I've got an old B&H shifter and mousetrap (missing its spring) that I've had for years and a collector is pestering me to sell it. I had not really thought about selling it till now and I have no idea what it is worth. Anybody out there have any idea as to its value? KP
Fabricator,
That is NOT speedy shifter you built, just a copy of a B&H, totally different animals. A "Speedy shifter" has one pedal that simultaneously disengages the clutch and engages the next gear. lift your foot off the pedal and go.No mousetrap, no clutch lever, just one pedal and a small lever like a compression release lever to reverse the action for downshifting.
Robbie
None of the B&H products made it to Australia and I'm on a steep learning curve. Yes aware of the more automated shifter yet only seen pics of them. I concede that I am perhaps technically incorrect in calling a B&H Shifter, a Speedy Shift. I was unaware of this until your post. I take your point and my technical error. However my B&H Shifter build is still an undertaking and relevant to this thread. I'll change my makers plate to suit. Thanks for the input. I've learn't a tad that I was unaware of. It's all good. We all learn as we go. The main thing is that we keep these old beasts alive.
None of the B&H products made it to Australia and I'm on a steep learning curve. Yes aware of the more automated shifter yet only seen pics of them. I concede that I am perhaps technically incorrect in calling a B&H Shifter, a Speedy Shift. I was unaware of this until your post. I take your point and my technical error. However my B&H Shifter build is still an undertaking and relevant to this thread. I'll change my makers plate to suit. Thanks for the input. I've learn't a tad that I was unaware of. It's all good. We all learn as we go. The main thing is that we keep these old beasts alive.
Fabricator,
I certainly did not mean to infer that your shifter project was not a great piece of engineering. Perhaps you could have made life easier for yourself with a set of drawings which are readily available. Some guy on eBay sells them regularly. But your work is great and you will definitely have a one of a kind shifter! Good work!
Robbie
Robbie hold the phone... you say the plans for a B&H Shifter are available ??? Geejus I didn't know. Wish I had known before building mine from old photos. Anywaz made some mods to mine today and fitted a high lift Harley splined gear lever and took for an extensive test ride. Worked perfect except shifting down from 3rd to 2nd where it missed the slot just sometimes. This is only an adjustment on the linkage. These old shifters work extremely well. 99 % of gear changes were beautifully faultless. It;s only an adjustmemt on the linkage to make this 100%
In a way mine is modified from the original. Mainly welded and using a Ducati centralising spring mounted differently to the original units. Yet the beast combined with my fabricated Mousetrap, is now operational. Better still is that these old shifters actually did the job extremely well.
The B&H Shifter lives. My bike is perhaps the only in Australia with this running gear. EEEHAHHH, YEPEEE it WORKS. It's all good indeed. A hugely rewarding project proving to be highly effective
Go to Youtube. Do a general search for "Bowcher". Then under that go to "shifter road test". You will see a short movie of my my Australian home built B&H Shifter and home manufactured Mousetrap in operation on the street. Yep I made my Mousetrap to fit a genuine Harley chrome dildo cover. Yet everything below the cover I made. Anyhow the combo of B&H Shidfter and Mousetrap works well. Watch the video.
Need to tweek just a bit more yet these old units work well. Bet my old 1938 is the only Harley in OZ with a B&H Shift, and on the road using it. PS, the cover is in getting chromed.
An addition to anyone fitting a B&H Shifter to an early big block Harley. Betcha the brass bush in the gearbox lid (where the shifter shaft axle comes out) has worn over 60 or 70 years. It may still change gears OK as a tank shift where the force of your hand overcomes the wear yet may cause woes with the B&H. This axle in the top of the early boxes is spring loaded and causes the bush to wear pulling the shaft inward to the point where everything is bumping and grinding internally in the gearbox top cover. I lathed up a new bush so everything sits proud again in it's original position. Also early Harley shifter drum selectors were cut for clunky hand changes, not subtle foot changes. Get a dremel in the shifter drum slots and smooth the curves a bit. Don't go crazy. Don't widen the slots. Just take off the obvious jaggard edges and turn the slot into a smoother curve. Be very careful as the shifter drum slots are 3 dimentional and have curves in more than one direction. Also emory with a dremel any wear from the ball bearing selector locator that will have worn a groove in the shifter drum. The result is magnificent. Your B&H Shifter will amaze you, yet you have to take the wear as described out of the gearbox lid before these things really shine as a wonderful foot gear change. Remember that the B&H shifters were sold when our old bikes were new. Npwdays we have to make the top cover of the gearbox new again for these shifters to work well. They do indeed work beautifully if you follow through
I have access to a CNC Laser. The trick is, If I can get good closeup pics or better yet measurements. Same function as the originals, but maybe a different spin on them cosmetically maybe. Just as fast to cut out a handfull while Im burnin'. Any one else be interested in one? We have sheet steel like 4ft X 8ft. Id just buy a half sheet and get out of it as many as I can. I can polish and chome them too right in house. Im sure there isnt any market for them. But 1/2 a sheet of steel worth, there might be enough of us here on the board crazy enough to run one!
Thats F'ing crazy! 3K for that? Bull shit! I found a clean and running 81 Shovel FLH for 4K OBO this week, had to pass as I dont have the green,, and some ass-munch is going to pay 3K for that! Along with BATES seats, BUCO bash-hats and Imperial primarys.
Im meaning the shifter set up that Dragstews has on his shovel pictured. Is that correct? I always liked the menacing look of those babys. I didnt ready this thread all the way. There are some pretty good drawing on the 1st and 2nd pages. Thanks for posting those, fellers!
Appleknocker,
The backside is merely flat and tee shaped. It bolts to a factory foot clutch bracket through the old pedal pivot hole. You cannot mount it without the clutch bracket.
Robbie
Notice there are five gates on the jaws...In the video they show it working in four of the gates.
That fifth gate is between first and second gears...It is neutral...
The Speed-E had an instance neutral if you was in first or second gear, by pulling the detent in half way and hitting the clutch/shift peddle would take it right to neutral...
The Speed-E in vid..would need some dialing in for it to function...
I like that knuckle in the add with the low mount (military) headlite
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