Learning curve; your brain's first time back on the bike

Brains and arms

The mental aspect of doing anything with one arm, when all you have is one arm, is the easy part.  If you dont fight it.  Shake that part loose, and then you can focus on the task in its purely mechanical form - how do I hang onto this while I do that?  It takes the bulk of the frustration out of any task.  Tasks are still frustrating until you’ve developed a system, and/or practised it enough times.

When you have two arms and you’re trying to perform a task (that requires two arms) with one arm, there’s an internal friction.  It takes effort to truly commit to completing the task and overcoming the friction your brain is creating.

I think this is why people (with two arms) see some of what I do as either “awesome” or “dangerous” - it's typical at the extremes of the spectrum.  He shouldn’t be doing that, or, how cool is it that he’s doing that?

Prior to my accident, in my brief career with the military, my section mates and I would practise tasks using one hand… and blindfolded, etc.  I remember that struggle, with my brain fighting to use both hands to reassemble my rifle.  It was a bit of a head start for how my life changed, in a lot of ways, not just performing tasks when your arm is missing.

Brains, arms and bikes

I remember the first time I rode a motorcycle after losing the arm - off-road, dirt bike, no prosthetic, bike unmodified - and my only struggle or fear was stability under brakes.  Which turned out not to be an issue; controlling the bike didn't feel like it required any extra effort.  Clutchless downshifting was seemingly instinctual, no extra thought required.  Prior to my accident, I had never done a clutchless downshift, and had you suggested such a thing to me back then, I’d have thought the idea was ridiculous.

My first ride on a modified bike, with the clutch now on the right-hand side, was without practice.  No, sitting there trying to get my hand and brain to operate the throttle and clutch simultaneously.  No extra mental effort required.  There was a struggle to operate the controls (lights, indicators, etc), but nothing that practice and time on the bike didn't solve.  Regardless of how well you’ve set the bike up, you still need seat time to get everything, including you, to work well and naturally.

Trauma

I recall that for the first year or so after getting my motorcycle license, when I was getting ready to ride and putting on my boots, I’d get these terribly vivid mental images of crashing.  This would be accompanied by a very real feeling, akin to a light concussion.  Pressure in the back of my head, a little dizzy maybe. It was pretty overwhelming, but nothing I couldn't push through.  I remember doing a LOT of riding back then, and every ride I’d push through all of that.  It doesnt happen much at all anymore, but the days when it does and it's bad, I see it as a “gut feeling”, and I dont ride that day.  That might be the trick to overcoming any feelings like this - identifying what really feels like a true gut feeling and what might just be an echo from something earlier, prior to your ride.  I definitely take time to process these pre-ride feelings now.

Expectations

My expectations of my riding ability and behaviour are pretty steady, with some fluctuations because I’m human. My riding ability is good, and my skills on the motorcycle are now well developed.  If anything, I’m all about taking the edge off some bad/lazy habits.  So my expectation of myself while on the bike is for gradual improvement, however slight; just recognise bad habits, call them out to myself, and adjust slowly.

There are people who expect me to make a mess of it again, riding motorcycles. The “I told you so” crowd is waiting for me to go tits up again on the bike.  There are those who may have seen me do something silly once and now assume that's how I ride everywhere I go.  These same people have typically had more speeding tickets than I have since being back on the bike.  That, or they’re non-riders who don't understand the depth of my passion for motorcycles and motorcycling.  Easy to ignore while I’m focused on myself and what I can control.

Eyes forward

Maybe the one thing learning to ride again with one arm has taught me is the same golden rule of riding a motorcycle: look where you want to go.  If you simply maintain a focus on improvement, not get caught up in the what-ifs or what others think of you riding again, the small stumbles and errors that invariably occur are easy to overcome.  And, if you pace yourself right, those stumbles and erors dont end badly.  It's not a smooth or linear progression; some days it's heavier, and others it's smooth.  Just keep looking where you want yourself and the bike to go.

