Is this a Suicide Shifter?

[HEMI®Dart]

Seen on an Old Harley

 

[DennyDay]

The suicide shifter I remember was on the left side of the fuel tank - - don't remember the one in your picture. The picture may show an adaptation of the tank shifter

 

[GunEBear]

Thats where it was on an 1970's era Norton 750 I used to ride, only bike i was ever afraid of.

 

[DJW]

Never heard of suicide shifter, some Harleys and Indian foot clutches were altered, thus making them suicide clutches, if engine running and in gear, taking or lessening pressure off clutch pedal would cause rapid take-off.

 

[Motorhead]

I rode an old Harley VL that had a 3spd suicide shifter on the tank and a foot clutch.

 

[DJW]

GunEBear. why were you scared of the 1970 cc Norton?, all Nortons were excellent road holders, meaning very stable at any speed, that was their claim to fame. At work in the UK one of the boys had a 1932 600 cc Norton sports model, to start the engine he had to push the bike, "Run and Bump", as it did not have a kick-start, (no electric starter in those days), the gearbox end cover where the kick-start lever shaft would normally exit the casting was smooth.

 

[DJW]

Motorhead, I had a 1951 Harley 74 Pan Head, the gear change (Gate) was on the tank, would a suicide shifter mean that the Gate had no gear positions, just smooth?

I wanted a foot shift and hand clutch so the dealer had his mechanic remove same from a new Harley, cost was $110 in 1962. I also had an Indian Chief in 1955 it was a 1947 model, a Flying Bedstand, the speedometer had a moveable needle over the usual needle to record the highest speed. The American Dwks (amphibious vehicles) (Wonderful vehicles), had those kind fitted to try and prevent either over speeding or over revving, could only be zeroed using a special key, although we used to zero them just using a screwdriver, after all we being Infantrymen could do anything. (Well at least we used to think so anyway).

 

[keckland]

Earley Harley's had a foot clutch and a tank shifter on the left side of the motorcycle. The clutch pedal was equiped with both a both a toe and a heal pad. If you pressed the clutch far enough it locked in that position allowing you to remove your foot from the clutch pedal and put it on the ground (with the bike still in gear). Then when you were ready to take off you would apply throttle and press your heal on the heal pad to start the motorcycle moving again. Back when people first started making choppers (chopping stuff off a stock bike) the mechanism to lock the clutch down was removed and it became known as a suicide clutch. It was called that because if you started falling to the left at a stop you would drop your foot to the ground so the bike wouldn't fall over which removed your foot from the clutch which caused the bike to leap forward into whatever was in front of you. Usually the tank shift was moved so that it connected directly to the transmission. The picture above is a suicide clutch with the shifter connected directly to the transmission.

 

[DJW]

keckland, judging by the photo, there is only the foot pedal with rod attached to the transmission, how would the clutch, and gear change be activated, would the gear change be on the right hand side of the motorcycle? I once saw a Chopped Harley and the rider changed gear by using his hand near the transmission under his seat, he was actually in motion so I did not see how the clutch was operated, just the moving his hand to the top of the transmission. I thought it odd at the time.

 

[1972JohnBoy]

Old Memories

keckland, judging by the photo, there is only the foot pedal with rod attached to the transmission, how would the clutch, and gear change be activated, would the gear change be on the right hand side of the motorcycle? I once saw a Chopped Harley and the rider changed gear by using his hand near the transmission under his seat, he was actually in motion so I did not see how the clutch was operated, just the moving his hand to the top of the transmission. I thought it odd at the time.

The foot pedal you see in the photo is the clutch pedal. You can see the the linkage rod from the pedal connecting to another larger link that goes across the top of the transmission and it runs across to a rotating shaft that goes through an aluminum cover bolted to the R/H side of the trans case which also has the kick start pedal in it. It has a fork on the bottom of it and pushes on the throwout bearing to disengage the clutch when the pedal is pushed. The shift lever on this bike is bolted to what is called a ratchet top which is a later style than the old suicide shift tops that moved the shifter forks in the trans of which some had reverse gears for servi-car three wheeler applications. The ratchet top was designed for foot shifting and to shift it you would toe the shift lever up to change gears and the shift lever would with spring force would return to position for the next shift, and the same for downshifting. Instead of a footshift lever and related likage this guy just bolted a handshift lever to where the footshift linkage would have connected to. This setup works the same only using your hand to shift instead of your foot. I have seen this setup used by a few and they are very tricky to ride. I have helped pick up a few after mishaps with footclutch rigs. After a few beers they are really bad.

 

[DJW]

1972JohnBoy, at work I was working with a younger man and he had a chopper, I asked him about the chopper rider putting his right hand seemingly to change gear, he was quite aware of the method.

A friend had a knuckle head chopper, I rode it and when he asked how I liked it I replied, "I'd sure like that engine in a Norton Featherbed Frame". Unsure how that would turn out though. I did go to see a Norton with an Indian engine on sale but it was a real butcher job, a lot of brass brazing on stressed parts.

When I bought the Harley I did figure out how to change it to foot change, but it would only be experimental, plus I was not aware of the overriding mechanical advantage apparatus, as the effort to compress the clutch by hand would be a big effort. One thing to design for just one, but if needed for production would be a sound investment, but there was an after market foot to hand, and had to foot change, but I couldn't find one for sale. The Harley change over worked perfect, and very sound, and for $110 a real steal to me. I was given the original parts, so could convert back if wanted.

I used to commute 65 miles a day, part on the Nimitz Freeway, a car insurance would add a 1/3 cost surcharge to insurance if route taken daily. During the winter owing to the rain I was the only one to get to work on time, the others tied up owing to the accidents.