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heel toe shifter

5K views 40 replies 24 participants last post by  exavid 
#1 ·
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i am here to ask a dumb question but i need to know. this is my first time with heel toe shifter and am not to sure about it. after riding for over 35 years i dont know if i need to change now. but how are you gonig to shift without it if you have floorboards that are in the way? please help 86 1200 aspy.
 
#2 ·
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I think that a heel/toe shifter is on of the best things that you can put on a 1200.
It might take you some time to get used to it, but I think that it's worth it.
Paul
 
#3 ·
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Im pretty sure with floor boards youneed to have a heal/toe shifter. Maybe there is a setup that does not need it but i dunno.Personally i hated that setup and went back to stock pegs.

Pat
 
#4 ·
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Hi Blue Wing and welcome to the best GoldWing forum on the Internet. In regards to the h/t shifter, I know of no way to shift without one if you have the floorboards. On a GoldWing it takes a little getting used to but once you do, they are great.
 
#5 ·
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I vote for Pat, took them off my 1200 and the 1100. H&T shifter just doesn't give the feel, I like real quiet fast shifts and the original shifter does that better.
 
#6 ·
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jackjohn wrote:
Hi Blue Wing and welcome to the best GoldWing forum on the Internet. In regards to the h/t shifter, I know of no way to shift without one if you have the floorboards. On a GoldWing it takes a little getting used to but once you do, they are great.
ACTUALLY you can shift a Wing with just floorboards... Had the pivot bolt (shoulder bolt for the techies :dude:) break on me yesterday 12 miles from home (but STILL in Tucson). Soft toe shoes (leather Red Wings) allowed me to "just" get the front of the shoe under the shifter so I could up-shift. Down shifting was great, the height of the shifter was perfect to press down on it from the floorboard. YES, I do know I should be wearing boots, unfortunately I'm still looking for a set of boots that fit the "peg leg" on the right side.

Put the old peg and non-floorboard heel & toe shifter on, Short trip to ACE hardware for a new shoulder bolt, cobalt drill bit, (hardend shoulder bolt), a little time drilling out the end of the old shoulder bolt and then put the left board back on.

Yes I ride the wing with one "real" leg... You'll have to take the other one and my left arm to get me to stop riding

Been there, done that, left shoe has the scars to prove it. So don't tell me it can't be done.

BTW - The Wing is burgandy and I'm wearing Red Wing shoes... Funny how that works. :baffled:
 
#7 ·
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blue wing. I can't answer your question for sure, but remembering what mine looked like with boards, I think you would need to do some mods to the shift lever to use it normallywith the boards, without the heel-toe shifter. Personally, I hated the boards. I got used to the heel-toe shifter pretty fast, but there were other more major issues with the boards in my opinion, so I got rid of them and got some original pegs. I am much happier with the pegs. Therewas a lively discussion about this on another thread if you are interested, but it seems that people either love the boards or hate them, with not much in-between. :) Here's the link to the other thread.
http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=5522&forum_id=4&highlight=board

John
 
#8 ·
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I think the boards are dangerous ,if you are doing a lot of travelling in town/traffic ,,,Your reaction time is slowed down ,because you have to lift your foot on to the brake pedal or drive with your foot up on the brake pedal ,,I took them off a 1500 I had a few years ago ,,Might be alright for long runs ,but around town dangerous ..My opinion for what it is worth ..Ciaran
 
#9 ·
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Paul ,, speaking of shifting, I had my bike out the other day for just the second time since i got it. was riding around the neighborhood to get more use to it . I did alot of stop and go at the stop signs. Question is that sometimes when i down shift to first gear coming up to the stop sign I had trouble getting it to go into 1st. I had to kick it hard then other times it just sliped right in . If I got to the stop sign and hadnt got it into 1st yet i would sort of let the clutch out and i must have been in netural althoght the light was not on but then when kicked it the netural light would come on and then i would push it down to 1st. This is my 86aspy , Just wondering it this is normal or is it because i am a novice at riding .. thanks Larry
 
#10 ·
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This is my first experience with H/T and Boards and I never will be without them again. Ciaran's point is well taken, but I disagree. I usually shift my right heel up off the board and on to the stationary rear peg of my brake lever when in town. I do not believe that a significant lag is present.

As for precision of shifting, I simply do not find a problem.

Speaking of pegs, you all know I am an OLD trials rider.......LOLOL!! This Christmas in Arizona I had the opportunity to ride a bike of one of my son in laws mates. A Montessa Scorpa (Not sure of the dispalcement). Now that is riding the PEGS!!


Lovely bike though and so well balanced, I would love to compete today. My old Bultaco Sherpa though, would be outclassed.
I soon discovered the following:
1. I need to lose kilos
2. More so, I need to lose years!
I strongly suspect I would be outclassed as well. I did get to show the Scorpa's owner, Randy, a trick to "Charge" the fork for lift. (I suspect though he may have been humouring the old man)
 
#11 ·
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When I got my 'Wing in October, it had floorboards and a heel and toe shifter. Though I thought they looked good on the bike, I wasn't too crazy about how well they worked. It seemed as though I had to struggle to get the bike to shift up or down at times.