Phantom Limb Pain

I might start by describing phantom limb pain in a way that those who don't have it can fully understand it.  I always describe the pain as sounds, stereo sound. In one channel, you have pain and sensation you recognise or remember. This is water running down your arm, or bugs crawling over your arm.  It's the “sounds” or pain you can identify; you’ve felt it before.  In the other channel, the sounds are violent, erratic and a combination of constant pain and bursts of pain.  If this pain were sound, I would describe the base pain as a buzzing fluorescent light; it's neither quiet nor loud, but it's constant, and it's the noise that wears you out the most.  Mixed into this are bursts of pain; the severity, duration and frequency of this pain vary, but it's LOUD.  This louder pain is extreme; the pain “level” would be similar to someone striking your hand with a hammer, full force.  However, the difference is that the pain is “ON/OFF”, its like a square sine wave in how the pain hits.  There's rarely a slow build-up of this increased pain, and there is no slow fall-off either.  This pain would sound like a stick welder striking an arc, or a drop saw cutting aluminium.  This is the pain that gets your attention, and it's what I am referring to when I talk about my phantom pain.  The other, familiar, pain and sensations are easy to shake off.

Controlling the pain.

Can I aggravate or soothe my phantom pain?  Not really. I’m not taking any medication for my phantom pain. I did a few rounds with all manner of medications, and I found they all rob Peter to pay Paul.  You might knock the edge off the pain, but you can't think straight or remember how you got from one place to another.  I do know, without question, flu shots make my phantom pain go through the roof - I have to take three days off work and isolate myself, my “post flu shot” phantom pain is that bad.  And that's why I haven't had a flu shot in two decades.

I’ve fallen off bicycles and motorcycles, fallen off my work bench in the shed and down a set of stairs.  None of that made my phantom pain worse.  Though I’m pretty sure cold weather makes the baseline hum louder, so I keep my short arm covered and warm.  There's no magic bullet for phantom limb pain; you just have to learn to live with it. And, like it or not, everyone close to you has to live with it as well, in one way or another.

How do I manage phantom pain without medication?  Probably poorly, but I have a technique that works; it just has drawbacks.  I know that my method for managing my pain has cost me relationships, of all kinds, and you have to find the right workplace to use it to get you through the workday.  It's taken me 20 years to get this technique right, and I’m fortunate enough to be in a line of work where it fits.  I simply engage my brain in tasks that require it to focus and work - solve problems, think deeply and process information, focus on tasks that require great detail and error control.  You just lock in.  The pain fades.

The drawbacks start with complete and utter mental exhaustion.  This has knock-on effects, like mood; mostly, patience diminishes, and you tend to isolate as stepping away from the comfort of concentration fuels the pain.  Distractions, especially useless or pointless ones, tend to fill your performance reviews with lines like “unapproachable” and “abrasive”.  Most employers and coworkers, once I explain phantom pain and how I’m managing it, understand and make provision for it and are generally forgiving.  A distraction, when you’ve just spent 30 minutes getting your brain to quiet the pain, and you’re superfocused on your work, brings the pain back on at full tilt immediately.  So, the pointless distractions are frustrating.

You find an employer who understands, it's good - you go to work, grind out work non-stop for the day, the boss is happy, and you go home.  The people you're close to have to put up with me for much longer, and I think that's why, for a very long time, I would bring work home - subcontract work, or just lock on to a personal project.  My mental resources, outside of “work”, were limited, and I used that limited resource to be a Dad for my kids.  They’re all older now, the boys would have seen me at my worst, in the very early days of phantom pain.  My daughter, especially after her mother left, got the workaholic Dad.  I’m very fortunate and grateful to have three great kids who understand and are forgiving when they need to be.

Outside of work and family, my mates get it once I explain why I suddenly doubled over in pain or grind my teeth in pain.  Phantom pain has never prevented me from living; it's just small, short bursts of pain punctuating your day.  I couldn't blame phantom pain for interfering with my deeper relationships. I’ve never met a woman who didn't show care, or sympathy, or a drive to help with phantom pain.  However, as I mentioned, my mental resources on a daily basis are limited, or my time is limited by taking on work or projects to act as a painkiller.  And that limited resource has to be dedicated to being a Dad, because that is my current priority.

