Who Posted replacing the Choke lever

[Old Geezer Richard]

 Somebody showed a way to replace the choke lever on the handle bars by fabricating two levers to work the choke independently on either side ... I would like to try the same thing  ... anybody remembers that post ... Thanks the Geezer

[John Schmidt]

Are you talking about this setup? A single lever operates both sides simutaneously, just no worries about breaking a cable.

[JerryH]

Is that your's John?  Looks great.  How about a blow by blow description of removal of old and installation of new setup.  Part needed?  etc.


TIA

Jerry

[Ricky-D]

I am not attempting to dampen anyone's thought about altering how the choke is accessed but I want to point out what has been already been posted on this forum in the past, and that is:

Running for too long a time with the choke activated will turn your exhaust pipes blue.

I sometime come close to running with the choke on and only because I see where the choke lever is pushed down, do I remember to turn it off.

That's why I want to point out that, if the way the choke is going to be modified is going to put the lever in a more remote location,,, that the possibility of forgetting about pushing the choke "off" is going to be more prevalent.

Here are a few threads regarding the blue pipes/choke discussions.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,33073.msg305792.html#msg305792
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,26614.msg243857.html#msg243857
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,26614.msg243857.html#msg243857

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[John Schmidt]

I'm merely answering a request for the info. As for running with the choke on too long, first....I've had that mod on for roughly 6 yrs., maybe more and have yet to leave it on for an extended period. Second....if your bike is running right to begin with, once the choke is no longer needed it will start to run lousy anyway. I know mine does and it's a very effective reminder. As for location being remote, you can tell by the pictures that it's not and is very easy to reach. That said, here is what I did and the approx. measurements associated with it. All the material is SS and the nuts/bolts are also SS, plus the pivot bolt uses a nylok nut that if tightened slightly will cause the lever to stay in whatever position you set it. The first picture gives a rough drawing of the pieces involved. To mount the "L" shaped holding bracket, you use item #10 as shown in the ShopTalk carb parts breakdown link. First, back off the nut at the front (radiator end) just enough to allow you to mount the "L" bracket on the back end. The last picture shows a closeup of how I attached the control arm. After doing some cutting/grinding so it will clear various parts, I drilled two small holes in both the control arm and the choke slider on the carbs. The picture gives you an idea of where to position that arm, don't use very large bolts because the cover won't fit. Again, some thread lok or nylok nuts(or both) on the backside will ensure you're not going to have it come apart. Directly under the two small attaching bolts to the choke slider, you can see the cable that runs over to the right side of the engine. Do nothing with it, when you move the new actuator, it moves the right side cable as it always did. Hope this all helps, feel free to ask questions. The SS is 3/4"....mainly because that's what I had. Use your own judgement, the mod isn't difficult.



http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/GL1/gl20.jpg  (SEE #10 on the parts breakdown)

[GOOSE]

JOHN SCHMIDT....YOU DO A GREAT JOB WITH ALL YOU "PROJECTS" JOHN.   KEEP-A-POSTING YOUR STUFF...I FOR ONE ENJOY THE HECK OUT OF READING, AND SEEING THEM ALL.  THANKS AGAIN, JOHN H.

[Old Geezer Richard]

 Hey John , thank you so much for the ring back   ... I really want to copy your design BECAUSE of its SIMPLICITY ... NO CABLES TO BIND OR TO BREAK  , just as direct as you can get , Thanks   I got my reading glasses on and I have a few questions , again what did you use for the lever ? did you fab it or did you find something usefull in the hardware store , because I found an old circular choke lever that mounted on the handle bars that rotates and I just might be able to use that and go to the local cycle junk parts and find another one  ....  now the other question is where exactly did you bolt the 90 degree bracket the lever mounts to , because I have the Chrome Valence cover on my bike , I guess I will have to make or find a long / short sided bracket a little longer on top to clear the Valence and decide on how much to travel the lever has go to open and close the little enricher pivot points  .... In Conclusion you what John , I have no personal problem FORGETTING to close the choke when I'm ready to ride off or while riding   .... Thanks again John from the Geezer

[John Schmidt]

As to what I used, it's all stainless steel (SS), 3/4" for the 90 deg. mounting piece and also the lever with the black knob. The 6" long actuator bar is 1/2" because of the limited space. And I also have the spark plug valance/cover, it's not an issue if you look closely. As for where/how I mounted the "L" bracket, go back and read my reference to the link that's listed between the two pictures. Item #10 in that parts breakdown is what I used to mount the bracket and my writeup explains how. Re. the lever, yes...it's fabricated by cutting a piece the length stated in my picture and drilling the holes in the approximate locations indicated. To determine where to attach the actuator to the choke slider on the carbs is easy if you look at my picture. The location gives you full action of the enrichers when you move the lever. If you remove the cover for that area you'll see where I drilled and bolted the actuator to the choke slider. Don't make a big difficult project out of this, it only took me a couple hours to do it once I dug up the parts needed...which was mainly the SS strap.

Good luck.

I added a picture showing two things; the long red line is where #10 runs on the illustrated parts breakdown, and the circle indicates where the "L" bracket it bolted to it.

[The Anvil]

I love Johns lever setup and plan on doing it some day. But for now I just use a screwdriver. 

[John Schmidt]

I love Johns lever setup and plan on doing it some day. But for now I just use a screwdriver. 

A SCREWDRIVER?    Dang son, you're cheaper than I am.   

That's better than my buddy when I was in HS. He had an old Plymouth of prewar vintage, picked me up to go to school one morning and I noticed as we were buzzing down the street he kept pulling this wire he had hanging under the dash. I finally asked, it seems something broke in the gas pedal linkage(called a foot feed back then).  Instead of fixing it by going to the local junkyard, he just hooked a piece of baling wire to the carb and used it like that for nearly a month. His dad was a captain on the local force and when he found out about it my buddy was back on his feet until repaired.

[John Schmidt]

Go to the West Marine website and look in their catalog. In the search box at the top, type in "stainless steel tangs." It should come up around page 536 and you can click on the page to make the image larger. You'll need one 1/2" x 6" piece, #252387 for the actuator rod. You can get it longer if you like but it's $7 more for an 8" one. For the "L" shaped mount and the lever, one piece of 3/4" x 8" is adequate, #241744. The choice of knob is yours, use whatever floats your boat. You'll notice this SS isn't cheap, but it's highly polished and made for use on the water so it's high quality. Pick up some SS bolts and nuts and you're in business.

http://catalogs.westmarine.com