johnd
Standard Bore
After recently purchasing a Rocket III, I realised how I had grown to love footboards and, especially, the heel and toe shifter on my previous cruiser (a Suzuki Boulevard C50).
So, I set out to fit new boards and a new shifter. Looking at the price of the real Triumph accessories was a bit of a shock (though I am sure they are good). I settled on some gear from Rivco:
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All came with pretty good instructions, and fitting was easy. However, I came up against a problem with the heel and toe shifter. The pivot bolt would not fit through the opening in the shifter. The inner brass bush was just a little too small.
I have noticed that other people have had the same problem, and had used a variety of ways to fix it.
Here is the problem part:
...and a closeup:
The inner brass bush needs to be honed to make it a little bigger. Not much, but enough for the pivot bolt to pass through and to turn freely. That is important. It is not enough for the bolt to pass through. It must pivot freely, with a minimum of effort, otherwise the gear selector will not be able to return the shifter to the neutral position, ready for the next gear change.
Rivco suggested that I use a piece of sandpaper around a dowel, but I was concerned about ending up with an out of true bush, as there would be no easy way to ensure I took the same amount off all around the circumference.
Instead, after reading a couple of other forum posts, I decided to use a brake cylinder hone. Never having heard of such a thing, I went to the local auto parts dealer expecting to receive blank looks. Instead, I was offered a variety of sizes!
Here is what one looks like:
You fit it into an electric drill:
The end consists of a couple of stones that rotate inside the object you wish to increase the diameter of:
The nut and spring allow you to adjust the effective diameter of the hone. I placed it in the bush and turned the nut until the stones sat firmly against the bush. I then ran the drill for about 15 seconds. I was a bit apprehensive that I would take too much off. However, the honing process is quite fine, and I ended up using 4x15 second bursts. I think it would be difficult to overdo it, as the unit does not remove much each time.
After this, the pivot bolt fit the hole perfectly, and the shifter moved on it with little effort.
Here is a picture of the finished effort:
There is no sideways movement, and the shifter moves smoothly on the pivot bolt.
So, I set out to fit new boards and a new shifter. Looking at the price of the real Triumph accessories was a bit of a shock (though I am sure they are good). I settled on some gear from Rivco:
Link Removed
Link Removed
Link Removed
Link Removed
All came with pretty good instructions, and fitting was easy. However, I came up against a problem with the heel and toe shifter. The pivot bolt would not fit through the opening in the shifter. The inner brass bush was just a little too small.
I have noticed that other people have had the same problem, and had used a variety of ways to fix it.
Here is the problem part:
...and a closeup:
The inner brass bush needs to be honed to make it a little bigger. Not much, but enough for the pivot bolt to pass through and to turn freely. That is important. It is not enough for the bolt to pass through. It must pivot freely, with a minimum of effort, otherwise the gear selector will not be able to return the shifter to the neutral position, ready for the next gear change.
Rivco suggested that I use a piece of sandpaper around a dowel, but I was concerned about ending up with an out of true bush, as there would be no easy way to ensure I took the same amount off all around the circumference.
Instead, after reading a couple of other forum posts, I decided to use a brake cylinder hone. Never having heard of such a thing, I went to the local auto parts dealer expecting to receive blank looks. Instead, I was offered a variety of sizes!
Here is what one looks like:
You fit it into an electric drill:
The end consists of a couple of stones that rotate inside the object you wish to increase the diameter of:
The nut and spring allow you to adjust the effective diameter of the hone. I placed it in the bush and turned the nut until the stones sat firmly against the bush. I then ran the drill for about 15 seconds. I was a bit apprehensive that I would take too much off. However, the honing process is quite fine, and I ended up using 4x15 second bursts. I think it would be difficult to overdo it, as the unit does not remove much each time.
After this, the pivot bolt fit the hole perfectly, and the shifter moved on it with little effort.
Here is a picture of the finished effort:
There is no sideways movement, and the shifter moves smoothly on the pivot bolt.
