Heal up andf Toe down!!!!! No clutch from 3rd to 5th! I just rest my heal lightly on the shifter and give the throttle a flick. Shifts in slick as a whistle!
Rick
Rick
0 Kudo
Heal or Toe
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 West Tn Dawg |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 1575 05/12/07 5:52 PM
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The "BIKE" is why we came, The "PEOPLE" is why we stay!
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NC tourer |
#17 | |||
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HSATF 1st Officer
Posts: 537 05/12/07 8:29 PM |
Dang, you drive like me Dawg.. I try to use the clutch on those last 2, but catch myself not most of the time. I'm a heal/toe guy. I don't miss using
just the toe to shift. It did take me a bit to get used to, but love the heal/toe.
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alepel |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 7901 05/14/07 7:24 AM
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I took Friday afternoon off from work to ride my bike and get it inspected. I purposefully picked an inspections station that was far from my home just to get
a long ride in. I tried using the heel shifter more but it still felt unnatural. I'm wondering if I feel this way because I am still using foot pegs
instead of foot rests? Just a thought.
alepel |
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Fredrider |
#19 | |||
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Posts: 5940 05/14/07 4:26 PM
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Alain,
I am not sure whether it is because of the footpegs or not, but it feels very natural to me to use the heel shifter when upshifting. I just lift my heel onto the back shifter lever letting the weight of my foot gently preload the shifter, then when the engine speed matches the road speed I snug in the clutch lever about a 1/4" and the transmission shifts smartly into the next gear without me actually having to push down with my foot. It is a whole more precise than upshifting using your toe and it makes the most perfect, succinct shifts. Give it a try. You maybe surprised.
Fred
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NC tourer |
#20 | |||
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HSATF 1st Officer
Posts: 537 05/14/07 7:55 PM |
Alain, I have to agree with Fred. When I got my first T, the heal/toe was very uncomfortable for me. I had to focus on my shifting, and ended up downshifting a
few times while meaning to upshift. Tached that motor right up, and gave me a little wake up. Fred gave me some advise one time. He said, it takes approx. 3000
miles to get almost fluent with a new bike. I believe that is very much true! After I put about 13,000 miles in 7 months, I became almost dependent on that
heal/toe shifter! I could go back, but I wouldn't want to.
Also, you mention the peg versus floorboards. My 2nd T has the boards, and I had to get used to those as well. Best I can describe to myself, is that it's a little more natural using the heal/toe with floorboards.
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alepel |
#21 | |||
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Posts: 7901 05/14/07 7:55 PM
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I just lift my heel onto the back shifter lever letting the weight of my foot gently preload the shifter,Fred....are you not actually drawing your foot back. I'm a size 10 boot and I find that to use toe and heel I am moving my foot forward and back. Maybe what I am experiencing is the pivot point of the sole of my boot on the foot peg. I would imagine that anyone riding with foot rests are actually sliding their foot forward and back with the detent that the heel causes with the foot peg. I'm going to try what you have suggested. After a week of riding at Americade I'm hoping to improve my techniques with this bike. I'll report back later. alepel |
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NC tourer |
#22 | |||
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HSATF 1st Officer
Posts: 537 05/14/07 8:01 PM |
Alain, I'm a 10 too. I understand what you mean about the drawing the foot back and forth. I had to do the same thing. Took me a while to notice I did it
on my first T that had pegs. The adjustment seems less now with boards, but the distance between the heal/toe and my shoe size hasn't changed. lol
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bamaTrider |
#23 | |||
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HSATF 1st Officer
Posts: 3747 05/14/07 10:00 PM |
The heel/toe shifter has helped me a lot. I was having trouble getting complete engagement of 2nd gear from 1st gear just using my toe. I have a size 9 and the
shifter of the T has a longer throw than my 750 Ace had. When Fred told me what he was doing to correct this, I decided that I was going to keep practicing
shifting with my heel until it became second nature to me. When I bought the Wing last fall, I kept trying to heel shift it for a while and had to get used to
toe shifting all over again. I didn't realize how much I missed heel shifting until I rode my T again last week. The Wing will definitely get a heel/toe
shifter mod as soon as affordable.
Stan
"We are different - yet we are the
same"
2004 GL1800 Goldwing (Titanium) 1999 Ace Tourer (Silver over Black) |
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alepel |
#24 | |||
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Posts: 7901 05/15/07 7:23 AM
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Right now I cannot agree nor disagree about the heel/toe shifter. At this moment toe shifting seems natural. BUT there's that BUT. I'm going to
Americade and I'll be riding the Tourer for a solid week. I'm going to really get acclimated to this bike and using the heel/toe shifter will be one of
the things I try to do most. So I'll reserve my comments until I know more about what I am talking about.
alepel |
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Fredrider |
#25 | |||
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Posts: 5940 05/15/07 11:17 AM
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Alain,
Raising my heel and sliding my foot backwards to shift is how my leg gets exercise while I am riding. 
I am sure it feels more natural sliding your foot backwards on flat floorboards than on a relatively small, mostly round footpeg. I do not know whether I would be toe-shifting or heel-shifting if I had footpegs on my T. I do toe-shift when riding my Nighthawk. There is no other choice with that bike. However, my T is my luxury machine so I am happy not to have to overwork my toes when riding her.
Fred
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abikervotes |
#26 | |||
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Posts: 252 06/01/07 11:04 AM Second Officer |
I'm in Fred's camp of thinking: up with heel, down with toe
Tom in Yadkinville NC
It is not what you ride, but that you ride. |
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mtn hiker biker |
#27 | |||
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HSATF Tail Gunner
Posts: 116 08/29/07 11:57 AM |
it sounds like most like the heal up and toe down. when i got my shadow, i was so excited to have the heal shifter, it just came naturally. once in a while
i'll try shifting up with the toe now, and that feels strange. a friend of mine (who drives a HD 1200 sportster) asked me just this past weekend about the
heel shifter. i told him i couldn't imagine going back to toe up shifting all the time anymore.
craig (mountain hiker/biker) |
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alepel |
#28 | |||
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Posts: 7901 08/29/07 3:18 PM
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alepel wrote: I never followed-up on this post after my Americade experience with my heel-toe shifting. I've ridden well over a thousand miles since this last post
and I still find myself toe shifting. I tried the heel shifting but I don't "feel-it". It feels alien to me to do it. Now maybe it is the foot
peg that makes me feel this way, I just can't say.
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bamaTrider |
#29 | |||
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HSATF 1st Officer
Posts: 3747 08/29/07 8:34 PM |
Practice makes perfect. I heel shift on my T, then toe shift on my Wing. I've never gotten them mixed up, but will add a heel shifter to the wing as soon
as I can steal one off ebay.
You can always tell who toe shifts by looking at the top of their left boot. Stan
"We are different - yet we are the
same"
2004 GL1800 Goldwing (Titanium) 1999 Ace Tourer (Silver over Black) |
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Fredrider |
#30 | |||
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Posts: 5940 08/30/07 5:59 AM
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Alain,
With floorboards it is just a matter of lifting the heel and sliding the toe back, then gently pressing down with the heel. The action may not be so smooth with foot pegs, since first you would have to get the ball of your left foot squarely on the foot peg and then press down with your left heel, otherwise if you did not use the foot peg to support the ball of your foot you would have to get accustomed to just where to press your heel down with not much of a reference frame. That would be hard to get both the feel of where and the modulation of how hard to press. Perhaps if you did not wear your mother's army boots when you ride and wore your ballet slippers instead, you would have a lighter touch. 
Fred
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