Custom Hand Shift Controls

Handshift customized: Jockey Shifter in all variations

First of all: the name Jockey Shift. There are various attempts to explain it, the most plausible version is that the gearshift lever sits where the jockey in the horse race often places the crop on the horse's flank - namely somewhere behind the left leg. So far so good.

With the emergence of the chopper culture, the great dismantling (= chopping) began with the conversion of the respective Harley-Davidson motorcycle. A common cost-saving measure was the omission of the shift gate and the shift linkage. Let's be honest: where woould you want to mount a shift gate on a Peanut or Mustang tank?

The shifter was simply bolted directly to the transmission and from then on called the Jockey Shifter - see above for the reason. It doesn't make shifting any easier, but was and is considered to look so much cooler. And because you can't get directly to the gearbox on the Sportster, there are no such jockey shifters for it. Only for 45” Flatheads and various Big Twins.

While we are at using slang words: the jockey shift is often used in combination with a suicide clutch.