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As I have a
paralysed right arm,
I need to modify my
bikes
to suit - if you ever bother asking any of the motoring organisations, chances
are that they'll tell you this can't be done.
The problem is to get the front brake and the throttle unit on the left
handlebar as well as the clutch...
The solution used on my
Hawk,
KLX,
DRZ
and
racing YSR
has taken me quite a while to finally sort out, but it's worked on all the bikes
I've tried it on, some better than others.
- The throttle unit on the Hawk and KLX was a Motion Pro push/pull item... this
has 2 cables going into it, one to open the throttles, and one to close them.
Due to the aggravation routing the cables around, I tend to use just the pull
cable, but this goes into the push hole in the unit, allowing the twistgrip to twist
the right way. I just swapped the push cable on the stock DRZ unit to the pull tab
on the carb, and left the pull cable disconnected (I couldn't get it to stop sticking).
The YSR uses an RC30 throttle unit - it's similar, but smaller. You
might have to fiddle with the routing to get it to run smoothly, and you'll
probably have to fiddle about with a bunch of different cables to get the right
length, but you're smart, so I have every faith that you'll work it out.
- The brake is actually a hydraulic clutch, I had the Kawasaki ZX10 unit on the
Hawk,
and it's now on the
DRZ.
It has the banjo fitting on the front, rather than at the side, so it can be
mounted closer to the clocks / key. There was a Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP one on the
KLX,
but that's on the end of a long old bar :o) The
YSR
originally had no clocks to avoid, and currently has a VFR750 unit that Jim Davis
threw at me to get me to leave him alone. As it has a 5/8" piston, rather than
a 3/8" piston as found on a lot of bikes, you don't need much movement to get the
brake to work. You do, however, invariably end up using a steel braided line (the
stock rubber lines perish, and usually don't have the length or ends you want
anyway), so be careful, it's very easy to flip the bike. Rolling
stoppies are now easy :o)
I finally fitted a line linking the outside 2 pins in the clutch
switch to the brake light line from the stock loom - I got the spade connectors
from Radio Shack, and used a cheap bit of speaker wire to get from the left
handlebar (my brake) to the right handlebar.
- On the Hawk, KLX and the DRZ,
I used a TZR125 clutch lever, as it dips down, allowing you to mount it very
close to the brake, meaning less of the throttle tube hangs off the handlebar.
This wasn't as much of a problem on the YSR though, so I used the standard
clutch come switchgear unit, and now use a
Team Calamari
clutch lever. Now it's slowly going back towards the street, there's some small Honda
switchgear on it, and the ubiquitous TZR lever might make an appearance.
- On the right handlebar, I used a cut down RD350 clutch lever mount on the Hawk and
DRZ, and the stock mirror mount from the left handlebar on the KLX as
mirror mounts. The standard ones are usually on the brake - not there any more. I
don't have mirrors on the YSR, but I keep getting told to stop looking behind
me (I'd like to say it was the only way to see the race, but it's usually to
figure out when I'm going to get lapped), so I might get some :o)
So, there you have it, how to modify a bike for left hand drive. I haven't had
a bike with a hydraulic clutch yet, but I have some cunning ideas on what I
could try... if you need any help or stupid ideas on modifying any bike for any
sort of disability, mail me, and I'll see what I can come up with.
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