How to operate shifter on '42 WLA

mjmangus · #1 08-10-2009, 06:44 PM

I just purchased a 42 WLA and have never operated a tank shifter. The bike is being shipped from St. Louis and I'm in Calif. so it will be a week or 2 before I get to put my finger prints on it. I've searched but can't seem to find any operating instructions. So what happens? Does the clutch operate like a car? How do you find neutral? How do you start the thing? Any help would be appreciated.
thanks
Mike

ps my email address is mjmangus@yahoo.com

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FilthyLucre · #2 08-11-2009, 04:52 PM

The shifter will have a gate attached to the tank marked with the gear and Nuetral symbols. ie N123. The clutch is a rocker type. Toe down to go, heel down to disengage. So you would start out with the shift lever in Nuetral, Clutch toe down, start the bike and advance the spark, have the bike pointed in a safe direction. Do not try to take off and make a left turn until you get used to it. rock the clutch back to the heel down position, again make sure you are pointed in a safe direction with plenty of room. move the lever to 1, slowly put the toe down as you give it gas and off you go. To shift to second heel down, shift, toe down. This can be quick because you are already moving. heel down, shift to 3, toe down. To stop or if you find yourself in trouble heel down, apply brakes, down shift or place in neutral. Like I said give your self plenty of room to manuever and don't try left turn take offs until you get some practice.

mjmangus · #3 08-11-2009, 05:33 PM

Been riding for years yet it sounds like I'm almost starting over. Thanks for the reply.

Bluzmn59 · #4 08-11-2009, 05:37 PM

Call this guy - Antique Cycle Supply. The guy's name is Lonnie and he is very helpful. They have Parts Catalogs, Riders Manuals, etc. I ordered a couple of things from him to help me with my "new" panhead and we ended up talking for awhile. He even explained how to get the spirals apart on my bike and what I needed to do to replace the spark cable.

48pan · #5 08-11-2009, 06:15 PM

Congrats on the bike mj. You're going to enjoy the he!! out of it. Each kick starter has its own little sequence. If I remember correctly the spark advance is on the left handlebar. You'll have play with that to get the correct setting for cold starts. My pan I just move about an 1/8 - 1/4 inch. I believe the 42's had Linkerts on them. you'll want to engage the full enrich knob on top of the carb when cold starting also, warm you shouldn't need to. If it's tuned right it shouldn't take more than 6 kicks to start. Linkerts were referred to as flushers back in the day since they flooded easily. Good Luck and enjoy. For reliability and dependability the 45's couldn't be beat IMHO. You could fix them with a rock and a screwdriver if need be.

paullavery · #6 08-22-2009, 02:59 PM

Hi Mike,
Just purchased my 42wla about a month ago & like yourself not really sure how to ride it, checked out various forums to get some more info, then panicked !!

Took it out for a ride when i got it home and just could not get the hang of rocker clutch/hand gears, think i must have stalled it about 5 times, did not help trying to pull away on a hill though... once i got going it was ok and quite enjoyable ! But could not get the hang of pulling away from start, once i got home i did not take it out for another 10 days...

I found some info on a forum which has helped me enormously though, the guy suggested the following; disengage with foot clutch then select first gear, pull in hand lever clutch ( this will not disengage clutch on its own but will enable you to engage clutch with both feet on the floor ) now engage foot clutch and finally when you are ready to pull away let out hand lever clutch....This method worked a treat for me, took the bike out and had a great ride and even pulled over and stopped 5/6 times just to start of again.

Hope this helps, & enjoy ( but remember to get plenty of practice, especially if you are going to ride it in traffic )

Cheers, Paul.

paullavery · #7 08-22-2009, 03:04 PM

Sorry forgot to mention about starting the bike !!

To start mine i open choke fully and kick it over 4 times with the ignition switch off, then move choke to 1/4 open then turn ignition on and kick it over, starts like this every time...

Good luck, Paul.

FilthyLucre · #8 08-22-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paullavery

Hi Mike,

I found some info on a forum which has helped me enormously though, the guy suggested the following; disengage with foot clutch then select first gear, pull in hand lever clutch ( this will not disengage clutch on its own but will enable you to engage clutch with both feet on the floor ) now engage foot clutch and finally when you are ready to pull away let out hand lever clutch....This method worked a treat for me, took the bike out and had a great ride and even pulled over and stopped 5/6 times just to start of again.

Hope this helps, & enjoy ( but remember to get plenty of practice, especially if you are going to ride it in traffic )

Cheers, Paul.

Paul, Just curious did your WL come with both a foot and hand clutch? The hand lever on all the WL's I've seen is the front brake lever on the left side.

paullavery · #9 08-23-2009, 02:19 AM

Yes mate, but as i said earlier you have to use it in conjunction with the foot clutch...have also heard that some of the earlier wla's came out the factory with a hand clutch lever on the right with the front brake on the left ( scarey ) !!!

FilthyLucre · #10 08-24-2009, 05:59 PM

If you are having trouble easing the clutch pedal to engage it (toe down). You can adjust the amount of drag on the pedal by tightening or loosening the nut on the back of the pedal. If it is too loose the pedal has a tendancy to snap forward under the coil spring pressure. By tightening the nut it increases the tension on the fiber disc. This will alow you more control as you ease it forward.