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clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:36 am
by sulteck
my 16 year old son is learning to drive my KLR650. he is have some
difficulties keeping it up right(he's 5'3") and has since dented the
tank and bent the clutch lever. the tank is a war wound and i'll
probably just hit it with touch up paint. Can you bend the lever back
to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
market ones?
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:51 am
by Arden Kysely
Sounds like your son needs a smaller bike to learn on, but if you're
going with the KLR the best way to save levers is to invest in some
good metal handguards, like those from here
www.enduroeng.com or
other sources. They might also save his hands.
If the lever is just a little curled at the end, I'd use it until the
next crash takes it off, they generally bend just one way then snap
when you try to straighten them.
__Arden
--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "sulteck"
wrote:
>
> my 16 year old son is learning to drive my KLR650. he is have some
> difficulties keeping it up right(he's 5'3") and has since dented the
> tank and bent the clutch lever. the tank is a war wound and i'll
> probably just hit it with touch up paint. Can you bend the lever
back
> to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
> fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
> market ones?
>
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:20 pm
by Michael Nelson
Loosen the handlebar clamps for the levers a little so they can rotate
rather than break in a crash. Old mx rider trick.
--
"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open
manhole and die." -- Mel Brooks
San Francisco, CA
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:51 pm
by Blake Sobiloff
On Jun 25, 2008, at 9:36 AM, sulteck wrote:
> Can you bend the lever back
> to almost normal,,, or will it snap?
Arden's and Michael's advice is sound, but I've recently learned about
these "unbreakable" levers and they have me curious:
http://www.asvinventions.com/levers_order/
Size adjustable, and they have a pivot that allows the lever to pivot
out of the way instead of bending or breaking.
--
Blake Sobiloff
http://www.sobiloff.com/>
San Jose, CA (USA)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:47 pm
by Mike Frey
Wow... obviously variable prices among dealers! I just replaced mine a
couple weeks ago, it was only $14. There are expensive aftermarket
levers, but none that I would recommend. Not that they aren't good, it's
just that I am too cheap to pay more.
sulteck wrote:
>
> my 16 year old son is learning to drive my KLR650. he is have some
> difficulties keeping it up right(he's 5'3") and has since dented the
> tank and bent the clutch lever. the tank is a war wound and i'll
> probably just hit it with touch up paint. Can you bend the lever back
> to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
> fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
> market ones?
>
>
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:03 pm
by D Critchley
I put the bent clutch lever in a vise and clamped a large pair of
visegrip pliers on the end, so that when the lever started to soften, it
would be pulled back into shape.
Then I warmed up the bent area with a propane torch until the weight of
the pliers started to move it down, and quickly stopped the heating
process. If you have somebody handy with a long screwdriver or something
to stop it drooping too far that would be nice too.
I ended up with a kink in the middle, but it worked.
DC
sulteck wrote:
>
> my 16 year old son is learning to drive my KLR650. he is have some
> difficulties keeping it up right(he's 5'3") and has since dented the
> tank and bent the clutch lever. the tank is a war wound and i'll
> probably just hit it with touch up paint. Can you bend the lever back
> to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
> fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
> market ones?
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:49 pm
by Tengai Mark Van Horn
At 4:36 PM +0000 6/25/08, sulteck wrote:
>.. Can you bend the lever back
>to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
>fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
>market ones?
Three words: Metal Hand Guards
In the meantime, yes, you can bend the lever back if you heat it up
*real* good and while it's still hot, patiently band it back. I've
done it a couple times.
We once straightened a KLR brake pedal (Tumu's) by heating it over
the burner from my turkey fryer.
Mark
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:18 pm
by Ross Lindberg
--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Tengai Mark Van Horn
wrote:
>
> At 4:36 PM +0000 6/25/08, sulteck wrote:
> >.. Can you bend the lever back
> >to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
> >fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
> >market ones?
>
> Three words: Metal Hand Guards
>
> In the meantime, yes, you can bend the lever back if you heat it up
> *real* good and while it's still hot, patiently band it back. I've
> done it a couple times.
> We once straightened a KLR brake pedal (Tumu's) by heating it over
> the burner from my turkey fryer.
>
> Mark
>
I bent mine part-way back cold. Aluminum doesn't seem to like being
bent twice, even with heat. I managed to get most of it back where I
wanted it, then cut off the end and made a 2-finger clutch lever like
I had on my YZ 250 many years ago. I like the shorter lever and wish
they still made them.
Ross Lindberg
Fertile, MN
other bikes besides klr
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:03 pm
by John Black
I recommend the power commander usb for you Honda. You can kinda dial in some better gas mileage or maybe better performance. I love the power that the VTX has. My favorite thing is on ramps when I really need to accelerate to get through some traffic and on to the freeway. It's the only time I get to use all the throttle. I usually get up to 110 mph at my local on ramp before coming off the throttle. My KLR was my first new bike that I bought outright for cash at my local dealer. I thought it was just the coolest thing. Me and my girlfriend used to double up so proud to be riding. We would park next to the HD's and think we were the shit. Now we ride the VTX and laugh at ourselves thinking about highway riding on the KLR
JB
----- Original Message ----
From: bobby53_mac
To: jonblak12321
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 3:43:30 PM
Subject: Re: Other Bikes besides KLR
I too also bought a Honda VTX 1800 only a couple on months ago. I have
put saddle bags...crash bars...wind shield...sissy bar and rack with
an accessary jack on the VTX.
Around 2005 I moved to the country and I now live on a dirt road. So I
sold my HD and bought the 2006 KLR which I thought would be (and is)
more practical. However...the big cruiser bug hit and I went out and
bought the VTX loaded with all the chrome. Now I remember why I sold
the HD as I cant keep the VTX clean living on a dirt road. I don't
care how dirty the KLR gets and with the KLR dirt = fun. I still put
the most miles on the KLR as I drive 62 miles round trip to work and
the KLR gets between 59 to 61 mpg. The best I've done on the VTX is a
hair over 40 mpg and usually right under that. So the VTX is my
weekend cruiser bike which I plan to go across country on next year.
Have thought (dreamed) about Cooper Canyon in Mexico which would be a
KLR trip.
I guess my next project will be installing the doo-hickey and new
tires on the KLR. So I read with great interest all post about tires
and the doo-hickey.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
clutch lever
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:10 pm
by Don Montgomery
If while uncurling it, it snaps off near the end with enough left to still
use it, round off the end. Saw this done on a Neveda back country ride I was
on with Max Ernst using a rock he found. The ball on the end is there to
make it a "blunt object" so as not to easily pierce the human body.
Maybe the KLR is a bit tall for a 5'3" ride to learn on? Better to have
positive experiences in the early stages.
Glad you are teaching a new young rider.
Don M
> my 16 year old son is learning to drive my KLR650. he is have some
> difficulties keeping it up right(he's 5'3") and has since dented the
> tank and bent the clutch lever. the tank is a war wound and i'll
> probably just hit it with touch up paint. Can you bend the lever back
> to almost normal,,, or will it snap? it usable but looks like a
> fiddle head. the dealer replacement is $23. any stronger after
> market ones?
>
>
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