fanticnick

As of January 1st 1974 the US mandated that all of the primary controls on all new motorcycles had to be in the same position on the machine. Since the vast majority of bikes sold in the US then were from Japan, and the majority of those used left side gear shifters (with down for first and up for the rest), that was the standard which was adopted. I suppose that the US market was so huge that the minor manufacturers had no choice but to comply.

Greetings from beautiful British Columbia. I've just discovered this site and am already finding it to be a wealth of information. I've been on two wheels for many years, but have only discovered the delights of off road riding over the last five years or so; mainly dual sporting on older bikes. My current favourite dualsport steed is a '79 Yamaha XT500. I bought an '83 Fantic 240 from our local 'feet up' guru Dave Rhodes last summer, and am only now getting around to doing some serious (for me) riding. Needless to say my ambitions do not match my current capability! But I reckon that even being in my mid-50s does not preclude learning something new. My learning curve to date has been almost vertical (as has been the bike, on many occasions)..... now if only I could master not falling off! Safe riding out there, and remember: "That which does not kill us reminds us to wear proper riding gear!"