Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

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Captain Midnight

Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#31

Post by Captain Midnight »

My heel/toe shifter works fantastic. Throws are very short and shifting is positive and firm. I did notch the rear arm of my shifter to recess onto and over the tubular framework that supports it though.

I've noticed on nearly every parts bike I've come across that has floorboards and a shifter, that the shift linkage is terrible and the fasteners are all wrong, creating slop in the shifter operation due to mismatched parts.

I've bushed and shimmed the shifter and used all new fastener hardware with two new heim joints which eliminated slop associated to that. I shimmed the underside of the floorboard frame tabs to get them exactly where my feet like them. I removed the rubber pad on each board, as they were a bit too thick for my liking. I like it all-metal down there.
My floorboards are Califia and the shifter is from a different setup, I don't remember what. The shift shaft adapter is from yet another setup. Three different manufacturers of my setup for my left foot.

My shifter is tight, meaning no slop at all. If the heel or toe shift pad moves 1cm then there is rotation at the shifter shaft.

I've made certain of very tight tolerances as I was moving along in building my shifter setup. I lube it a couple times a year..

IMO, there are alot of crappy old shifters on old 1000's out there that could perform much better if they were simply rebuilt in a proper way.
My shifter is like anything else on this bike; rebuilt with a bit of redesign added for good measure.
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BikeMaine
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#32

Post by BikeMaine »

Skeeve wrote:I like the roominess of floorboards, intensely dislike the sloppiness of heel/toe shifters and the decreased lean angle & ground clearance I experienced with the floorboards on my '86I [admittedly, these were Marklands w/ the rev. B cast brackets, before they got smart & just want w/ fabricated steel ones, which didn't affect the ground clearance as negatively.]

Don't know how I'm going to reconcile this on the '84 roadster I just added to my stable, but suspect some mods to the stock footpegs will be in my future...

Welcome to the forum!
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#33

Post by BikeMaine »

Captain Midnight wrote:My heel/toe shifter works fantastic. Throws are very short and shifting is positive and firm. I did notch the rear arm of my shifter to recess onto and over the tubular framework that supports it though.

I've noticed on nearly every parts bike I've come across that has floorboards and a shifter, that the shift linkage is terrible and the fasteners are all wrong, creating slop in the shifter operation due to mismatched parts.

I've bushed and shimmed the shifter and used all new fastener hardware with two new heim joints which eliminated slop associated to that. I shimmed the underside of the floorboard frame tabs to get them exactly where my feet like them. I removed the rubber pad on each board, as they were a bit too thick for my liking. I like it all-metal down there.
My floorboards are Califia and the shifter is from a different setup, I don't remember what. The shift shaft adapter is from yet another setup. Three different manufacturers of my setup for my left foot.

My shifter is tight, meaning no slop at all. If the heel or toe shift pad moves 1cm then there is rotation at the shifter shaft.

I've made certain of very tight tolerances as I was moving along in building my shifter setup. I lube it a couple times a year..

IMO, there are alot of crappy old shifters on old 1000's out there that could perform much better if they were simply rebuilt in a proper way.
My shifter is like anything else on this bike; rebuilt with a bit of redesign added for good measure.
Great post action1 , thank you for posting.
Kevin
1982 GL1100A
sixkj
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#34

Post by sixkj »

Can you share some pics and descriptions of what you have and what you have done to your heel-toe shifter. Mine is very loose and needs major changes to use, Thanks
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#35

Post by Whiskerfish »

sixkj wrote:Can you share some pics and descriptions of what you have and what you have done to your heel-toe shifter. Mine is very loose and needs major changes to use, Thanks
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#36

Post by desertrefugee »

...here or anywhere else, apparently.
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#37

Post by desertrefugee »

By the way, I installed a Markland heel/toe floorboard setup on my old '84 Aspy. I really liked it for touring. Very comfortable as opposed to pegs and levers. It's not a setup I'd want for bopping around town, but a great setup for touring.

(Did I ever mention that I miss that old Aspy?) :cry:
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brianinpa
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#38

Post by brianinpa »

I think corporal moonshine has a youtube video posted out there that shows what he is bragging about.

Oh, and personally, I love them on my Interstate... took them off of the Standard so I can keep it as close to stock as possible. (and Darrell, did I ever mention I like 1200's so much that I have two of them? :mrgreen: )
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Re: Let's talk HEEL/TOE shifters

#39

Post by Wangthang »

I like stompin on my Road King, feels good. I hurt my big toe on a dirt bike, with my cousin, and a 50lb bag of fertilizer in a sand bed 35 years ago and it still hurts...lol
1977 Gl 1000
1976 F1 750 SS
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1974 dohc 450 chopper project
1976 Gl 1000 parts bike
600rr parts bike
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