Reversing brake ,clutch & throttle due to wrist injury

[jerryz]

I am having severe control and pain problems with right wrist , arm and hand ,, so bad even with therapy, surgery, chiropractor and drugs that , riding motorcycles is becoming very painful .
Riding is my main joy in life ,i loath driving cars and I want to continue , am thinking that maybe putting a left handed twist grip on my Ducatis and swopping clutch to right bar and front brake to left bar might be a solution as its the throttle that is the biggest problem .

master cylinders could stay just swop hoses ,so long as hydraulic action is similar force . methinks ?but clutch is usually 13mm piston and brakes are usually ,15 and 16mm piston that could be an issue

but i may have to condider a different style of bike with cruiser type bars and automatic gear box to relieve the shoulders , not sure but that all seems a little drastic and limiting .

I have recently ridden my S4 , my wife 250 rebel my pals HD road king ,a Kwak Z800 and several local Thai 125 scooters with auto boxes the problem is the throttle twist grip  action and the pain in my right hand and wrist on all the machines .
when using computers or working i try to use left hand as much as possible
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MONSTERMAN

[ungeheuer]

If you have a dual cable throttle control....  (my DR650 uses two cables, one to open the throttle and the other as a safety to ensure its actively closed)... you could mount it on the left side and reverse the cables (or if you only need one cable, fit it to what used to be the closing position so when you twist it on the left it now opens the throttle...... if that makes any sense).

Or there's this kinda thing,  which replaces the twist grip...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/350956261761?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=94

and the Aprilia Mana 850 auto isnt a bad looking thing...





If you had the throttle control on the left on an auto bike like the Mana, could you manage the front brake lever remaining on the right?  If not... I dont think it would be too hard to do a right/left swap... using clutch lever from something else...

Other left hand throttle stuff..
http://www.nabd.org.uk/openhouse/openhouse43/43p8.htm#left

Just my 2 cents  

[koko64]

Hi Jerry
I recently did a conversion for a rider who only has the use of his left arm.
PM me your email and I can send some pics.

I used a radial 999/S4Rs clutch master for the brake and a Domino throttle with reversed cable. The rider uses a  thumb operated cable clutch like Doohans thumb brake. With two arms you have more options to move things around so its doable. He needed all the controls on one side so there was a fair bit of friggin around.

The trickiest part was selecting a clutch master with the correct ratio/pump volume to work the front brakes. If you can keep the brake master on the RHS it will be much easier for sure.

Selecting the right throttle assembly to give the correct ratio is important. Maybe you can get away with flipping the throttle, but finding a push pull throttle and swapping the cable allows you to keep the throttle pull in the direction you are used to.

Anyway, let me know if you want some pics, maybe they might give you some ideas.
Cheers

[jerryz]

I reckon a push pull throttle is the option to move to the left hand bar  with maybe some longer cables but the brake and clutch have to be reversed , as working a clutch whilst usiing twist grip would be awkward

getting correct master cylinder rations could be an issue left hands are always 13mm   although right hands can be had in 13, 15 and 16mm  most brakes use 16mm on twin disc dukes ,,13mm might clutch MC be ok   as there is so much power in the brakes and my left hand is very strong  and the 16mm brake on the right might help with my weaker hand by upping ratio maybe start with swapping hoses  is the way to go before spending out on master cylinders ,, it will only cost me  for a twin cable throttle and one longer cable .

I will see how my medical situation goes over the next couple of months before modifying one of the Monsters I own to see how it goes .

The only auto models available in Thailand is the Honda NC 700 or yamaha TMAX URRRGGGHH but its very expensive  $25,000 . in UK more options , Apprillia , Honda  VFR 1200 etc at more reasonable cost .

But None of them stir the passions , id rather put ape hangers on my ducati if that solved the problem HA HA ,

i am also slightly insane , not being able to ride my bike is worse than being impotent  IMHO .

[Speeddog]

I saw an advert for a thumb throttle just a few days ago.

I'm pretty sure all of the atv/quads use thumb throttles.

Whether that will be an improvement for your hand.... Dunno.

I'd set up cable-style levers, with the cables going to bellcrank/pushrod mechanism operating rear brake master cylinders.
Then you could easily alter the effective leverage to make them work.
'Cause a 12mm master running dual front discs is gonna suck, IMO.

[stopintime]

Is it absolutely impossible to mount a normal brake master upside down on the left side and vice versa for the clutch?

[ducpainter]

Is it absolutely impossible to mount a normal brake master upside down on the left side and vice versa for the clutch?

I think that would work fine, as long as they used remote reservoirs.

[Speeddog]

Is it absolutely impossible to mount a normal brake master upside down on the left side and vice versa for the clutch?

No, not impossible.

His S4 came with small-pivot Goldlines.
Swapping them side-to-side puts the reservoir fitting on the bottom, which makes it a little harder to bleed, but not too bad.

His M750 came with Coffin masters, and those won't work upside down.

[jerryz]

First plan is to remove the twist grip and try a Snow mobile/ATV thumb throttle and leave the clutch / brakes alone as the right hand front brake is not giving me much hassle its the twist throttle

If that plan does not work I will put a twist grip on left hand bar and move clutch to the right side and brakes to the left , as operating lever is not giving me much pain ,,mind u Brain will need to be switched on until muscle memory takes over or catastrophe could ensue ,,

so first i need a good quality thumb throttle,, any suggestions probably try it in UK on the M750

S4 has remote reservoirs so its easier to modify levers  a longer hose curving under the unit would suffice if they were turned  upside down , bleeding not a problem with a syringe pull bleeder.

I may be able to still use conventional twist grip if the therapy ? medicals work out ?? lets hope thats the case but best to be prepared ...and it may help other aging old gits  with similar issues

I rode a pals Harley today with 16'' ape hangers and the arm angle felt more comfortable handling was scary though ,,,,,not an option too heavy and expensive ,,, HDs Cost between $27-$90k in thailand , a new Ducati Monster 795 is only  $13k
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MONSTERMAN