[cafeman]

I've been looking at what it will take to make a set of rearsets for my bike (4-speed left shift) vs. doing the right side conversion and buying the custom-fit rearsets. The left side looks to be no problem for fabricating/connecting the linkage but the right side looks like it will take some ingenuity to attach linkage to the brake rod/lever (cut down and rigged somehow) and still have enough leverage so it won't take both feet on the pedal to get good braking. Anyone done this on a left shift 4-speed?? Or, is converting to right shift the best bet for making ones own rearsets (which I suspect it is)?

[AgentX]

I can't speak to anything on a left-shift bike, but this place has nearly everything you could want to make linkage parts:

http://www.midwestcontrol.com/


With a set of universal rearsets (tarozzi or the like) and some creative mounting/linkage work, you can get about anything connected.  Whether a short rearset lever would give any feel or action worth a damn after all the Rube Goldberg-ing necessary to  cross over to the right side, I can't say.

[cafeman]

I've spent some time looking at the brake linkage and the shift linkage on the bike, checking out rearsets, and thinking of a way to make it work. I  believe I have figured out a quite simple solution to do this. The brake rearset will be on the left and the brake rod will connect to the rearset with a fork joint threaded onto the cut down brake rod (this is as easy as it gets) I'll have to figure out how to make an adjustable lever stop, as well as connect the brake light switch. The shifter rearset will be on the right, and the shifter cross shaft that runs from the gearbox to the left side behind the gearbox will connect to a reversed brake cross shaft via heim joints and removable/angle adjustable tabs/levers connected to the shafts: the existing splined shift lever on the end of the shifter cross shaft will be reversed (and it'll actually give more drive chain clearance) and I am using a collar (w/allen set screws) that I will weld a tab onto for the heim joint linkage to connect to.
After all this..............The splines of the brake cross shaft will now be protruding on the right (after removing the welded on washer on the end of the brake cross shaft frame lug) I'll be cutting down the splined brake arm making it into a short shift arm and I can then connect the rearset shift lever using a heim joint linkage. (using these offset rearsets w/folding pegs, but not the hardware...will source true heim joints and aluminum threaded tube)
Looking like a total projected outlay of about $250 (rearsets, 4 heim joints, 1 fork joint, 1 short length of threaded tubing, various fasteners, minimal welding and some easy cuts) No tearing the gearbox apart, or the primary, no $800+ spent.  Maybe it'll work, maybe not....I think it will!  I'll be taking many pics along the way, as well as keeping a list of parts used.  Let the fun begin!

[AgentX]

If you're willing to do left side brake, right side shift, it becomes fairly simple.

You can incorporate a bolt on a tab welded to your rearset mounting point to use as an adjustable stop for the brake arm.  Crude, but effective.  You can certainly make something more polished if you have the skill.

I connect my brake light switch to a tab made from a hacksaw blade, which is held in place by the bolt holding the rod-end to the brake lever.

[baird4444]

A seldom mentioned or forgotten upgrade for the RH brake bodge
is to weld a let's say 3/16" or 1/4" angle iron to the LH cross over shaft. If you think about it that rod has got to twist a little adding to the "softness". I always thought that the next time I
pulled the motor I'd go ahead and do the fix but never did...   
yea, it's not gonna take much twisting of that rod to ad the the softness, think aboot it.
  another thing adding to the "softness" of that brake bodge is the rod
on the LH side that has a bend in it to get over the peg...   there has
to be some give in that bend adding to the "softness". If you can mount
your sets so that a straight rod is used it will help to stiffen the works....
   just more to think aboot...   - Mike