On/off the bike

Does using my short arm, either on or off the bike, aggravate the pain?  Not entirely, no. I’d say I get a sore shoulder on that side of my body on long rides (200 km+). Most of the roads in Queensland are rough, so bumps and hard hits through the prosthetic haven't ever registered or increased the phantom pain.  The same with weather, hot, cold, wet or dry, the levels of phantom pain I’m experiencing at the time aren't affected.  Cold weather, maybe, but I can push through short rides and just wrap the socket of the prosthetic arm to keep it warm for as long as I can.

Off the bike, working in the shed, for example, I’ll use my short arm as best and as often as I can, and if I injure myself there, it's not immediately painful.  In fact, I typically won't be aware of an injured short arm, but I “imagine” pain when I find the injury, if that makes sense.

What is MY phantom limb doing?

I’ve been asked if I can feel my hand/fingers/arm off my missing arm, and what the arm is doing.  Is the hand clenched? Is the elbow bent? What's going on there?  I have to be careful with this, as “thinking” about my missing arm makes the pain a little louder.  I have a scattered patchwork awareness of my “arm,” but a pretty clear and cohesive awareness of my hand and fingers.  My fingers/thumb and the outside palm of my hand are the parts that light up when the pain spikes.  I can “feel” my hand, and it's like it's encased in concrete; trying to make a fist is frustrating (and a little nauseating), but not painful.

If I do “mirror box” therapy now, I can feel parts/patches of my arm disappear the more I do it; mirror box therapy doesn't seem to affect that loud pain. I do not do enough mirror box therapy to be an expert on it.  Initially, months after my accident, mirror box therapy would send my phantom limb pain through the roof - like someone was skinning my entire arm.  Which is why I avoided it for 26 years.  

Does it get better?

Maybe.  Maybe phantom pain fades, maybe you just build a tolerance.  I do know that, in the really early days, it's blinding pain that probably actually drives you a bit insane.  It's a very real thing, the pain and the reality that it's yours now for potentially the rest of your life.  Medication helps, but it won't stop it completely, and maybe that's enough for you to build enough momentum to build a tolerance where you can rely less on medication.  I do know that I’m less affected by the louder pains; they still hit hard, and I definitely make a noise when they hit, but I am much better at handling those hits.  The pain no longer erases the previous two minutes of a conversation, or calls for a time out so I can walk it off, sort of thing.  So, yeah, it can get better - in time and by building a tolerance and with the right pain management.

Top Questions About Riding a Motorcycle With One Arm (Answered From Experience)

When people find out I’m out there riding motorcycles with one arm, the questions come thick and fast — and honestly, they’re good questions. Riders, new amputees, curious onlookers… everyone wants to know how it works, what’s possible, and what it actually feels like. So I’ve put together answers to the most common questions people ask me about riding with one arm, based entirely on my own experience and how I’ve learned to make it work. Expect a long learning curve with a few bumps along the way, but do everything you can to tackle this from a safety perspective. Bikes are fun, and it's easy to disregard safety to keep your passion alive, so surround yourself with the right people — the people who are happy to see you back on two wheels for the long run.

Some of these questions are answered here and here.

Can you ride a motorcycle with one arm?

Can I ride a bike with one arm? Maybe. With the right set-up, preparation, guidance and practise, YES, you can ride a motorcycle with one arm. You need to be 100% sure you’re ready to ride — and that your loved ones are ready for you to ride. From there, planning and preparation, you can lose more than another arm without those two.

Legalities — I had to have my ability to ride a motorcycle assessed by a specifically trained and qualified occupational therapist. I then needed a doctor's certificate to support their outcomes, and I could then sit the standard motorcycle test that any other rider is required to sit. Your situation/location/legalities may be different — but it’s very important to check in with that side of things before you start.

How do you modify a motorcycle for an arm amputee?

I start with personal preference for the bike, then the controls — based on my capabilities. Then, lots of research on the bike, and as above, lots of preparation and planning… followed by lots of testing. Is there a bike that can't be modified? I highly doubt it. Is there a “best bike to modify”? As long as you can access all of the technical data for the bike, any bike can be modified — assuming you’re retaining the standard clutch. Going down the auto-clutch path just limits which bikes you can own/ride in the future — and adds an additional expense to your “modifications budget”.

Do you need a prosthetic arm to ride a motorcycle?