After closer examination, I realized that the shifter wasn't adjusted properly. After getting it adjusted correctly, I've found that the shifting is perfect now, and since there's an entire floorboard to work with, finding different positions for your feet while moving is quite easy. Plus, you don't have to worry about scuffing the top of your left shoe when putting your toe under the shifter. The one downside is that they will scrape when cornering hard, but I think of that as a limiting factor, which is probably a good thing.
 
#12 ·
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leolarry wrote:
Paul ,, speaking of shifting, I had my bike out the other day for just the second time since i got it. was riding around the neighborhood to get more use to it . I did alot of stop and go at the stop signs. Question is that sometimes when i down shift to first gear coming up to the stop sign I had trouble getting it to go into 1st. I had to kick it hard then other times it just sliped right in . If I got to the stop sign and hadnt got it into 1st yet i would sort of let the clutch out and i must have been in netural althoght the light was not on but then when kicked it the netural light would come on and then i would push it down to 1st. This is my 86aspy , Just wondering it this is normal or is it because i am a novice at riding .. thanks Larry
Larry , like Scott says "After closer examination, I realized that the shifter wasn't adjusted properly. After getting it adjusted correctly, I've found that the shifting is perfect"
You might need to modify or adjustit a little, I think that you are running out of travel and the upper part of the h/t shifter where it contacts the bike's shift lever needs to be a little lower.
Paul
 
#13 ·
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I eventually got used to the Heel/Toe shifter on my 1100 but I thought the floorboards were dangerous. I had to take it easy in the corners or the floorboards would drag. I did find one up side to the floorboards; on one occasion when I neglected to put down my kickstand they stopped the bike from going too far over and was easy to upright, no one even noticed I dropped it.
 
#15 ·
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Welcome to the Forum Blue Wing:waving: :waving: I have had them and did not like them and changed to pegs. For me, they were a safety hazzard. You are right, it is a personal thing.
 
#16 ·
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wexman wrote:
I think the boards are dangerous ,if you are doing a lot of travelling in town/traffic ,,,Your reaction time is slowed down ,because you have to lift your foot on to the brake pedal or drive with your foot up on the brake pedal ,,I took them off a 1500 I had a few years ago ,,Might be alright for long runs ,but around town dangerous ..My opinion for what it is worth ..Ciaran
I don't think they are dangerous. Your reaction time getting your foot to the brake pedal is probably still faster than or the same as getting your foot on the brake pedal of a car. Plus, you're probably already braking with the front brake which gives you most of your stopping power anyway.

I had floorboards on my GL1200 and also had a right peg.
 
#17 ·
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I put floor boards on my GL1000. Absolutely hated the heel toe shifter. First few weeks I could not stand them and thought about taking fllorboards off so i could shift normally.
Glad I waited. I love them now. After I have gotten used to it, i would not go back.
Took a while to get used to it, but once you do, you will love it.
 
#18 ·
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One thing to keep in mind as well is the fact floorboard mounts crack and break overtime without you even knowing it. When I decided to put thepegs back on mine, I was shocked when I removed the floorboards. The brackets and braces came off in pieces... Made me think of what could have happened going down the road.
 
#21 ·
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I was tempted to stand on them but never did. I didn't want to become too comfortable being one with the bike and begin doing dumb things. I did think about it more than a couple times though.
 
#22 ·
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exavid wrote:
Any of you guys with floorboards ever stand on them?

Paul,

Do you even need to ask? Remember the bikes I competed on do not have seats!! The board mounts are regular maintenance checks though, just as would be pag mounts. By the way, years ago I had a peg rubber split and go south on aBritish bikeI was riding. So I feel the peg/board failure issue is a wash.
 
#23 ·
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I stand on mine to stretch during long rides. I cannot imagine how anything on a motorcycle could deteriorate to the point of falling apart without the rider having some clue something was wrong. As several on here have said before, you either like them or not and there is little in the middle. Whether you use floorboard or pegs is a matter of personal decision like which brand of bike you ride.
 
#24 ·
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The thing I liked about the floor boards on my 1200 was that I made a few bucks selling them. The Marklands on the 1100 really don't inspire me with their strength, I know I can stand up and ease my knees on a long ride on the pegs, but I'm not sure the boards can hold up to my vast bulk. So the 1100 has pegs once again.
 
#26 ·
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In the few weeks after I got my bike that I had the floor boards, I did stand up on them, even used them kind of like a stirrup on a saddle to mount the wing sometimes,and they seemed strong enough. I just couldn't stand them. They were in the way a lot and they scraped so easily when cornering that it was unnerving. Also for me, the braking time with the rear brake pedal was an issue. Althoughmost can probably still react as fast as you can with car brakes, you have a lot more protection in a car if you don't get stopped in time. I want every edge I can get on the bike. JMHO

John
 
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