Short levers for 2008 Bandit 650?

[shflbm]

Our Bandit's clutch levers are too big for me. I have small hands and the levers are too far out. I can use them, but it's really not comfortable and I don't have great control (this is only a problem for the clutch and not the front brake).

We ordered short levers from the shop we bought it from for $100. When the levers arrived (after THREE weeks) they were the wrong colour and oops... they are not suitable for a hydraulic clutch! Well... that was a waste of time then. We got a refund but now we still have the problem and apparently no solution. Everyone seems to think there is nothing we can do.

I find it REALLY hard to believe there is NO option for this. Can anyone give me any ideas? Thanks.

[Banditbandit]

Are the standard clutch levers adjustable??? They are on my 1250 - and I assume they are on the liquid-cooled 650 .. but I can't remember how much difference that makes to the lever position.

Why is it only a problem for the clutch and not the brake? I would have thought it would be a problem on both sides (unless your hands a different sizes .. unlikely) ...

It could be that the levers need to be moved around the bars ... you could be bending your hand to reach the levers ... with the levers off the bars, sit on the bike as you would ... then extend your fingers naturally - that's where the levers need to go .. so your fingers are straight out and are not bent, either up or down .

If you really do need short levers there are plenty for sale on Trademe ... otherwise have a look in a few bike shops - quite a few are selling short levers off the shelf now ..

[shflbm]

Are the standard clutch levers adjustable??? They are on my 1250 - and I assume they are on the liquid-cooled 650 .. but I can't remember how much difference that makes to the lever position.

Why is it only a problem for the clutch and not the brake? I would have thought it would be a problem on both sides (unless your hands a different sizes .. unlikely) ...

It could be that the levers need to be moved around the bars ... you could be bending your hand to reach the levers ... with the levers off the bars, sit on the bike as you would ... then extend your fingers naturally - that's where the levers need to go .. so your fingers are straight out and are not bent, either up or down .

If you really do need short levers there are plenty for sale on Trademe ... otherwise have a look in a few bike shops - quite a few are selling short levers off the shelf now ..

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, the handles are adjusted to as close in as they can be. I think it's only a problem for the clutch because the clutch is stiffer than the brake (I'm used to the clutch on our ER6 which is really easy.)

Re. buying short levers... How do I know though which levers are suitable for hydraulic clutch and which aren't? I mean we ordered the latest ones from the parts guy so I would have thought that he, of all people, would know to check if they were for a hydraulic clutch or not. But he obviously didn't, so we've had to send them back, and he has no other option except 'to google for it'!

Good point about bending them around the bars... though I have a feeling they would still need to come in more. Will have a look later today.

[Banditbandit]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, the handles are adjusted to as close in as they can be. I think it's only a problem for the clutch because the clutch is stiffer than the brake (I'm used to the clutch on our ER6 which is really easy.)

You can adjust the stiffness at the lever - on the turn knob the lower the number the lower the pressure required.

Re. buying short levers... How do I know though which levers are suitable for hydraulic clutch and which aren't? I mean we ordered the latest ones from the parts guy so I would have thought that he, of all people, would know to check if they were for a hydraulic clutch or not. But he obviously didn't, so we've had to send them back, and he has no other option except 'to google for it'!

Yeah - that's pretty bad from a parts guy ... try another shop ... I don't live in Dorkland so I can't recommend any ... or go look on trademe - there's heaps there .. and soem of trhe traders are pretty good at supplying the correct parts.

[shflbm]

You can adjust the stiffness at the lever - on the turn knob the lower the number the lower the pressure required.

Yeah - that's pretty bad from a parts guy ... try another shop ... I don't live in Dorkland so I can't recommend any ... or go look on trademe - there's heaps there .. and soem of trhe traders are pretty good at supplying the correct parts.

The lever wheel is set to 5 as that is where it is closest to the handlebar so I can just reach it. If we set it to 1 it is waaay out and it would be even worse. It might be easier to pull but unfortunately if I can't reach it that doesn't help either :/

I rang our other workshop, the one we used to go to before we bought the Bandit - Spectrum Motorcycles. The guys there are super helpful and the workshop guy said to come in and have a talk and see if he can think of anything. He said a few years ago he had the same thing and they gently heated the lever so that it could be bent in a bit more. Only about 10 mm but made a massive difference to the lady rider. So that's a start at least - better than 'google it'!

[imdying]

You can adjust the stiffness at the lever - on the turn knob the lower the number the lower the pressure required.

That is just the span (reach) adjuster, it does not adjust the pressure as it does not adjust the leverage ratio.

[Banditbandit]

Are you sure ??? On mine at the lowest setting the lever is soft as and at the hard setting it's a lot firmer ...

[imdying]

Yep, if you pull the other lever forward, you'll see it's hinged against another inner lever that actually pushes the piston. That hinge is the span adjustment. There's no trickery in there, if you have a quick inspection it should all be readily apparent.

What does change with the span adjustment, is well, the span your fingers have to reach over. That change in finger positioning changes the leverage they can exert, so you will get a different feel as well as comfortable finger placement. It doesn't change how the brakes work, but might feel different to you. The 'best' feel for people is generally when it's adjusted out as far as their fingers will reach. I don't know anything about body mechanics, but at a guess finger muscles work best when they're at half stroke... too close or too far away and you lose some of that ability to finely modulate the lever.