I feel like I have better control over my motorcycle when I ride with my prosthetic. However, there are plenty of riders out there riding bikes without a prosthetic. I will say, though, that most “non-prosthetic” riders only show high-speed / straight-line riding — I don't see them doing low-speed work/cornering or much manoeuvring in environments where speed can't be used to keep the bike upright. If you’re going at this without a prosthetic, get strong and healthy and maintain those levels of health and fitness while you’re out there on the bike.

How do you steer or countersteer with one arm?

I’m pretty sure that even if you still had two arms, you would only need one to execute countersteer inputs through the bike's handlebars. It's just now that one arm is doing more work. In my case, with 1.5 arms + a prosthetic, I’m using everything I have to share the physical and mental load of steering/countersteering.

How do you brake and clutch with one hand?

Like you would normally, with two arms. I run my clutch lever under my front brake lever. On take-off, I’m moving fingers around a bit to share the load, same when braking and coming to a complete stop. This is how I do things; you will develop a system that works for you and keeps you safe when you’re out there.

What bikes are easiest to ride with one arm?

Personal preference… but I don’t feel like a cruiser motorcycle would be that easy to ride. Disclaimer: the last cruiser bike I rode was before my accident, and I struggled to ride it — my brain and feet can't cope with forward controls. When I started learning to ride with one arm, I started with a bike that had a mostly “standard” seating position — building your confidence and comfort level are super important at the early stages of learning.

My TRX 850, as an example, would not be a good starting point — riding position, heavy clutch, tall first gear = needs a lot to keep things running straight. The little SWM 440 and even the Royal Enfield, though, could be great starting points for riding with one arm — the riding position is perfect, and the bikes are easy to manage even in the worst learning situations.

Is a trike or Can‑Am better for one‑arm riders?

Personal preference, but it’d be a safe bet if your confidence or ability wasn't quite ready for a two-wheeled motorcycle. I’m unsure of the standard controls on the Can-Am, but I’m sure it could be adapted with the right thinking, tools, research and testing. When I started my arm/bike project, people suggested I go this route, but it felt like an easy way out. I feel the same regarding auto-clutches.

How do you keep a prosthetic hand on the handlebars?

The hand of my prosthetic is engaged by a quick-release clip, which will let the hand disengage at a certain point (50 kg–60 kg), or I can easily remove the quick-release clip when I get off the bike. I’ve seen all manner of “hands” for motorcycle prosthetic arms; each has advantages and disadvantages, including mine. My clip is tethered to my body, and I’ve accidentally stood on it a couple of times, breaking it. Cheap fix, and I always carry a spare.

How do you shift gears with one arm?

For me, shifting up is as per normal: roll off the throttle, pull in the clutch, shift gears, release the clutch. Downshifting is done without the clutch — slight pressure on the gear lever, quick hit of throttle and at the same time downshift. I do this so I can still use all of my fingers to operate the front brake lever.

Is it safe to ride a motorcycle with one arm?

I feel like I’m doing okay — riding a motorcycle safely — but that's after lots and lots of practise and riding a bike an average of 25,000 km–30,000 km per year since my accident. Time on the bike doesn't equal practise in my mind, though. I still do low-speed manoeuvre practice drills and at least one emergency stop practice every week. Being safe on a motorcycle is mostly a mental and/or attitude thing anyway — you can have all your arms and still be unsafe. Get your head right, do lots of practise and ride within YOUR abilities, and motorcycling can be very safe.

How do you ride a motorcycle with one arm?

I dont know.  I know how I ride bikes with one arm, but I’ve seen a bunch of guys do things very differently and much better than me - guys like Chris Ganley come to mind, and many more riding around out there with missing arms.  I see there's a younger guy with a complete shoulder disarticulation riding a bike really well.  It's good to see.  It means there's a wealth of knowledge in experience ready to be tapped into by riders in the same situation.  When I kicked off on my own journey to ride bikes with one arm, I didn't have access to any of this, the riders and the communities online.

