V-twin, hand gearchange, foot clutch? Yes

Can you see the little black pedal behind the kick-start lever? It operates the clutch. (Mecum Auctions Photo) 

 I had to puzzle over a feature I noticed in a photo of a 1930 Royal Enfield Model KL sold at the January, 2025 Mecum auction in Las Vegas. 

The 976cc side-valve V-twin sold for $27,500 at auction. Its description said that it had been used by a dealer in Oldham, UK, to collect motorcycles, using a sidecar. 

The big side-valve V-twin was "Royal Enfield's ideal sidecar puller," the auction noted. 

This machine was restored in the 1990s and was part of the David Silver collection. 

Its gearbox is a Sturmey-Archer three-speed. What caught my eye was a small pedal on the gearbox, obviously meant to be operated by the heel. 

It's not the brake pedal, or the kick starter, both of which are visible nearby. 

I wondered: could it be a neutral finder? Royal Enfields did come with gearbox neutral finder levers after World War II, but not in 1930.

After examination I concluded that the pedal on this Model KL (the "L" means it came with lights) operates the clutch. It serves as an auxiliary to the normal handlebar clutch lever, which is present on this machine.

I think I can see the little pedal connected to the same cable that appears to come from the handlebar clutch lever. I sure hope that is one strong cable!

My first thought was that such a feature would be rarely used. I supposed a rider would benefit from having both hands free, should he wish to wait momentarily at a crossing with the motorcycle in gear.

The Model K V-twin was often linked to a sidecar, and so it would have been easy to sit at a standstill with a heel on the lever and, say, refill the bowl of your pipe.

But that's wrong.

Clutches were meant to be used momentarily, while shifting gears, and no responsible motorcyclist would have sat with his foot on the clutch pedal, adding unnecessary wear.

Besides, imagine finessing the clutch engagement with your heel when moving off. Yes, you can do it nicely in a car with a manual gearbox, using the ball of your foot on the pedal. My heel is not nearly so exacting! I'd stall it for sure.

I don't think the this foot clutch was used to move off, but I think it nevertheless was a valuable feature, and probably led to a whole different style of riding. I imagine it went something like this:

No need to finesse the disengagement of the clutch -- just drop your whole leg on that pedal when you want to stop.

Remember, it's 1930: your gear shifting is done by your right hand, using the lever attached to the gas tank. Once your heel is on the clutch pedal, put the gearshift into neutral. You can now lift your right foot off the clutch pedal and push on the rear brake pedal, to bring the motorcycle to a halt.

(The little pedal had to be short, so as not to interfere with that rear brake pedal, which is also on the right side on this motorcycle.)

When it's time to move off, you again drop your leg onto the clutch pedal to disengage, move the gearshift into first, and firmly grab the (now slack) left-hand clutch lever; then lift your heel off the clutch pedal. Gently release your grip on the clutch lever, and off you go.

Thus the heel does the hard work and the left hand does the delicate job of letting in the clutch. I'm sure a skilled rider would eventually always use his heel this way, a real savings in effort.

Graham Scarth of the Royal Enfield Owners Club (UK) studies the factory records the club owns. He agreed that the pedal I saw is, indeed, a foot clutch, and added that a foot clutch is "listed against a few of the later 1,140cc KX machines."

Wait! This made me wonder if the little heel clutch pedal was a Royal Enfield factory item.

Let's cut directly to the answer: No.

I sent the photo of the auctioned motorcycle to Axel Winklebauer, of Germany, who is familiar with Royal Enfield V-twins, and other period motorcycles. He replied:

"I have seen such a short pedal on other vintage bikes of the '20s, but it is not original on an Enfield Model K."

Licensed GO7815, this is the only 1930 Model K I've seen with the short clutch pedal. (Mecum Auctions Photo)

I've looked at photos and illustrations of 1930 Model Ks, and can see no other examples fitted with the short clutch pedal. Perhaps this was an accessory or an early owner's clever creation.

But Graham was correct: later Royal Enfield V-twins would get clutch foot pedals. These would be much more substantial, full-length pedals, operated by the toes.

