SuzukiSavage.com - shortening gear change lever

Steddy58

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shortening gear change lever
12/16/13 at 11:52:00

Hey again everyone, due to an accident my left ankle has very little upward motion, so to change up I use my whole leg from the hip ( if you get my meaning ) and I was just wondering if I shorten the shaft of the gear change would this change the amount of travel needed to change gear a fair bit or would the difference be not worth the trouble - I hope I've explained it properly,cheers

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1988 sav, mikuni vm36 carb (lancer),high comp piston, racing cam, raptor petcock, self-made exhaust, delkevic silencer (ryca header), K&N air filter, 48,000 miles

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oldNslow

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Re: shortening gear change lever
Reply #1 - 12/16/13 at 12:18:05

Steddy58 wrote on 12/16/13 at 11:52:00:

Hey again everyone, due to an accident my left ankle has very little upward motion, so to change up I use my whole leg from the hip ( if you get my meaning ) and I was just wondering if I shorten the shaft of the gear change would this change the amount of travel needed to change gear a fair bit or would the difference be not worth the trouble - I hope I've explained it properly,cheers

I don't think you can alter the distance that the foot lever has to move to shift, but by turning the shift rod in or out - it works like a turnbuckle - you can move the end of the foot lever relative to the footpeg.You may be able to get it adjusted so that you don't have to lift your toe as far to shift. Depends on the size of your feet though. If you move it down too far you might not be able to get your toe under it.

I actually have a similar problem with my left ankle from a long ago back injury that damaged the nerve that controls lifting the front of that foot. I had to tinker a bit to get the lever adjusted so that I can upshift without moving my whole leg. It's set so that I have just enough room between the footpeg and the lever to get my toe in there. For anyone with feet bigger than mine - or really big boots - it's too low.

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Dave

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Re: shortening gear change lever
Reply #2 - 12/16/13 at 12:52:58

You could change the ratio and make for less travel....at the expense of increasing the force needed.

To make the travel less - you either make the lever on the transmission shorter (not feasible), or make the lever on the shifter longer (possible).

It might also be possible for you to adapt a heel/toe type shifter where you never have to put your foot under the lever and lift up.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #3 - 12/16/13 at 16:30:43 Id definitely look at modifying the shifter to a heel toe kinda deal,. Id think it should be easy enough to leave the shifter on & add a pivoting arm that lays over the footpeg so you can drop a heel on it, lifting the toe end, Of course, putting a Gin YOu Wine heel toe shifer on may be less hassle..
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Steve H

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Re: shortening gear change lever
Reply #4 - 12/16/13 at 16:48:31

Hi Steddy,

If you're talking about taking the toe peg off of the shifter and moving it back (like toward the blue location), it will work to shorten the movement of the foot. It will require more force to move it and it will probably make it harder to find neutral as well.

Please forgive my horrible drawing skills. I never claimed to be a draftsman.

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shifter.jpg

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old_rider Serious Thumper Offline Backyard Bill Productions Posts: 3147 flordia panhandle Gender:	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #5 - 12/16/13 at 23:37:14 There is an add-on that is called EZ shift I believe, or safety shift... I'll look around for it. I clamps onto your foot lever and has another shift shaft on it.. you then can put your foot between the two shafts and lift up and down, rather than having to put your foot under, then over and back.
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Steddy58 Full Member Offline Ooops I did it again Posts: 240 Liverpool UK Gender:	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #6 - 12/17/13 at 04:00:29 Thanks everyone for suggestions and ideas, I will look into them and post the results when I've done it just in case it might be useful to someone else,cheers
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RidgeRunner13 Serious Thumper Offline haulin' the groceries! Posts: 649 Mustang Island, Texas Gender:	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #7 - 12/17/13 at 16:46:20 After getting used to a heel shifter on my 950, I wanted one for my Savage too. I used part of another shifter welded to the original. Works great but I need to add a couple more inches to extend further toward the back of the floorboard.
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Steddy58 Full Member Offline Ooops I did it again Posts: 240 Liverpool UK Gender:	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #8 - 12/19/13 at 10:09:20 Think I'll try Stevehs idea first and if that doesn't help go to the heel/toe idea ,which I think will have to be modified ( If I buy a ready-made one )due to position of sidestand or maybe manufacturing one meself like RidgeRunners idea,cheers all
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busterboy YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 31 Atlanta, Ga.	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #9 - 12/19/13 at 10:24:02 Jockey Shift?
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keith pearson

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Re: shortening gear change lever
Reply #10 - 12/19/13 at 11:42:06

exactly what I have on my build! I have the shift stick on the right, a cross shaft behind the tank, and the foot brake is now on the LEFT (where they always were in the UK) , again, using a cross shaft. It would be a good answer - or else that electric gadget that uses a solenoid and works from buttons on the handlebars. But they are a bit expensive.

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old_rider

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Re: shortening gear change lever
Reply #11 - 12/19/13 at 16:54:07

Ok, here is my take on an add a peg, that would help you:
get an "L" bracket, two screw clamps, and a foot peg that has a screw end with a nut.
Then put it together with enough room for your toe to go between the two pegs, so you just have to press down to downshift and lift your toe to upshift.

Or if you have a welder you could weld the "L" bracket to the shift lever to make it more solid you could drill a couple of holes thru the shift lever...whatever you want...
Thought I'd pass on this idea, hope it helps

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S-P Serious Thumper Offline Back in the saddle again Posts: 816 Phoenix, AZ Gender:	Re: shortening gear change lever Reply #12 - 12/19/13 at 18:26:48 Now that's pretty cool. I'm totally a McGyver guy. Thanks!
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