From what I can see, a lot of arm amputee riders dont ride with a prosthetic, which is one way around the problem.  When I was first starting to ride bikes again, just dirt bikes, I didn't use a prosthetic either, nor did I modify the bikes in any way.  I’d just push off to get some speed up and bump it into gear.  To stop, I’d just find neutral before coming to a complete stop.  I recall my first ride on the road without a prosthetic, very soon after my accident, and I didn't use a prosthetic then either - same technique - big push to get rolling, bump into gear and off I went - on an old XJ-650 of all things, so that “big push” took some big effort considering the state of my left leg that early in my recovery.

When I finally got the green light to ride bikes again, I just assumed I would need a prosthetic and went off and designed it.  I had an idea of what I wanted/needed to ride again based on my riding experience to date, which was mostly riding bikes with two arms.  I didn't quite factor in the extent of my injuries and the limitations they presented.  Hence, my arm has a range of movement I can't fully utilise.  I didn't understand these limits until after I built the first arm and started riding properly.  Properly on the road and in traffic and exposed to more situations, environments and weather than what I’d had trundling around in a cul-de-sac at home.

In those early days, as my body was exposed to more time on the bike, muscles not used for nearly two decades having to fire and perform, left me with wild headaches and quite often, after every ride, in a fair amount of pain.  The socket and my residual limb learning to live together on long rides was also a struggle for a while.  I’m glad I managed to push through on days when I questioned whether I needed to ride again.

I do still ride my bikes without the prosthetic, but only in my yard at home.  I believe the safest way to ride my bikes is with the prosthetic.  I’m not riding in a controlled environment; I’m riding on the road, with traffic.  Those quick responses required of me for sudden changes NEED stability, confidence and good control of the bike.  It's also a legal requirement of mine to ride my bikes WITH the prosthetic, and I’m okay with that.  Full transparency, I CANNOT ride the TRX without the prosthetic - that riding position, with one arm, is bonkers when riding around my yard at home.  I’ve never tried to ride the TRX without the prosthetic anywhere else, but I’m happy with the science so far.

Explaining how I ride, using my arm, using words might be a little difficult, but I’ll give it a crack.

I connect the arm to the bike before getting on the bike - fit the “hand” over the handlebar, give the hand a slight push to the left, and then fit the quick-release clip.  Then I throw a leg over the bike.  Pretty simple.  Typically, I’ll give the arm a quick test, pushing it through its full range of movement before taking off.  This lets me know if something isn't quite right with any of the actions I expect the arm to perform when I’m out.

The quick release is a clip with a tether connected to a belt loop of my jeans.  Nothing fancy. In my first version of the arm, I had the tether attached to the glove of my right hand - not a good spot, I found.  Too much potential for accidental release.  Side note: I had ridden my bike ONCE without the quick-release tether.  The hand on my arm is loose on the bars without the quick release.  So, THAT was a spooky and very slow ride home.  I carry a spare quick release on the bike now.

Riding the bike is mostly a natural feeling, but unnatural in the sense that you’re not using your entire arm.  Under brakes, I’m pushing my left arm forward, like you would when you raise your arm up from alongside your body.  This action keeps the arm in the right place, preventing it from folding up when it shouldn't.

Into turns, I’m pushing down from my shoulder, and this is difficult to describe, but there's an initial “quick push” down (or maybe push down + slight pull back?), and then you transition into the turn; the arm begins to move at the elbow as you shift your body around on the bike and into the corner.  With the compression/rebound set right, it's not as clunky as it sounds.  The arm returns to straight smoothly enough by itself or with the same “push forward” action; it’ll come back quicker.

This is the best I can do to describe what I’m doing to “use” the arm while riding my bike.  I haven't had any issues, no contact between the arm and the tank while riding, though I feel I may have two different riding postures: one for left turns and another for right turns.  Left turns, I’m not leaning on the prosthetic as much as I could, as often as I should, maybe.  Right turns, pretty normal, more bend at the elbow.  Images below for reference.

Clutches and braking.  The clutch lever is positioned under the front brake lever.  Only ONCE have I gone for clutch and instead gotten a handful of brakes.  Terifying enough of a mistake that you only make it once.  I did this AT SPEED on the SWM on some crazy twisty back road, and that bike has some heckin good front brakes with no ABS.  I usually brake with one or two fingers (index and middle finger) and clutch with the last two.  The space between the clutch and brake levers is super critical - you want your fingers in there, with gloves on, without any restriction.  Also, super important are the right gloves - I think, normal rider - the top of the gloves isn't an issue.  Whereas I’m trying to feed my fingers down between two moving parts (essentially), gloves with a lot going on on top of the glove don't work for me. on. I have seen a rider running his clutch lever above the brake lever, but that was on a track bike, or just personal preference.  I’m too deep into natural habits now; I couldn't run things any differently without hurting myself.

