Milled lever install
Moderator: Moderators
- websterize
- Lifer
- Posts: 993
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:41 pm
Milled lever install
Tools
T-25 torx driver; BMW machined hand-lever, part 71607706739, $80 each; wrench; Loctite Blue 242.
Nylon nut
The tiny but vital piece that holds the lever screw in place. (Some say nylon nuts are one-time use.)
Lever screw
Step 1
Remove the lever screw and nut.
Step 2
Pull out the lever.
Step 3a
Note the spring in the gap in the middle of the lever. The spring is what allows the lever to be pushed forward to adjust span. In the next steps, take care the spring doesn't fly out after removing the brass-colored metal cylinder, as it did for me.
Step 3b
Slide out the brass-colored cylinder holding together the lever components.
Step 3c
Almost out.
Lever components
Old vs. new
The milled lever is shorter and flashier than the black. The clutch has a short-shifter feel of a manual auto. It feels easier to pull in and hold, perhaps because of better leverage. I can wrap only three gloved fingers around the milled lever — all four on the black. There's one part number for the milled lever. As said in another thread, you just flip it depending on the side. There's one lever per part number — not sold as a pair.
Step 4
Place the spring in the small hole on the inside edge of the milled lever, and, while compressing the spring with the black component thing, align the holes and reinsert the metal cylinder. It's tricky. Ensure no part of the brass-colored cylinder is sticking out — should be flush with the lever.
Step 5
Apply Loctite to the screw thread. Dries in ~10 minutes.
Done!
The swap takes about 10 minutes per side.
Afterthoughts
Because I assumed the levers shipped as a pair, I rode for a week with a milled clutch lever and factory black brake lever. I figured if one of them were to fall off, the clutch side would be less catastrophic than the brake. The first few days I checked that the screw and nut were in place, and so far, so good.
That said I'm messing with mission critical components. To borrow from Ambassador Eilenberger, who suggested using Loctite: "… The author takes no responsibility for any damage or injuries incurred by anyone following the instructions given in this DIY. You should assume the author is a babbling idiot, and he knows nothing of which he speaks. If in doubt of anything - or putting a wrench in your hands could result in the end of civilization as we know it - please - take the bike to your dealer. [Hand levers] are CRITICAL - if you mess up, you could be dead."
That disclaimer extends here. All the best.
Bill
- Mark_1
- Lifer
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 3:09 am
- Location: Bay Area / Central Valley, Ca.
- Contact:
Re: Milled lever install
Gotta get me some of those!
"... Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." Frank Lloyd Wright
-
- Lifer
- Posts: 432
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:46 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Re: Milled lever install
Thanks, Bill, for a clear write-up and good photos.
I'm not at all interested getting these levers based on their looks (although they are beautifully milled), but what DOES interest me very much is your statement that they are easier to pull and keep pulled in. I drive my R12R in San Francisco traffic all day long on the job and my left hand cramps sometimes.
What I'm having trouble understanding is WHY the milled levers offer more mechanical advantage. They appear shorter which means less leverage. Any ideas of how they accomplish their magic?
- Bill too
I'm not at all interested getting these levers based on their looks (although they are beautifully milled), but what DOES interest me very much is your statement that they are easier to pull and keep pulled in. I drive my R12R in San Francisco traffic all day long on the job and my left hand cramps sometimes.
What I'm having trouble understanding is WHY the milled levers offer more mechanical advantage. They appear shorter which means less leverage. Any ideas of how they accomplish their magic?
- Bill too
"Everybody has a plan until they get hit." - Mike Tyson
Re: Milled lever install
Plus. the bits from the pivot point to the clutch master cylinder are reused, so mechanical advantage isn't coming in that way.ShinySideUp wrote: What I'm having trouble understanding is WHY the milled levers offer more mechanical advantage. They appear shorter which means less leverage.
- Bill too
On the subject of stock lever-induced hand cramping, though, after I had my bike in for the brake fitting recall, it came back from the shop with the brake lever 'way out there ... apparently the mechanic had changed the lever position.
It's actually a beautifully simple mechanism on the stock levers ... just a screw with bumps around the head to keep it from working its way in our out on its own. Push the lever forward against the spring, rotate the screw to adjust the lever position with respect to the grip, release. After playing around with both the brake and clutch lever positions for a bit, I find I'm much happier now.
Dumb question, Bill, but ... have you tried moving the clutch lever from its original position?
Good roads,
- Lewellen
Ask not why we should do a thing; rather, ask why we should not.
- websterize
- Lifer
- Posts: 993
- Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 4:41 pm
Re: Milled lever install
None, mechanically, I don't think. But I bought them for the bling. I'm a function follows form motorist.ShinySideUp wrote:Any ideas of how they accomplish their magic?
Actually, that the clutch feels easier to squeeze is serendipitous. I would guess it's because my hand is positioned farther out — my pinkie covers the ball of the lever — and I'm using more muscles to squeeze than before. That's what I meant by having better leverage, but I didn't explain that clearly. I'm an urban commuter and usually leave it in gear at stop lights, so the milled levers are a welcome farkle.
Bill
-
- Lifer
- Posts: 432
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:46 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
Re: Milled lever install
No dumb questions and yes, I have twiddled the dial which helped some. It's only some days that my hands bother me... arthritis from having all the metacarpals in both hands broken during a bicycle accident 10 years ago.lewellen wrote:Dumb question, Bill, but ... have you tried moving the clutch lever from its original position?
Maybe I'll take a chance on bling levers.
"Everybody has a plan until they get hit." - Mike Tyson