Suicide jockey rocker

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59pan
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Suicide jockey rocker

#1

Post by 59pan »

Description: What is a Jockey shift and a suicide clutch

i have had my 59 for about 10 years now and shame on me I don't know what some of the shifting/clutching configurations mean nor how they work??

What is a Jockey shift and a suicide clutch?? Rocker clutch??

I rode a 51 a few years ago that had a foot operated clutch and then a left had shifter rod that came off the trans top? Was that a jockey? I didnt feel like I was commiting suicide when I shifted so what gives?

This is tongue in cheek but it might be fun to start a new thread! Happy Panning!

By the way. what's an EVO? I hear that alot too.
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#2

Post by 03Roadking »

59pan
Yes you rode a jockey shift. It's when the shifter has been moved from the tank to the tranny top
jockey shift refers to the way you look when your shifting gears, ever watch a horse race and when they come down to the finish the jockey goes to the whip, from a standing start till you get to fourth that's what you look like
as for the suicide shift, You have your left foot for the clutch and your right foot for the break now some one pulls out in front of you what do you do :o stomp the brake and the clutch, put the shifter in neutral and try and miss anything that might ruin your day. That's the reason I quit that set up, Car pulled out in front of me the only place I could go was up the side of a driveway and down the sidewalk the cop that was watching said it was "best response" and "the best choice" then he wrote me a speeding ticket :( seems he was clocking me when all this went down. That was many years ago when I was young and foolish ;) I'm still foolish but older ;) and I know my response would be the same buy my accuracy as to making the driveway ahh I don't know ???
And as far as EVO I think it has to do with the MOCO using twin cams or twinkies as some of them here call them but I'm not sure I will watch and learn with you on that one
03
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#3

Post by hplhd »

evo is evolution motor. the model before the twin cam. a rocker clutch is operated with your foot. it has a heel pad and toe pad. heel down clutch disengages,toe down it's time to go. you can set the tension or friction on a rocker to keep it in the heel down or toe down. were a a reg foot clutch is free moving like your car.

and ya got your jockey top or ratchet top on your tranny that comes into play.
1950bobber

Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#4

Post by 1950bobber »

So guys, if you change your tranny lid to the 4 speed hand shift type from the late 60' to early 70's vintage....can you go into neutral between EACH gear thus eliminating trying to find the neutral in a panic and eliminate the phenomenon called "suicide" .... Do I have that correct???.... And in the case of "03ROADKING's" situation....why couldn't you just neutral the shift and brake with both the foot and hand brake...thus attempting to stop in a straight, or somewhat of a straight path????....or is 03Roadking trying to say he didn't have time to find neutral and thus again, that word, "suicide"???? I'm new to hand shift/foot clutch...so I'm interested in the straight foot clutch like an automobile style clutching action combined with a tank shift...I would go to the late tranny top IF there's a neytral between each gear! Anybody???
Jim "1950 Bobber"
kell
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#5

Post by kell »

Evo is short for "Evolution," the marketing term HD came up with for the motor that came after shovelheads.
A suicide clutch operates just like the clutch in a car.
You can have either a ratchet top or a hand top with a suicide clutch. Ratchet tops are for foot shift bikes (first available as an option in 1952). Ratchet tops shift just like any other modern motorcycle. You nudge it, and it pops to the next gear; you can't set it between gears. The action on a hand shift top is quite a bit different. The lever is directly connected to the shifter drum, so you can control the transmission. You can feel the gears, and you can position the shifter in between two gears. All in all, I think a hand shift top is more appropriate with a suicide clutch. But there are plenty of people out there riding with a suicide clutch and a ratchet top.
As for the term jockey, I'm not sure whether it applies to a ratchet or a hand shift top, or both.
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#6

Post by sleeper »

evo= 1 cam
twin-kee= 2 cams, in both the rubber duck (rubbermount) motors, & soild mount "B"= counter-Balanced motors ::)

Don't get me started on that "showerhead" v-rod.
more like rice-a-roni
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#7

Post by hplhd »

1950bobber, i can't answer about front brake as i don't have one on my hand shift.lol
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#8

Post by Cotten »

'50Bobber!

