Heel and toe gearchange with floorboards

Hi guys

When I bought my M800 the previous owner had fitted a heel and toe gear lever and floorboards, I put the original foot pegs back on for a while and just used the gear changer like a normal changer, but I am thinking about putting the floorboards back on, what are the benefits of the heel and toe gear changing.  Ive been riding motorbikes for 25 years and never used this system before.

I rode 10k miles on my C800. The floorboards were comfy for resting my foot. I then moved to a Kawasaki cruiser with pegs. I prefer pegs but all the big cruisers seem to have heel/toe and boards for comfort. Long trips in particular.

I think heel and toe gear changer and boards are a must on a cruiser. The gear changer may seem a bit odd at first but once you get used to them there is no going back, at least that was the case for me, each to their own.

I thought they was strange when I first bought my bike, now I think it's the norm. My opinion is that I would much rather ride with the standard Intruder heel/toe shift than in the conventional ways.

I am another supporter of the heel / toe changer. My intruder was the first I had used one in 30 years of riding and I must say once used to it I wouldn't like to go back to the traditional way of shifting cogs. I know riders in warmer climates in Europe like them because you only use the sole of your foot to change gear so the toes of your Gucci footwear don't get scuffed !

Love heel and toe shifts

Put them back on Andy, when you get used to them you will wonder why you went so long without them.

Is the M800 better with pegs?

Bluesman wrote:

Is the M800 better with pegs?

Hi,
I guess it's a matter of taste, to me it is !

kardax wrote:

Bluesman wrote:

Is the M800 better with pegs?

Hi,
I guess it's a matter of taste, to me it is !

Do you ride with the originals?

I like pegs on a bike but that's all I've ever ridden never had heel toe changer just looks weird and harder to use to me saying that I'd probably like them if I tried them most people do

hi guys

Thanks for all of the replies, I have only done about 150 miles with the heel and toe gearchange with footboards, when I bought the bike in July i took the footboards off, put the pegs back on and rode as normal using just the front part of the heel and toe gearchange to change gear in th traditional manner, out of curiosity I put the floorboards back on and I now use the heel to change up and the front of my sole to change down.

I still need more time to get use to the heel and toe if im honest, at the moment I must say I rather the normal gearchange and pegs to the h&t and footboards, but will give it a few more hundred miles before I decide, if I decide to got to a normal gearlever and pegs if there is anyone who fancies a heel and toe gear lever and footboards I may well be selling.....watch this space

I had never used heel n toe changer till I got my C800 but now I'm used to it I would not change it to anything else. My other bikes have all had/got just toe changers but then they are not cruisers!

Being in a state of advanced decrepitude I am not a good example but this is how it is for me.

I find that when starting off I put my size nine on the footboard and often tread on the rear end of the peddle and then wonder why the bike has gone into Neutral. !!

Previous experience is limited with fore and aft gear change peddle was many years ago on a Honda 50.

I think I'd be happier with heel to change up and toe to change down. But then I am very old.

Bluesman wrote:

kardax wrote:

Bluesman wrote:

Is the M800 better with pegs?

Hi,
I guess it's a matter of taste, to me it is !

Do you ride with the originals?

Not anymore, I have ISO pegs to match with my ISO grips. But the originals were not that bad actually, they absorbed a good deal of the vibrations.

I thought that floor-boards would keep the rain from going up my trouser legs. No such luck. The heel and toe arrangement, especially if you have an improved (louder) exhaust, allows for that lovely leisurely gear-change. The laid back attitude that cruisers are all about.

oiler wrote:

The heel and toe arrangement, especially if you have an improved (louder) exhaust, allows for that lovely leisurely gear-change. The laid back attitude that cruisers are all about.

Agreed.

Not agreed, no way now how. :what1:
How the does moving your foot & leg from the front to the back of the board make a more leisurely gear change than just adjusting your foot from over or under the shifter?


Can I point you towards ( THIS THREAD ) to explain more please.

After a few more hundred miles on the floorboards and heel and toe,I think I will go back to footpegs and the conventional gear lever, it just suits me better, I think one is no better than the other, it just down to personal preference I think.

Mr Intruder wrote:

Not agreed, no way now how. :what1:
How the does moving your foot & leg from the front to the back of the board make a more leisurely gear change than just adjusting your foot from over or under the shifter?


Can I point you towards ( THIS THREAD ) to explain more please.

Very simple, it seems to me. The act of moving moving my foot from the board to the heel position, takes a bit longer (for me anyway) than simply hooking up my toe. This gives me (and possibly only me, but that's ok) the feeling that I'm being more relaxed. With my 'improved' pipes, the more time I take getting up to speed, the longer I get to enjoy the exhaust note, before wind noise takes over. I remember my faster days on my Norton, lidless in those days, and a certain in-line 600 from Mr Honda (unimpressed by Honda build quality having owned  six Hondas, but that's another story). Now, in my decrepitude, it's all about relaxation. Smell the grass and look at the people, or the other way around. Just love town riding, getting to hear my lovely pipes bumbling away beneath me, not to mention the occasional admiring glance from your general public.

Floorboards are to be found on big cruisers presumably for long journeys to avoid the ache caused by holding your ankle a little stiffer on conventional pegs. Members who find this mentally makes them feel and ride in a relaxed position obviously have what suits them. I rode my C800 fairly agressively and would often kick the heel control hard to change up. When I moved to conventional pegs on the VN I rode no more or less agressively but the 'cocked' foot position seemed to suit my riding style better. Psychologically I felt more ready for a quick change. In reality it's probably all bullshit! 

If you are on a bike and it makes you feel relaxed, then it does. If you think your machine is a wolf in sheep's clothing then it is. Cruisers are only leisurely bikes if we want them to be. I think Suzuki were clever in their marketing of the M800 vs C800 as regards the controls, bars, clock position etc. In reality not a massive difference in style but sufficient for 3 sales men in different Suzuki dealers in 2010 when I was in the market, to say one bike was a little more relaxed in attitude than the other. Little is the word. I test rode both and found the M a little more nimble and the C a bit more laid back but that may have been as much my perception based on what I was being told than reality. Intruders are fine bikes. I'm thinking of getting another, probably used, and whichever comes up as a good deal will get my money - what controls it has will be of lesser importance because I can adapt easily to either. I'll probably still ride it like a tool when  Mrs. B is not on the back .

I feel it is easier to use a toe shifter but really enjoy the heel/toe shifter. At first I would get mixed up and would often change down a gear when I really wanted to change up. Relaxing I am not sure the heel/toe shifter is but I like it now all the same.

I now mostly use the toe end of the heel and toe shifter for up and down gear changes. Only time I use the heel is when by accident, when shuffling my size nines, I tread on it. 

I mistakenly changed down when I meant up, more than once - gives you a bit of a shock to say the least !