Aftermarket levers (the cheap ones)

[Fred W]

A little update on my Cheap the2wheels levers. They are starting to change colors. The clutch lever itself is turning from Very Black to blue. The base of the clutch lever is turning bronze. The brake lever went from Very Black to bluish black and the base of the brake lever is still Very Black.

This was (partly) why I chose the silver colored levers. I guess if the base part started to lighten it wouldn't bother me all that much. Most of the year (but not right now during our short New England summer) I have butt ugly, but highly functional Vstrom hand guards over the levers anyway, so you don't even see them much, plus I tend to park my bike indoors except when my butt is in the seat.

And here's what my silver w/ red adjusters look like:

Also, the little bit of "wigglement" that was there when I installed them has not changed. Yet somehow, now that Fred has complained about it I find it more irritating.

These ones for the FJR (from the eBay link earlier in this thread) have much less of the wiggle than the ones I got for my 'Strom previously. The small amount of wiggle in these didn't bother me enough to even bother shimming them like I did the 'Strom levers.

Note that, in both cases, all of the wiggle is between the outer and inner part of the lever in the pivot for the adjuster mechanism, not in the main lever pivot at the perch.

I do not know when but Pazzo levers are going to be in my future.

I could never see myself spending that much money for a set of fancy hand levers. The price of those things is obscene. I mean, I like the looks and feel of these cheap-o levers OK, but if my sensibilities wouldn't allow the knock-offs I'd just go back to the stock ones (that worked just fine) before shelling out the Benjamins for that kind of bling.

 

[erci]

I could never see myself spending that much money for a set of fancy hand levers. The price of those things is obscene. I mean, I like the looks and feel of these cheap-o levers OK, but if my sensibilities wouldn't allow the knock-offs I'd just go back to the stock ones (that worked just fine) before shelling out the Benjamins for that kind of bling.

+1. If looks are critical to you and up/down lever play will bother you, the cheapie ones are not for you.

My #1 reason for getting these: I like my levers set up relatively close to the bar.. closer than stock ones allow.

If, on the other hand, I were to chuck sensibility out the window (money-wise), I'd get ASVs

 

[El Toro Joe]

I picked up a set of the PSR GP levers (for a steal)...had them on the 06, and moved them to the 16. I love the adjustability of them.

 

[bergmen]

Wlfman said: I bought a set for my '13 and they look great. However, the clutch lever was not working properly. It was not completely releasing the clutch therefor making the transmission "slip". I put the OE ones back on and will probably buy a set of Pazzo levers.

I just received my snazzy new silver w/ (2014 appropriate) red adjuster levers. When I put the clutch lever on initially it felt wrong, like it was under a lot of tension in the master even at the home position. I had removed the bronze barrel from the stock lever, cleaned and greased it, tried to align it and insert the plunger from the clutch master, but I don't think the rod went all the way in correctly.

I removed the lever, checked it against the stock one for dimensions, then reinstalled it and this time it went together correctly. I can feel that the master has little pressure on it in the home position, and the first few mm of pull are just taking up the slack. You may want to re-try to install your levers too, and pay really close attention to getting that plunger rod in the cup of the bronze barrel all the way.

Hope that works out for you.

I had the same issue with mine. It turned out that the relief groove for the actuation rod was not deep enough. I had to "Bergmenize" it with a 1/8" diameter carbide burr in my Dremel to get it to work like the stock lever. I discovered this by comparing the geometry with the stock lever and found the difference.

Mine are red:



Dan

 

[art miller]

A little update on my Cheap the2wheels levers. They are starting to change colors. The clutch lever itself is turning from Very Black to blue. The base of the clutch lever is turning bronze. The brake lever went from Very Black to bluish black and the base of the brake lever is still Very Black.

This was (partly) why I chose the silver colored levers. I guess if the base part started to lighten it wouldn't bother me all that much. Most of the year (but not right now during our short New England summer) I have butt ugly, but highly functional Vstrom hand guards over the levers anyway, so you don't even see them much, plus I tend to park my bike indoors except when my butt is in the seat.

And here's what my silver w/ red adjusters look like:

Also, the little bit of "wigglement" that was there when I installed them has not changed. Yet somehow, now that Fred has complained about it I find it more irritating.

These ones for the FJR (from the eBay link earlier in this thread) have much less of the wiggle than the ones I got for my 'Strom previously. The small amount of wiggle in these didn't bother me enough to even bother shimming them like I did the 'Strom levers.

Note that, in both cases, all of the wiggle is between the outer and inner part of the lever in the pivot for the adjuster mechanism, not in the main lever pivot at the perch.

I do not know when but Pazzo levers are going to be in my future.

