At 11:20 AM 10/04/2007 -0500, Cheung, Doland wrote:
>I've also heard another line of reasoning is, "That is the way
>motorcycles are routed."
>
>I myself prefer left-front because it coincides with left-front-shift on
>my modern bikes.
So how do you reconcile having your motorcycle front brake on the right handlebar? (I started riding Eastern European and Japanese motorcycles and it took some effort to adapt to the right foot gearshift on British, Italian and some Spanish bikes. However, I have read somewhere that the human body is better at coordinating the left hand and the right foot. That was irrelavant when I raced motocross because I never used the cltuch to shift.)
Anyway, as I recall when I first started riding bicycles in England in the
1950s, they all had the front brake on the right. Take a look at pictures
of some old roadsters with roller-lever brakes. They mostly all have the
front brake on the right and it can't be switched without major work. When
I got back into cycling in the late 1970s, I found the brakes had been
switched. At first I thought it was a Japanese thing, but it turns out it
was a decree by the U.S. Consumer Safety Nazis. Kids who grew up sliding
the back wheel of their coaster brake bikes could do the same with a heavy
right hand. It's all in here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/
Of course, when it comes to classic/vintage bikes, I guess the best arrangement is how the bike was originally assembled (unless you find that awkward or dangerous to ride).
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada