Shifter

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The footshift lever on the motorcycle is used to select the desired gear position for the transmission. It is the counterpart to the gearshift lever in the car. The name results from the operation of the device with the foot.

Shift lever of a contemporary motorcycle
Foot and manual auxiliary shift levers or “idle finder” of a Victoria V 35 Bergmeister from 1954

functionality

In today's motorcycles, the footshift lever is operated with the tip of the left foot and either stepped down or pulled up to change gears . The lever actuates a mechanism in the gearbox with pawls that shift up or down a gear each time it is actuated (depending on the direction). After a gear change, it therefore does not remain in the position in which it was moved, but springs back into its starting position. Therefore, the currently engaged gear cannot be read from the position of the footshift lever, as is the case with the gearshift lever in an automobile. Motorcycles with upscale equipment have been compensating for this deficiency since the mid to late 1990s with a digital display on the speedometer; older and simpler motorcycles usually have an indicator light that indicates that idling is engaged.

The footshift lever sits either directly on the shaft leading into the gearbox or - if the footrests are shifted forwards or backwards - it is connected to it via a shift linkage and thus transfers the movement to the gearbox. For comfortable operation of the foot switch and less wear and tear on the footwear, motorcycle boots have switch reinforcement on the tip of the foot.

Types

Common footshift levers are operated exclusively with the tip of the foot, whereas on certain types of motorcycles such as chopper motorcycles, the footshift lever can be designed as a rocker switch , the rear end of which is usually behind the footrest, so that you can move the footshift lever with your heel instead of your toes up this seesaw can kick.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kurt Bartels: Textbook "Learn to drive" - ​​additional knowledge for classes A, A1 and M with the basic driving tasks . Vogel, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-574-27501-3 , p. 27.
  2. ^ Hugo Wilson: Motorcycle & Scooter Repair Manual . Delius Klasing Edition Moby Dick, Kiel 1998, ISBN 3-89595-127-7 , p. 16.

further reading

  • Jürgen Stoffregen: Motorcycle technology - basics and concepts of engine, drive and chassis . Vieweg and Teubner, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8348-0698-7 .