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SERVICE

Paul Dean

Double reverse

I’ve owned an ’86 H-D Sportster 883 for quite a few years and have wanted to put rearset foot controls on it for some time. All the examples I’ve seen, however, are of a simple design that merely turns the shift lever around the “wrong” way, which results in a reversal of the shift pattern. Since I also own an older Triumph, I’m all too familiar with the mental gymnastics created by the need to deal with nonstandard controls on motorcycles.

Although I’ve always had a vision of how the rearsets of my dreams could be built, I lack the machine shop necessary to convert that vision into reality. But the “Badass Buell” in the October issue shows a straightforward application of that vision. So, I ask you, can those Buell foot controls be installed on my Sportster? Or have I failed to find the aftermarket person who already does this for late-model Sportsters?

Phil Benson Las Cruces, New Mexico

I'm not aware of any Sportster rearsets that retain the conventional shift pattern. And since the new Buells use a frame design that is not even close to that of your '86 Sportster, modifying rearsets from that bike could require as much machine work as starting from scratch. But if you re capable of removing your Sportster's transmissio n-or are willing to have a competent mechanic do it for you-and know where to get a little bit of high-quality welding done, there 's another solution: Reverse the shift pattern internally. Then, when you install the rearsets, the backward mounting of the shift lever will result in the retention of the conventional pattern.

Removing a Sportster transmission involves merely dismounting the primary drive and accessing the gear cluster through a cover plate behind the clutch. Once the transmission is out, remove the cúmplate that controls the shift forks, carefully grind off the tack welds that secure the plate to its shaft, and slide the plate off the shaft. Then turn the plate around and weld it back on the shaft facing the other wav.

This will give your Sportster a reverse shift pattern when the shift levetis in the stock position. But when you install the rearsets and turn the shift lever around backward, the shift pattern will then be conventional.

Chokey and the Bandit

I've got a question regarding the operation of the choke (okay, fuel-enrichener) on my 1991 Suzuki Bandit 400. To start the bike, I turn the choke on all the way, hit the starter button, and when the engine starts, turn the choke all the way off almost immediately. I rev the engine a few times after turning the choke off, then let it settle down and idle. 1 never leave the choke on for more than about 10 or 15 seconds, even in cold starts when the temperature is around 30 degrees.

I've used this procedure for years, but I’ve noticed that my riding friends leave the choke on for much longer periods after starting; some even let their engines run at fast idle for several minutes with the choke on. What is the proper procedure for using the choke/fuel enrichcner? It seems to me that if it is left on too long, the sparkplugs could foul. Aubrey Harper Altamont, Tennessee

You 're a lucky man, Aubrey Harper; very few late-model, carbureted motorcycles will do what you say your Bandit 400 can do, especially those inhabiting the smaller displacement classes. Ever-tightening emissions regulations tend to make bikes coldnatured, so much so that fuel-injected engines usually are the only ones capable of running without stalling, stumbling or hesitating badly if the choke/enrichener is turned off right after startup. Your friends no doubt keep (heir hikes ’ enrieheners engaged longer simply because their engines w ill misbehave if they don

If there is any official ehoke/enriehener “procedureit's a pretty simple one: Put the choke on, start the engine, and turn the choke off as soon as the engine will idle steadily and ,accept more throttle without hesitation. There is no reason to leave the choke on any longer. If it does remain on until the engine nears full operating temperature, the plugs could foul : but before that happens, it 's most likely that the engine will begin running so poorly due to excessive richness that the rider will just reach down and turn the choke off.

Five-speed fantasy

I recently bought a ’94 Suzuki 1400 Intruder and have been a happy man since. I do have one gripe, however: It only has a four-speed transmission. When I test-rode the bike before buying it, I thought four speeds were all she needed, but 1 soon found that extended hauls leave me searching for that non-existent fifth gear.

This is a shaft-drive bike, so 1 can't change the gearing, but I've been told that Canadian Intruder 1400s have a five-speed gearbox. Is this true, and if so, is there room in my cases to fit a fifth gear? And what will it cost?

Keith Speegle San Francisco, California

Canadian 1400 Intruders do indeed have five-speed gearboxes, but you can't just stick the fifth gear from that bike into yours. The four-speed box is not merely a five-speed with one set of gears left out: it uses four physically wider gears to fill the available space occupied by five narrower gears on the Canadian bike. And not only are those joingears wider, they 're stronger (the primary reason American Suzuki specified a four-speed in U.S. models) as a result, and have different ratios than their counterparts in the five-speed.

Your only option is to install the entire five-speed transmission assembly including the shift drum and shift forks in your Intruder. But the parts alone would cost more than / think you d be willing to spend, and you d still be faced with a complete engine teardown to have the five-speed gearbox installed and maybe etui up with a slightly less-durable transmission in the bargain.