool mainly because it is all tied into the fuel injection. Around town and when you are not flogging it, the bike can still function normally but when you open it up the shifter is tied into the fuel system and cuts the fuel when shifting so that you can make no lift, clutch-less up shifts at WOT... that bike feels so fast in a straight line, total rocketship. And the tech is straight out of racing which is also cool

 

[Skyeye]

Bunnyman,

I've tried two systems from Pingel - Electric over Air (upshift only) and Full Electric. The Electric over Air used an electronic solenoid air valve. The piston is driven by compressed air you keep on-board in bottle (150 psi). Great for drag racing and you'll get about 10 shifts before you need a refill. I actually have a small air pump built into the bike so I can refill between rounds.

If you want both up and down shift you'll need the Full Electric. No air bottle, just big electro magnets in a tube. Worked pretty good on my V-Rod until I installed a turbo and then the transmission needed back cut gears to shift smoothly. Expensive, more than $800 for the kit.

In both cases you'll need to install an ignition interrupt. Pingle makes one that allows you to set the interrupt time, too fast and you won't shift, too slow and it feels rough.

Personally I wouldn't think of using one on the street....simple is better.

Scott

 

[bunnyman]

I was thinking that this was race-only territory, but it seemed like something fun to investigate. When the system costs half as much as what I will have in the bike, it seemed suspect to me.

Thanks for your testimony, y'all.