*QUESTION* VERY short fingers ( slight cut off) having trouble reaching clutch lever.

so i have a friend who to begin with allready had very small hands...

she then got into an accident wich severed the first joint (distal phalax) on her index, middle and ring finger wich obviously made them shorter
she is very interested in owning and riding a motorcycle and has aked me if there is a way to rebuild/mod/ do something completely different wich will allow her to use a clutch on a motorcycle... ( prefers sportstuffs like a gsxr 250/400 ish)

i have been thinking of different ways to maybe rebuild it so she can use her thumb instead ( like on a quad's throttle but on the lefthand side)

i am worried however that, assuming it is a cable, it might require too much strength to push one of those in without the leverage given by an ordinary clutchlever..

i have been thinking of a way to possibly doing this with small electrical motors like the ones steering the wheels on an RC car or something like that... many other ideas but none that i know would be fool proof and actually give you the feedback that an ordinary lever gives..


does anyone out there know of a tested and proven way of getting around this problem??
i can do the wrencing myself as i am currently an apprentice motorcycle mechanic and i know alot of people who mess around alot in eletrical stuff and can do stuff on CNC machines and so on so fabricating it shouldnt be a problem.. just figuring out what the correct way of doing this is the problem
( and i am sorry if my english is a bit messy but it isnt my native language and you should feel free to ask questions on anything that might be unclear in the above text (allso feel free to ask further questions about the problem itself) )

Your English looks OK to me. How about trying out an automatic shift bike? Make sure the motorcycle thing is not a fad, then perhaps crafting one of your (her) own. There may be a market for such a thing.
Ron

You could try the atv throttle, and if leverage is an issue an easypull can always be added as well.

No need to re-invent the wheel. There are plenty of options. Here is a link to some resources.
http://www.mtb-amputee.com/motorcycleamputee.htm

Rekluse Clutch? LINK

Yeah, this just solves this outright. Gotta choose a bike they make it for though...

S

True enough.

The clutch lever requires travel. I don't see a way to actuate the clutch with less lever travel without increasing the force required to unacceptable levels.

The front brake, however, especially if set up with nice hardware, requires very little travel or force to actuate.

Assuming the right hand still works OK, maybe try putting the clutch on the right and actuate the front brake with a thumb lever on the left bar.

The clutch is only needed to get rolling and for down shifting, both of which could be accomplished with the throttle fully closed, helped by turning the idle speed up a bit.

The way most people think they use a clutch and how they work I don't think are the same thing. I once had a cast on my left arm. It went from above the elbow to the tips of the fingers. The thumb was cast. I had just the tips of my fingers exposed. I rode an R90/6 and gave it up for some months till I thought about this some. I could pull the lever with the tip of my fingers it was the slipping the clutch in that seemed would be a problem. But what if I merely released the lever, let it fly, so to speak, and gave her some gas at the same time so the engine didn't die. I started the bike for the first time in many weeks and had her pointed down a one way street. (city street but this was the best i could do). I used my whole arm, not gripping the lever with the thumb and the palm, but just pulled the clutch lever in with the tips of my fingers. This part was not hard at all. I could even hold the lever in for any amount of time. And then when I was ready I let the lever slip completely off the tips of my fingers. I did not try to feather it in. I let it fly. I gave the engine a little gas and I was off. It was amazingly easy, worked the first time and worked very well right from the beginning. It was natural from the beginning. The engine dd not need a whole lot of gunning or revving to keep it from dieing. It worked very naturally.

I think this would work for your friend if you can give it a try. Good Luck

Charlie
BTW, I still ride a BMW R90/6 but not the same one. The cast arm was almost 30 years ago.

Yer don't need to mod anything for her to use the clutch..
I have never riden a bike with 2 hands in my life... I was born
with out a left hand... I would think it's Xmas if I had short fingers
I have owned bikes from 50cc to 1100cc
and have never moded the clutch on any of them..
My left hand is missing below what would have been the wrist
joint if the hand had developed ..
I can walk into any bike shop and ride any bike out the door
with out putting a spanner anywhere near it..
I have raced road/enduro/ MX/speedway/trials..

She will do it no probs..

If she wants a road bike..look at the Honda CBR250
they have the same motor as th new CRF250 &
Rekluse make a auto clutch for the CRF so it
should fit the CBR motor..

1....Put a dog leg lever on so its closer to the grip..............
2.....Put the lever in front of the grip so she can push it.........
3.....A twist grip clutch on the left............
4.....Buy a bike that can take a Rekluse auto chutch...........
5...... A big auto scooter..

I do know how to build a system..had 30 years to think about it
but never need it. So have never done anything about it..It has to be a Hyd clutch..
quick over veiw... electric button oparated... to get a slow release
use a pnumatic flow adjuster in the hyd line you can set the release speed ...




Pete....

There are several older bikes that came with auto transmission, the Honda 400A and 750A come to mind. Just about all current scooters, some highway capable, also come with auto.

I don't know about other hydraulic clutches but i know the Magura on my husky has a knob to adjust the lever position in or out. With it dialed all the way in you could have some pretty small fingers, and there is still enough throw for the clutch to operate normally.

Otherwise there are some good suggestions in this thread.

Your English is better than many who write it as an only language.

Why not install a twist clutch?

for example...

http://www.exilecycles.com/index.php?section=37

ok I gotta ask. How?

I recently made a custom clutch lever and modified the clutch m/c for a friend who lost a lot of the use of his clutch fingers. The lever was a little longer, with more of a hook to the end to get better leverage and lessen the possibilty of sliding his finger off the end. I then modified the m/c to move farther inboard so he could use the first finger. After some adjustment we had a workable solution.




The actually working travel ( full engagement and no drag to full disengage ) of most clutch systems is fairly small, so with some tinkering you can come up with a solution that puts that range within reach of her finger.

Opps , deleted..

maybe this might be something????

http://www.aprilia.com/en-US/Model/26202/MANA+850+GT+ABS+/Technical.aspx

aye... guess I should have read a little better...

i think i will suggest the solution with a "twist clutch" to her..

automatic clutches and scooters isnt really for her.. so even refuses to drive an automatic car haha

but the twist operated clutch seems like something that will allow her to keep the feel of the clutch AND it should be fairly easy to modify to be used on any bike she may want in the future...

if it isnt possible to buy something allready made i can easily rebuild a throttle grip to work with the clutch::

thank you for all the great ideas and feel free to keep them coming =)


and i am allso pretty interested in how you are able to ride a motorcycle without a left hand... do you have some kind of "glove" or do you just pull the lever with your arm?

What if ya,,,
Just swap the throttle an clutch left to right? use a stubby brake lever since the brake does not require the travel that the clutch does...

Cheers.

Dave