And, sure enough, in the press clippings in the Royal Enfield Owners Club (UK) archives is a January, 1933 article from The Motor Cycle magazine, introducing the new 1,140cc big twin for 1933.

"Since strong clutch springs are required with this type of clutch when running in oil, a large leverage has been arranged and the clutch may be operated by either hand or by foot," the article says.

January, 1933 article in The Motor Cycle. Note that the hand gearchange lever is missing, moved to the left side. Clutch pedal is on the left, as well. Not clear how it connects to gearbox. (REOC Archives Clipping)

But wait a minute. Confusingly, the clutch pedal has shown up on a model not available in England, and on the "wrong side" of the motorcycle!

The same month, the other great British magazine, Motor Cycling, described the new 1,140 as "Especially for Overseas Riders and Police."

"It will definitely not be available in this country," the magazine advised UK readers. Instead, it was adapted to countries with "right hand rule of the road."

The hand gearshift lever had moved to the left-hand side of the tank on this "overseas" machine, and so had the foot clutch pedal.

Foot clutch pedal of the "overseas" 1,140cc V-twin, illustrated in January, 1933 Motor Cycling. (REOC Archive Clipping)

An illustration showed the foot clutch pedal on the left. It is clearly so long that it would have interfered with the rear brake pedal if it had been installed on the right.

The caption of the illustration specifies that an "auxiliary" hand lever was fitted as well.

Britain would have to get by without the 1,140cc version of the Royal Enfield V-twin. But not for long. 

And now the hand gearshift lever on the tank and the long clutch pedal would move to the right, as they should be, for Britain. The clutch pedal would displace the rear brake lever, which would move back to the left side of the motorcycle.

The clutch pedal is back on the right, and you can see how it worked. (KX Owner's Archive Photo)

Jan-Peter Mueller-Kose of the KX Owner's Archive sent me a photo of a later KX foot clutch pedal. If you study it you can see exactly how depressing the lever with the foot would operate linkage, alongside the handlebar clutch cable, to disengage the clutch.

Another look at the foot clutch lever, from a March, 1938 publication. (REOC Archive Clipping)

More details came from Allan Hitchcock, of Hitchcocks Motorcycles, who provided the November, 1935 Royal Enfield engineering drawing for the foot clutch lever of the 1936 1,140cc Model KX. (Hitchcocks has a collection of the original UK factory's technical drawings.)

This drawing shows an overall length of 11 1/2 inches, or 14 inches if the lever was to be used with floorboards. Substantial, indeed!

Engineering drawing for 1936 Model KX clutch pedal. (Hitchcocks Motorcycles)

Motor Cycling's introduction of the new Royal Enfield models for 1938 gave this description:

"A foot clutch and hand change is fitted to the K and KX (deluxe) as standard equipment, but a hand clutch and foot change can be fitted for solo work only for one pound extra."

Note the reference to "solo work." The foot clutch really made sense only if you were hauling a sidecar. Riding solo, you'd prefer to have that foot available to put on the ground when you came to a stop.

Incredible how the motorcycle adapted over the years to the human body. We have only so many hands and feet; hands are flexible but weak, feet are powerful, but the heel will not dance like the ball of the foot.

Hitchcocks Motorcycles lists Part No. 23326 "Clutch Foot Pedal," but states it is "currently unavailable." As the engineering drawing shows, No. 23326 would be the long, 11 1/2-inch clutch pedal, not the mysterious little shorty that caught my eye in the Mecums auction.

Line up of solo machines from a January, 1938 publication. (REOC Archives Clipping)

The big side-valve Royal Enfield V-twins were popular with tradesmen for pulling sidecars. Police liked them for their relatively high speed. (A solo 976cc model was advertised as capable of 70-75 mph on level ground.)

They would finish up in 1942, and not return after the war. With so many surplus military 350cc motorcycles on the market, most with overhead valves for power and fuel economy, the day of the Model K was over.

They must have been awesome to see, even more impressive to ride, and they still have their admirers.