I could never see myself spending that much money for a set of fancy hand levers. The price of those things is obscene. I mean, I like the looks and feel of these cheap-o levers OK, but if my sensibilities wouldn't allow the knock-offs I'd just go back to the stock ones (that worked just fine) before shelling out the Benjamins for that kind of bling.

Fred, What in Sam Hill did you do to that grip?????

 

[HotRodZilla]

I have real Pazzos on my '07. I got a SMOKING deal on them, which is the only reason I got them. Intially, I thought spending that much for bing was dumb, until I used them. I LOVE the feel. Everyone who has ridden my bike comments on how good the levers feel. They will be the first item I buy for any new bike. I like them that much.

 

[Fred W]

Fred, What in Sam Hill did you do to that grip?????

Huh? Nothing to the grip.

Are you talking about the crampbuster I have on it? I did trim the outside edge of that away alittle to make it smaller, so it just rests under the outer side of my hand.

It used to look like this one:

 

[Niehart]

I have real Pazzos on my '07. I LOVE the feel.

3 Bikes and 240,000+ miles and my levers are still black. Short lever for the brake and long lever for the clutch.

The only thing that has changed is that the adjusters are now gold. Rich [Curly Joe] now has the blue adjusters on his blue 2016ES. Oh and by the way, those are a real pain in the butt to change.

 

[PhatAir4Me]

I can see adjustable but why would I want folding levers?

 

[Niehart]

I can see adjustable but why would I want folding levers?

It has something to do with gravel, 69 years young and 5'9. Oops, oh damn I broke my lever in a damn parking lot tip over.

 

[PhatAir4Me]

I can see adjustable but why would I want folding levers?

It has something to do with gravel, 69 years young and 5'9. Oops, oh damn I broke my lever in a damn parking lot tip over.

Normally I would say something smart$$ like oh I see something I don't need to worry about however my bride and I were coming back from Ilwaco WA the LONG way Sunday and after riding from Estacada to Detroit Reservoir (GREAT STRETCH!!!) we were ready for a cold adult beverage and decided to have one by the lake. Well the water is fairly low but I saw this gravel road going down to the water, a primitive launch of sorts. We begin rolling down and about halfway hit some really loose stuff and I almost pitched it, I told my wife to jump off and I would go to the bottom and turn around, easier said than done with fully loaded bags and top case, I got stuck, I had to make three attempts to turn around and nearly lost it numerous times this with all the gear on in 85° heat! The funniest thing about it was my wife and I were connected via SENA still and she said it sounded like I was having a baby down there!

 

[philter]

Wlfman said: I bought a set for my '13 and they look great. However, the clutch lever was not working properly. It was not completely releasing the clutch therefor making the transmission "slip". I put the OE ones back on and will probably buy a set of Pazzo levers.

I just received my snazzy new silver w/ (2014 appropriate) red adjuster levers. When I put the clutch lever on initially it felt wrong, like it was under a lot of tension in the master even at the home position. I had removed the bronze barrel from the stock lever, cleaned and greased it, tried to align it and insert the plunger from the clutch master, but I don't think the rod went all the way in correctly.

I removed the lever, checked it against the stock one for dimensions, then reinstalled it and this time it went together correctly. I can feel that the master has little pressure on it in the home position, and the first few mm of pull are just taking up the slack. You may want to re-try to install your levers too, and pay really close attention to getting that plunger rod in the cup of the bronze barrel all the way.

Hope that works out for you.

I had the same issue with mine. It turned out that the relief groove for the actuation rod was not deep enough. I had to "Bergmenize" it with a 1/8" diameter carbide burr in my Dremel to get it to work like the stock lever. I discovered this by comparing the geometry with the stock lever and found the difference.

Mine are red:



Dan

I had the opposite problem, clutch would not "disengage" enough. So I packed the hole with a little aluminum foil. I guess the guy who drills the holes has a drinking problem. The pair of these I had on my 03 were black, and the right one turned a "copper' color and the left one didn't. My 07 has an identical pair and they are still jet black after a couple of years. SHRUGS SHOULDERS

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Re fading, why not just powder coat them? I'd think you could easily pull the adjuster out and it'd be cheap enough..

 

[Fred W]

The hole that pushes the clutch master cylinder rod is in the brass piece that gets transferred from the old lever to the new one. There is a slot that the rod has to pass through to get to the brass cylinder, but the actual pushing is done by the brass piece.

(I don't think my silver levers will fade )

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I think mine are subjected to more intense heat and light than some others. No, not because I live in the Deep South and ride during the summer. Because my '15 ES is so much faster than the other color bikes and the friction of passing through the thick sea level air heats the entire bike.