Yes, you want the advantage of the false neutrals. Basically it allows you to knock it out of gear in a hurry. And you can whang it back in just as quick!

Any '36 to '78? Big Twin handshift (non-ratchet) lid will do, but beware of Reverses. (Note also that there are varied vent locations.)

The 'suicide' term is applied to a self-engaging, or free clutch.
Even my wife thinks using the rocker's friction dampener is stoopid.

I must only caution about the Factory location of the front brake handgrip.
Placeing it upon the left is very stoopid. But that's correct.
Safety and riding comfort are enhanced by installing the grip on the right. Especially when you come to a stop on a steep hill.
panster
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#9

Post by panster »

Evo is short for EVIL.
1950bobber

Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#10

Post by 1950bobber »

Thanks Cotten...you confirmed what I wanted to know...that the hand shift tranny tops are a safer way to go (as opposed to rachet lid!) for hand shift method. I am told by an old timer or two that "suicide shift" has a few meanings, Cotten...your explanation is one. Another referred to the result of speed shifting on the hand tank shift where the constant pushing/pulling the handshift thru the gears in speed shifting/down shifting rounded the corners of the shift gate thus allowing the handshift handle to slip out of a notched position...very devastating if your doing 60 MPH and the handshift downshifts on you! The other "suicide Shift" explanation was the panic derived search for neutral when you were looking for that position in an evasive maneuver type situation...ala 03Roadking experience possibly...I'm assuming the term refers to those using a rachet lid (?)....anyway..I certainly appreciate having that hand shift tranny top advantage confirmed...I was planning to go that route having removed the jockey shift AND the rachet top from my '50 Pan Bobber...my Pan came that way when I bought her a couple of weeks ago and it was a "hairy-assed" ride to say the least....Macho and and damn bad-ass looking AND feeling when you rode her in that configuation and it made me feel like I was pimping the baddest Pan around...but at 56 years old...I'll leave that alternative shifting style to the new young guys...I'm going tank shift using the tranny hand shift lid...I'll still feel like I'm pimping the baddest Pan around with my 18" apes!!!!! Thanks guys...especially Cotten!
Jim in Seattle "1950 Bobber
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#11

Post by Cotten »

Whoa now!
Those "corners" or detentes in the shift gate mean nothing!
In fact, you had better ignore them!

The shift lever should play quite freely in the gate, as the gate mostly justs gives it something to rattle against.
1950bobber

Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#12

Post by 1950bobber »

Oops...again, I learn something! Everyday is just another adventure! Thanks Cotten...
Jim in Serattle "1950 Bobber"
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#13

Post by hplhd »

dam cotten never been called stupid for saying how a part works. hope you and your wife had a good thanksgiving.
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#14

Post by Cotten »

Lest anyone take offense,... I aimed no hostility anywhere but at the dumb friction dampener!

I'm certain it has its place for enduros and pasture romps, but on the street it is a nuisance.
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Re: Suicide jockey rocker

#15

Post by FlatHeadSix »

I think Cotten just nailed it on the whole "suicide" thing, its not the live clutch pedal or the stubby jockey shift handle hanging off the tranny cover; its that brake lever on the left side of the handlebars. Whenever I jump back and forth from the Road King to one of my rigid frames with the "correct" front brake location I need a big warning sign on the handle bar that says "THIS IS NOT THE CLUTCH STOOPID!"

Speaking of clutch levers on hardtails, has anyone ever seen or used the factory hand clutch that harley offered back in the forties? I've seen references to them in early publications but I've never actually seen one. They advertised them for use in tough going thru sand or mud or something like that. I think they were installed in addition to the friction damper foot clutch so you could use either one. There was no mouse trap assist, they must have been a beast to pull in.
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