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11K views 89 replies 60 participants last post by  Busarich 
#1 ·
I was going to use this info for a new product idea but decided to abandon the idea. But it is still and interesting topic. So please express your preference. Then go buy something at www.IndianAftermarket.com
I have always used toe shifters myself. But once I bought a Scout and a Springfield I added floorboards and then I added a heel shifter to the Springfield. It was the Indian brand of heel shifter. It covers too much of the floorboard and hence we now offer floorboard spacers for the 111 floorboards. This moves the floorboard out a little and makes the heel shifter be on the side. The other method is to buy the Kuryakyn heel shifter which goes under the floorboard. We also sell those. What are you guys doing?
 
#3 ·
I had toe/heal on most all of my Harley baggers. I used/tried the heal shifter now and then but no likey, I prefer toe only. Does this mean I have a toe fetish? :D
 
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#7 ·
I have the Indian heel shifter, and have been happy with it; even if it does take up some floorboard space. I probably forget it's there 60% of the time and just use the toe - as is painfully obvious looking at the toe of my brown boots... But it's nice when I remember it's there, and it shifts very positively.
 
#11 ·
I'm not a fan of the heel shifter either. It always felt awkward to me. I tried the heel shifter once for a month to see if maybe I was missing something. After a month it still felt awkward. I have removed them from every bike since.
 
#14 ·
I was going to use this info for a new product idea but decided to abandon the idea. But it is still and interesting topic. So please express your preference. Then go buy something at www.IndianAftermarket.com
I have always used toe shifters myself. But once I bought a Scout and a Springfield I added floorboards and then I added a heel shifter to the Springfield. It was the Indian brand of heel shifter. It covers too much of the floorboard and hence we now offer floorboard spacers for the 111 floorboards. This moves the floorboard out a little and makes the heel shifter be on the side. The other method is to buy the Kuryakyn heel shifter which goes under the floorboard. We also sell those. What are you guys doing?
I've owned 4 bikes before this one (2019 Indian Chieftain) and I must say, I added the heel toe shiftier and love it. It makes shifting easier and cooler....lol
 
#16 ·
I bought the Indian heel shifter. I've been riding sport bikes for 20 years. I love it. I do forget I have it sometimes but I've found it easier to get into neutral with it. No complaints about it getting in the way either. Easy to install it just screws on. The instructions are a waste of time.
 
#17 ·
My Guzzi came with both a toe and heal shifter but I prefer the heel … just find I don't end up in neutral nearly as much using the heel as I can give it a better whack down that using the toe upwards allows.
 
#23 ·
A well placed heel shifter provides seem less shifting and saves your boots.
That's one of those things that in theory seems correct but in reality just not so, at least in several hundred thousand miles of riding in my experience. The rubber shifter just doesn't scuff the shoe or boot top.
 
#25 ·
I was going to use this info for a new product idea but decided to abandon the idea. But it is still and interesting topic. So please express your preference. Then go buy something at www.IndianAftermarket.com
I have always used toe shifters myself. But once I bought a Scout and a Springfield I added floorboards and then I added a heel shifter to the Springfield. It was the Indian brand of heel shifter. It covers too much of the floorboard and hence we now offer floorboard spacers for the 111 floorboards. This moves the floorboard out a little and makes the heel shifter be on the side. The other method is to buy the Kuryakyn heel shifter which goes under the floorboard. We also sell those. What are you guys doing?
I had a heel shifter on my Yamaha Roadstar for 13 years, and I loved it. I wish Indian had them as standard equipment on the Roadmaster. With that said, I will be installing one this winter.
 
#26 ·
I put on the Kuryakin heel shifter, which I think I even bought from Marcus (that's memory for you!). I put it on to save my shoes when I was riding into the city for stuff that needed dress shoes. I don't use it much when out on the road as the toe shifts are fine, but I do use it to get into neutral when first starting up at home in the morning.

I made a peg for it from a SS screw and some SS and rubber washers.

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#29 · (Edited)
I was going to use this info for a new product idea but decided to abandon the idea. But it is still and interesting topic. So please express your preference. Then go buy something at www.IndianAftermarket.com
I have always used toe shifters myself. But once I bought a Scout and a Springfield I added floorboards and then I added a heel shifter to the Springfield. It was the Indian brand of heel shifter. It covers too much of the floorboard and hence we now offer floorboard spacers for the 111 floorboards. This moves the floorboard out a little and makes the heel shifter be on the side. The other method is to buy the Kuryakyn heel shifter which goes under the floorboard. We also sell those. What are you guys doing?
I have friends who like using heel shifters and my first bike was a Bridgestone that had a heel shifter for DOWN-SHIFTING and a toe shifter for up-shifting. After that everything had the modern pattern and I had no use for my heel until I bought a 1999 Road Star. It was too late for the ALL TOE SHIFTING habit to be broken, so I cut the heel shifter off. In a separate thread you'll see my idea for a modification to the Indian shifter toe-bar.

But I also found that the floorboards were a bit too close to center on the Indian. So I machined four 1/2" spacers to move the floorboards outboard. Not a big change, but, for me, much more comfortable. But the Roadmaster's master cylinder comes too close to the surrounding black plastic in the lower fairing. I had to notch the black plastic to clear the master cylinder mount. The models with no lower fairings would have no such issue.

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