Taking off on bikes when you’re using one hand to do two jobs is pretty easy; I use my index and middle fingers to operate the clutch, and the remaining fingers work the throttle.  And, yes, I know that means I can't do burnouts unless I nose the bike against a wall.  Which is fine because I’m a dad to a teenage daughter, and I can't afford a steady supply of tyres.

The transition from coming to a stop and then taking off again - like at a set of traffic lights - is index- and middle-finger braking, with the remaining two fingers working the clutch.  That last second or two before the bike comes to a complete stop, I’ll move all four fingers to the clutch, relying on the brake to bring it to a stop.  Then, for takeoff, I’ll release the clutch enough so as to keep my index and middle finger on the clutch lever, then slip my other two fingers behind the clutch lever so I can use those fingers to work the throttle.  It all happens and feels much smoother than I’ve made it sound with words on a screen.

Wheelies - can I do them? Only on accident, and it's always the bike and not me, officer.  Seriously, I haven't tried to wheelie the bike outside of accelerating abruptly and savagely, knowing that's what the bike will do.  I’ve not done what the cool kids do and just lift the front wheel like it's nobody's business.  I’m just not that cool, and I’m not interested in the consequences of getting it wrong.

Switching bikes is something of a readjustment - both for my brain and my arm.  Today, I dusted off the TX and took it for a quick ride, and it was awkward as all heck.  First up, I’d just gotten off the Zed, and my brain needs five business days' warning before switching bikes.  Second, I do make a small adjustment to the arm between the TRX and the Zed - the roll position of the wrist is slightly different between the two bikes.  I have the two positions marked on the arm, and it's only about 5 degrees of rotation, but the effects are night and day.  That TRX is a great old bike, though, a short ride to blow the cobwebs out brought a big smile to my face.

The TRX is old-school; you have to rev-match your downshifts, so let me walk you through it.  Under brakes, my index and middle fingers are working the brakes, and my remaining fingers are working the throttle - we’re doing rev-match downshifts without the clutch!  I’m yet to blow up a gearbox or bend a shiftfork, and the only issue I have is an easy one to fix because it's my technique - I “tap” my gear lever, not “push” my gear lever on downshifts.  So, mostly on the Zed, second into first, can see me hitting neutral.  I think, from memory, the SWM would give me a surprise neutral between 4th and 3rd downsifts - again, I’m “tapping”, not “pushing”, the gear lever.  I’m working on this; it's a me thing, not a bike thing.

Controls like indicators, etc., are just extras, and that's where it's my thumbs time to shine.  It's probably the busiest digit on a normal ride. I have these crazy ideas of outsourcing some of my thumbs' work to another part of my body (not that part) or to the prosthetic, but I’d just be adding complexity to a system that doesn't really need it.

There’s probably a video that needs to be made to add visuals to all of this, but that’sabout it for how I ride my bike with one arm + one pretend arm.

How My One‑Arm Motorcycle Setups Evolved

Let's talk about my setups and how they evolved.

The first bike mod I ever did was on the WR450 loaner bike I was given to test this whole “one arm, two wheels” thing on.  Not the ideal bike for "testing", but I got there in the end.  Anyway, the first mod was to relocate the clutch lever.  This way I can at least ride the bike.  For the test bike and any bike, really, this is all you need... unless you're going on the road.  On the dirt bikes, there's plenty of room on the bars for the clutch lever relocation, and the rerouting of the clutch cable typically isn't an issue either.

This was my approach in the early days, but now I'm a firm believer in leaving the factory clutch lever and cable attached in their factory positions.  This saves you from relocating the clutch switch, makes the bars look neater, and, if the mirror mount is part of the clutch lever mount, saves you some headaches.  Reattaching the factory clutch lever to act as either a "clutch switch only" cable or as a "second functional clutch lever" is a bit tricky. The latter is the trickiest and one I'm yet to master.  My current Z900 has "two functional clutch levers", but the attaching part is only made of nylon and breaks after a few uses.  I'm yet to fab one of aluminium or build a simpler mousetrap.

