Jockey shifter

The jockey shifter is a gear shifting device used on motorcycles before the use of a foot-operated shift lever. A jockey shifter also known as a slap shifter gets its name from the location of the motorcycle rider's hand when shifting gears, it is under his seat like the position of a jockey's hand while using his riding crop on his horse. This hand shifter lever is directly mounted to the transmission and is just long enough to clear the primary drive cover or belt drive. A motorcycle equipped with this type of shifter requires the use of a foot clutch. The foot clutch comes in one of two configurations; either a rocker foot clutch which was stock on many early motorcycles, or a suicide foot clutch which was never available on production motorcycles but was manufactured by daring motorcycle enthusiasts. The rocker foot clutch is easier to use than the suicide foot clutch because it can be rocked into a position where the clutch is either engaged or disengaged - leaving the rider's foot free to be put down, at a stop, to steady the motorcycle. Sometimes a tank shifter is referred to as a Jockey Shifter, but this isn't technically correct due to the rider's hand position being in front of him, not behind him like for a horse jockey. The earliest known use of a foot clutch and hand shifter on motorcycles was with the first multi-geared transmission on the 1915 Harley Davidson. [ [http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/H-D_History/1910_2.jsp?locale=en_US 1910 ] ] It is a mechanical linkage that is typically mounted to the left side of the motorbike's fuel tank and is held in place by a slotted piece of metal welded to the frame or the tank.Seate, Mike. "How to Build a West Coast Chopper Kit Bike." Hong Kong: Motorbooks Inc., 2004.] Through a series of linkages it is connected to the transmission shift selection lever. In terms comparable to a motorcycle of current construction it is simply a way to relocate the shift lever from the front foot controls to the side of the gas tank. Early motorcycle customizers who were trying to reduce their motorcycle's weight so as to increase its power to weight ratio would sometimes replace their stock rocker foot clutch with a hand fabricated suicide foot clutch, and remove the tank shifter's linkage and instead attach a shifter arm directly to the transmission. This reduced weight would not only make their bike accelerate better, but they would have bragging rights of riding a motorcycle which required more skill to operate.

uicide clutch

The suicide clutch is sometimes referred to as a suicide shifter, which is a common mistake. The suicide clutch is a foot-operated clutch that is mounted on the left side of the motorcycle's forward foot controls. The suicide clutch moniker has derived from difficulties in operating this form of clutch and shifter. On a motorcycle equipped with a conventional hand clutch and foot shifter, the rider places the left foot on the ground when stopped and holds the motorcycle in place with pressure on the rear brake pedal with the right foot, while engaging the clutch with the left hand. On a motorcycle equipped with a suicide clutch, the clutch is held in with the left foot, requiring the right foot to hold the bike in place, with the right hand applying pressure to the front brake.

Many riders have experienced difficulties transitioning from a conventional hand clutch motorcycle to a foot clutch, often stalling the engine when releasing the clutch at a stop.

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