What do these terms mean - British bikes?

[P.V. Motorcycles]

"What side should I position the hand gear leaver on my 1953 Bown."

On the basis that there is a clutch lever on the left handlebar, the right hand side: you can't operate the clutch and gear lever with one hand, and you don't need to operate the throttle while changing gear - and it means you don't have to cross over.

Early machines with hub gears tended to have the gearchange on the left, as it was rod-operated direct to the hub: but they had a foot clutch, generally (although some had lever operated clutch as per later motorcycles).

Once countershaft gears came in, the accepted pattern evolved to be: left hand - clutch (+ advance/retard of ignition), left foot: rear brake (in the earliest days, a block operating directly on the rear drive belt rim); right hand - throttle and front brake, also gearchange as above - as gearchange mechanisms evolved, it was a natural progression to have the previously-redundant right foot do it.

N

[pursang360]

Hi Guys,.....Brown,who posted the original thread will be really confused now he only asked a simple question and has not been active since,....
are we missing the point here and failing to look at the full picture....being old myself prefered to compete on spanish bikes because it felt natural to change gear right footed and brake left footed=to old to change after starting out with british bikes

Us oap,s need to get the classic sporting forum more active,.....Where are all the UK compeditors the uk is full of ex british champions,....centre champions ect that still compete

[Alex_James]

If Brown is getting a good laugh at this he now knows what the term british bikes mean. good fun and lots of banter and never alone. Come back to us Brown , have we answerd your post yet

[JFerg]

Further to 33d6's explanation, we need to remember that things evolve with need, and the evolution through the twenties was rapid.

My Model 6A New Imperial was "gentleman's racer" and intended purely for track work, with an alcohol only dog-ear JAP.  It had two foot brakes, one on either side, right foot rear, left foot front, leaving the right hand free for gear changes.  Even thinking about riding such an unconventional set up gives me the horrors.

And I doubt that we've answered Brownies questions fully and properly.

What is "tickling"?  Sure, it is raising the fuel level in the carb to provide a rich mixture at starting, but specifically it is the rapid repeated depressing of the spring loaded "tickler" button that protrudes through the float bowl.  We "tickle" until fuel flows either out the float overflow or around the carb air holes, showing that there's lots of fuel about.

JFerg

[Revband]

Well I think Brown has had all his/her questions answered in full, but I don't expect he/she was in fact asking any serious questions, the questions were asked as a "guest" and they have probably not even been back to look, I suspect we have all been had by a Troll.

I guess some others think so too as some of the early replies have been removed.

[Alex_James]

do the Spanish make Bikes   

[yebbut]

yes
Montesa
Bultaco
Sanglas
and in the past many others

[Alex_James]

Thanks, I raced these engines in my gocart 1964 thought they were Italian

[johnnyboy-wonder57]

Hi,
RE-Ridden left-hand side and right-hand side gear changes and I much prefer the right-foot gear-change, to me a right-handle bar mounted front brake & left-foot rear brake, is when riding  a much more balanced proposition , it feels "RIGHT". Yes, we do drive on the Left and  this probably had something to do with the lay-out initially too,  as presumably the people, who designed Veteran & Vintage machines actually rode-them on the road, the final development would have been a trade-off between practicality and comfort.

Alas, the US of A, probably as a Trade Barrier,  out-lawed right-hand gear change mechanisms on Imported bikes in or around 1975 & of course the US of A was an important export market.  I would  by preference,  not consider purchasing a Left-hand change British bike, its not authentic, its not what I prefer as a riding- control mechanism, neither would I prefer the Decimalisation, the Metric system, ( ever wondered why the mathematical ability of the population has plummeted),  or the EU.

Cheers

JBW

[Welsh Wizard]

one of the reasons for the Brit bike industry changing from right to left  was that USA made the sale of left right side foot change illegal, for what reason who knows, but if you look back in history of the USA to the days when they still had Stage coaches all drivers sat on the right hand side, I believe some of the very first cars had drivers on the right, but they changed to the left. and as the biggest market to export to was the States many manufactures simply complied, as for Euro what do expect the French had never forgiven Briton for Waterloo.

From a manufacturing point when we hand pre unit it was easier to have the change on the right hand side, as it would have been messy trying to get a linkage through the primary drive area,( look at the MK 111 Commando set up) with Unit it was easier to do so, though the Brits just keep on with a semi unit for years the classics being the A65 and the Trumpies, both had the pre unit designed engine joined in the casting, so if you really wanted to be bloody minded you could always hack saw them apart and fettle the units to go back to pre unit,
But what the heck does it really matter, I ride both with left and right side gear changes.

[Bomber]

Just to throw a googly at you erudite chaps, I have a BSA 1930 Sloper Deluxe, which has a foot brake pedal on either side, one for the front and obviously one for the back. Did any other models try this combination. Oh yes, it has a hand change too, positioned on the right 

[mikeyT110]

When we walk, we swing our left arm and right leg go in unison, and visa versa, for Balance.

That same unison means our left hand (Clutch) and right foot (gear lever) can also work in unison.

As can our right hand (front brake) left foot (rear brake), common sense really

The side stand is on the left, because we normally park on the left, which is the same reason for the centre stand leverage arm being on the left side.

Who mounts and dismounts a horse on the right, so its the same with bikes and more natural to dismount on the left.

The US bikes do not have the side stand on the right, so lean out into the traffic.

For US folks, you used to drive on the left, so you can research the change over, of which Canada folowed suit.

Blame that annoying little French chap, Napolean that changed Europe over.

Mikey.

[Alex_James]

Hi Mikey, very well put,  the thread is full of information, I knew mosses had a motor cycle as his triumph was heard throught Egypt. Not sure if Napolean had a bike