Simple is always best.

The SWM 440 was the test bed for all of the switching and wiring.  I ended up using some generic eBay switchgear, with another generic eBay switchgear attached to the bottom of the first one.  Along wth a modification to the first housing to accommodate the indicator switching.  It was a fun experiment; I bought so many generic switchgear assemblies to test.  Same with clutch levers and clutch lever mounts, I shelled out for a bunch of different ones along the way.  Again, the clutch lever and its mounting are critical, as they eat into your handlebar real estate; it's a tight squeeze once you start stacking things where they don't normally belong.   I did try wider handlebars for the SWM 440.  But I went back to the standard bars after a while.  Stock bars are the best bars.

I think if I had to do the SWM 440 again, I’d use the same part I used on my Royal Enfield.  For the Royal Enfield, I sourced an RH-side switchgear assembly for the Indian/overseas market.  This switchgear had a headlight “on/off/high beam” switch that, with some soldering work, became my indicator switch.  If then repurpose the standard kill switch to the headlight high/low beam switch, and the starter button becomes the horn button.  Then it's a matter of making a housing for the starter and kill switches.  Why repurpose switches that already have functions?  Ergonomics.  Indicators aside, I want to switch between high and low beam “naturally,” not have to hunt for a homemade switch when my eyes need to be on the road.  Same with the horn button.  Natural position.  The starter and kill switches (kill switch is up for argument for some, I bet), but I have time to go looking for that (typically).  Anyway, the Royal Enfield RH side switchgear is identical to the SWM 440 RH switchgear in every way other than electrically.  You need to de-pin and reposition the pins on the Royal Enfield switchgear for it to function on the SWM.  The other HUGE bonus with doing things this way is that you get to retain the factory throttle cables.  I’m not a fan of swapping out factory throttle cables… in case I need to go hunting for the kill switch I moved.

The Royal Enfield got the mods I mentioned above; funnily enough, I reused the SWM’s factory clutch lever on the RH side of the Royal Enfield.  It was the better fit and function.  It did take me two goes to come up with the best relocated starter and kill switch housing - it used 2 x 8mm switches (Aliexpress) and a 3D printed housing.  Side note - there's a common complaint with the Royal Enfield 650s, they cut out and won't start intermittently.  The only time my ever did that was when my cheap kill switch button failed.  Other than that, the new switch is installed; my 650 never had that intermittent cutout issue. I believe the Royal Enfield 650s have a sketchy kill switch, and if I owned one and it was cutting out, I’d start by investigating the kill switch.

For those playing at home, there is NO room inside the headlight shell of the SWM for any additional wiring, very cramped in there, and a challenge to feed any additional wiring up into the shell.  TheRoyal Enfield was a bit more accommodating.  I never sorted the clutch switch on the Royal Enfield, though I just rode the bike without one. But if I had to do things again on another 650, I’d just keep the factory lever/cable/switch in place.

I used those same 8mm switches for both the TRX 850s in a custom housing.  I’m about to put the Black TRX back on the road, and I’ll be ditching this “custom” housing in favour of a setup similar to what I have on the ZED.  This custom housing was an attempt to overcome the complete lack of real estate on the stock TRX handlebars.  It worked, but it's not very ergonomic for the high- and low-beam or horn switches… I got used to the horn switch, but the high/low would always trip me up.  Fortunately, the stock headlight on a TRX isn't that great even on high beam.  As I mentioned, I’m redoing the TRX switchgear and clutch setup - I want the TRX to be the first motorcycle I do that can be operated by a rider with one arm or a rider with two arms.  The current clutch switch mod for the two TRXs used a generic rear brake light switch and a custom 3D-printed bracket to mount it.

