dobbers trike

[fifer]

dobber  ,I can see where you are coming from but I have to agree with the comments that it is not practical .
You need to have throttle control all the time especially when approaching a corner / junction .
You would have to pull the left handlebar clutch lever in fully then let go the throttle .
That action drops the revs and wipes of some speed due to the time it would take you to reach the gearlever on the right hand side of the trike and change gear .
You then have to reach back to the throttle and try and get the revs and the clutch balance to get feed back in ; All time consuming .
Whereas if you have the foot clutch it is only a matter of keeping your throttle controlled as per normal with your right hand , reaching down with your left hand to the left mounted { or central } gearlever , and dipping the clutch then easy to feed clutch in as per normal while reaching back to the handlebar { or to wave at the beautiful female admirers blowing kisses to you from the pavement  }.
The Reliant box is usually a very sweet changing box and it is easy to do clutchless changes if required .

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[hunter]

Are your front bakes operated buy your right hand,If so things would not only be difficult but dangerous,
You need to keep the brakes covered at all times.

[nabsim]

If you definitely want it on the bars you could look at something like old scooters used to have (if my memory is correct). Right hand lever was clutch and the whole lever/grip assembly turned for throttle

[zakboy]

i think on some of the old scooters vespa etc the clutch was on the left but i think that had the twist grip type gears on it as well, but been many moons since iv been on an old type scooter so i may be wrong

[nabsim]

i think on some of the old scooters vespa etc the cutch was on the left but i think that had the twist grip type gears on it as well, but been many moons since iv been on an old type scooter so i may be wrong

More likely for me to have it wrong Zac but it should be doable to have it on the right

[RODeo]

Just my 2p's worth..............I have twist grip throttle on the right hand,clutch left foot,brakes right foot,gear lever(under seat) left hand. Took a bit of remembering not to put right foot down to accelerate! I did a couple of times ,but in effect was braking and trying to pull away at same time,it was like a bucking bronco! (I did say BUCKING! ) Joking aside ,the biggest problem I find is letting go of the bars with the left hand to change gear. Its ok from 2nd to 3rd,cos the forks are sort of balancing themselves as the speed increases,but 1st to 2nd takes a lot more control of the bars with the right hand.I tend to quickly go from 1st to second ,as I suppose you would in a car,so that I get that bit out of the way and I can concentrate more.This incidentally is why I havent yet taken a pillion passenger,as I need to practice first.
 Another problem I realised as I was building the clutch system,was that I would need a nice light,smooth  clutch operation,and I took quite while to get it right,altering the pivot points etc. If the clutch takes too much pressure to push down(in my case ,left leg) ,then I reckon you would tend to move your body a bit to the left to assist your leg in dipping the clutch,therefore your right hand would pull toward you causing the steering to wobble.
 I reckon Dobbers idea would be a bit of a handful(pardon the pun 

[Clive]

Glad I wasn't being thick!!

[fifer]

Originally posted by RODeo  ;
Another problem I realised as I was building the clutch system,was that I would need a nice light,smooth  clutch operation,and I took quite while to get it right,altering the pivot points etc. If the clutch takes too much pressure to push down(in my case ,left leg) ,then I reckon you would tend to move your body a bit to the left to assist your leg in dipping the clutch,therefore your right hand would pull toward you causing the steering to wobble.

Nice analysis 
Smooth clutch = More relaxed Riding 
Just a wee pointer for First time builders of the Reliant motors ;
If you have the earlier clutch with the Carbon thrust washer then you have to set the adjustment at the end of the clutch actuating lever to approx 1/16 inch free play  .
If the thrust bearing is allowed to rest on the clutch as you are riding , then it will not last as long and you will have to keep adjusting the biting point .
However , if you have the newer roller bearing thrust then it must be just resting lightly against the clutch at all times  or you get chatter .
On the Reliant cars this is taken care off by having a spring looped from the clutch lever arm
rearwards on the Carbon thrust bearing type and the other end hooked on a lug at the gearbox rear mounting
and the spring goes forwards on the roller bearing thrust type clutch which hooked onto the engine plate between the gearbox and the engine

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[dobber]

.at a  loss now

[hornet6]

Zakboys reply was correct. The old scrots had a clutch and gear lever on the left hand handlebar. The whole assembly used to turn.....easy peasy me thinks.

[dobber]

decision made,
        left foot clutch. be easier to do any way. did have one on early in the build but didnt like it. 
         any one know of or got a pedal set up for sale that i can bolt on and if i put the clutch arm to the other side of the box is it poss to make a rigid link as opposed to cable.
              also, asked before, can the engine and box be solid mounted so i can have a one piece solid exhaust.  would just take the bobbing out and put a thick bolt with spacer in place which will keep the same height / position. just in the process of wiring the triangle head light and led rears, photos tonight.

[Manky Monkey]

All my Reliants have been solid mounted on both engine & gearbox Dobber. Never had any problems. I usually rubber mount the exhaust tail pipe but I don't know why really. My first Reliant used the original clutch cable curved around the front of the engine to the left foot clutch pedal. Then I realised the clutch arm could be reversed & every one since has had the clutch arm on the left, connected to the pedal by a rod. Much simpler.
You could probably find a set of second hand sports bike rear-set footpegs & pedals at a breakers, or on Ebay, that'd solve your pedal probs.

My on-going trike build. Been around about as long as this site's been running, (6 or 7 years now). It's almost finished.
This one uses a solid stainless rod connecting the clutch pedal to a Girling master cylinder with a short hydraulic hose connecting to an Austin Mini slave cylinder mounted on the frame upright, which pushes the clutch arm from the back. I wanted a tidier set-up & originally planned to have the pedal pushing directly into the m/cylinder, with the linking hose hidden inside the frame tube, which would do away with the rod. I'll probably still do that -when I eventually get back to working on this.

[Manky Monkey]

Currently sat in a barn, alongside the missus' muscle car, awaiting the time & money to finish both.

[dobber]

that pedal looks good, could do the same type with a rod pointing upward  on the inside that has a link and rod going straight to the clutch arm. to swap the arm is it a simple grind off and reweld on other side without taking the box out?

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, I've built several with a cranked arm that bends over the top of the frame tube to pull the rod from the inside of the frame line. Flap's orange trike used a pedal on a shaft that ran through a tube welded under the frame with the upright arm on the other end.
Yeah, no reason why you couldn't grind the arm off & re-weld on the other side, but easier to drop the box out & dismantle the arm. The clutch thrust bearing's held by 2 small roll pins. Tap them out then slide the arm out of the box & refit from the other side.