Foot Clutch Controls

Foot clutch

It appeared in 1914 and stayed with the Servi-Cars until the end of production in 1973. Electra-Glide Police models could be ordered with it until the end of the 1970s: Foot clutch, logically always in combination with manual shift transmission. Professional riders such as deliverymen, mailmen or cops appreciated this arrangement of controls for a variety of reasons.

Until 1952, foot clutch was the norm on Harley-Davidson motorcycles along with manual three- or four-speed transmission. The clutch pedal in the original design also had a super-practical feature: it was designed as a rocker and was operated with a "rolling" motion from the ankle using the heel and toe. In the disengaged position, it remained stationary until the driver actively engaged the clutch again - even if he had to take his foot off the pedal in the meantime.

Foot clutch at W&W - what's on offer?

In addition to reproductions of the complete original foot clutches together with spare parts, such as pedal rubbers and release linkages, there are also custom versions, so-called suicide clutches without locking mechanism for chopper minimalists.

What's a suicide clutch? And why is it called this way?

A suicide clutch is a type of aftermarket clutch pedal. Original clutch (rocker) pedals on Harleys were designed so that the pedal stopped when the clutch was disengaged. This meant you could take both feet off the footboards at any time to support yourself and the motorcycle.

If the customizer installs a simple pedal that, like a car clutch pedal, engages the clutch again as soon as the foot is taken off the pedal, this advantage is gone. If, for some reason, the rider has to take his foot off the pedal at a red light, the high inertia Harley crankshaft may cause the engine not to stall, but to catapult the entire vehicle inexorably into the busy intersection. Because of the easily forseeable consequences this can have, these simple pedals are known in slang as suicide clutches.