The First Z900- this is the bike where “keeping things factory” really kicked in.  It was the first “clutch switch cable” bike; two clutch cables, one connected to the engine's clutch arm, the other tethered to that cable to activate the clutch switch.  The switchgear was a K&S switchgear, which was pretty nice other than the high/low beam not functioning in extreme rain - in the wet, that bike was high beam all the time, until it dried out.  I used the same 8mm switches, again in a custom 3D-printed housing.  On the first Zed, but I got a bad batch, and they were nothing but trouble - and when the kill switch wigs out on your Zed, you get error codes.  The first Zed also required a custom-made front brake light switch because of the clutch lever's position relative to the front brake lever.  Previously, I’ve used hydraulic front brake light switches - both the TRXs use hydraulic brake light switches.

The second, and current Zed, is the standard I’d like to maintain - the switching is still generic  gear, but it's so far been extremely reliable in all sorts of weather.  The ergonomics take getting used to; the indicator switches are latching, so you've got to dance a bit with your thumb, or you’re going to confuse other road users.  I’ve gotten used to that and the “best I could do” positioning of that switchgear. You see, the second Zed is “fly by wire”, and I am NOT going to mess with that housing.  So, I kept everything throttle (and start/kill switch) where they are, and simply 3D printed a mounting plate to attach the switchgear.  No need for a custom-made front brake light switch on the new Zed this time - plenty of room there.  I’m using a different clutch lever on the Zed, and I feel like this part might be my standard part, as it pushed the clutch cable position (relative to the bars) out further than most generic levers I’ve used before.

I use lever spacers to push the levers out away from the bars.  On the Royal Enfield, I used an 8mm spacer on the front brake lever only.  For the two TRX’s, I used the same spacer, and I believe I’m running a Righteous Stunt Metal clutch lever on one TRX (great lever).  The current Zed uses a 12mm lever spacer on the clutch lever and an 8mm spacer on the front brake lever.  This works for me, but may not work for others.  And, my ride instructors are going to get mad - I only use two fingers on the brakes.  My other two fingers are working the clutch.  I do, however, practice four-finger emergency stops - I just let the bike stall out at the end.

Generic clutch levers have very generic quality - they wear out.  I’ve found the Righteous Stunt Metal levers are great, or the chunk boi clutch lever I found on AliExpress - I’m using this on my current Z900, and it's been great.  The clutch spacers are sourced from Righteous Stunt Metal, or I’ve 3D printed the taller ones from Aluminium.

Tools.  Get the right tools: strippers, crimps, connection tools, etc.  And, get a wiring diagram, then spend a day or two looking it over, then pretend it's completely wrong and TEST EVERYTHING with a good multimeter.  I can't remember which bike it was, but the wiring diagram gave me wrong wire colouring - something to look out for and test for.  In all my messing around with the electrics on all of these bikes, I never nuked a fuse, ECU, battery or melted wires. Having said that, keep some spare fuses and keep something to put a fire out with when you’re messing with this stuff.  I find out what the factory connections are as well BEFORE I start pulling the bike apart.  I started doing this after I didn't do it on the first Zed.  Sets your project back a few weeks if you’re not properly prepared.  Another cool thing, or a nice thing - my preferred thing, is to source wire colours that match the factory harness.  I got most of my colour-matched wiring from the generic eBay switchgear assemblies I bought.  I build an intermediate harness now - a separate, small wiring harness that connects the switchgear I intend to use at one end, and the two other ends of the intermediate harness connect the factory LH switchgear and the main wiring harness.   Dont cut, hack into, or modify factory wiring.  When you use the same connectors as the factory harness, the work is pretty simple.

Ergonomics are SUPER important, and it took me a fair few goes to understand that.  This is the switch position, switch actions and the mechanics of the switch itself.  All contribute to a smooth riding experience.  You dont want to be hunting for switches while riding, so position is the first priority.  You dont want to fight a switch, both in its action (press/pul/slide/rotate) and its action (start, kill, horn, indicators, etc.) - choose the right switch for each function.  I have found you dont get a perfect world situation; there’s always been a trade-off. Be it a heavy switch or “just not quite right” switch position, there’s still some adapting required.  At least until I start making my own entirely bespoke switches and switch housings.

That's what I have from the bikes I’ve done so far.  I’ll update or do another post once I have the TRX sorted - this will be the first “one arm or two” modification I do, and hopefully it will be the default with every bike I modify in the future.