The Motorcycle Bikers Dictionary – J

Jockey Shift
Jockey Shifter



Jack up – When a club member sets a non club member straight.

Jap-Scrap – Insult – Japanese motorcycles or foreign made bikes.

Jellymold – (1) Honda PC800 (Great Britain) (2) Mid-ninties Honda CBR’s.

Jesus Clip – A small “E” clip that holds the handlebar switches together that when you drop it, you might say “Oh Jesus”, ’cause you know you will never find it.

Jet – Precisely drilled opening in the carburetor through which fuel passes into the air stream. More generally, any hold used to control the passage of gas or fluid.

Jet helmet – A motorcycle helmet with no chin guard or visor.

Jet needle – This is a carb part that meters the fuel going through a jet, or hole.

Jiffy – Side Stand

Jockey Shift (er) – The partner to the ‘suicide clutch’, this was another chopper convention, dispensing with the long shift rod and the lever and gate on the left side of the fuel tank. Instead, a short, about four to six inch, lever was fitted directly to the top of the transmission and shifted by the rider directly, by reaching under his left thigh. This made neutral rather easy to find and, in the hands of an expert, faster to shift than the stock foot clutch, hand shift mechanism.

Jockey wheel – A wheel used to maintain tension in a chain or belt.

Jugs – Cylinders

Jukebox – Any overdressed bike

Jump start – 1. When the battery is too low to start the engine, one can jump start it from a good battery. 2. To temporarily boost the energy of a battery by connecting it to another working battery with (jumper) cables to assist in the starting of the engine.

Just Given’r – Canadian. Expression for riding a motorcycle hard and/or fast.




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