*This is exactly correct. I've been driving motorcyles since the early 1960's, and "suicide" referred to a setup with a foot operated clutch and no hand brake lever (for the front brake). Stopping while facing downhill or level ground wasn't a problem, but stopping while facing uphill required constant slippage of the clutch, backing the rear tire onto the curb on the side, or being so talented that a driver could balance the bike with the right foot on the brake and quickly apply the left foot to the clutch, shift in to first gear and take off before falling over, or rolling back too far. The main reason this setup was somewhat popular for choppers is that it meant the front handlebars had no levers, making for a "cleaner" look. If the throttle cable was routed through the handlebar, then there would be no visible cable either. Some sort of auto releasing parking brake for the rear brake would have solved the problem, but I never saw one implemented. Another alternative could have been a second cable attached to the throttle handle so when turned away past the idle point, it would operate the rear brake enough to hold the bike in place while facing uphill, again I never saw this implemented either. Yet another alternative woudl be a heel operated rear brake on the left that could be used while the ball of the foot was used to operate the clutch on the left, leaving the right foot free to balance the bike when stopping and facing uphill.