Closing the gap on on an XR80.

[wolf_child]

Well, my son tried to ride his new bike today for the first time. Let me tell you, it was a learning experience for us both. Here's what we found out. He's easily frustrated with the whole clutch thing. He has really small hands. He almost cant reach the clutch or brake lever. since it's such a stretch for him he's uneasy and afraid of the bike due to his lack of control. So here's my thought. Drill and tap a 6-32 hole in the ends of the perches and insert a set screw to make the levers reach adjustable then readjust the clutch and brake accordingly. Anyone know why this won't work?Or have another option? I'm hoping this added control will give him more confidence and make the bike easier for him to ride.

[MXJunky]

MXJunky used to see levers in the Chapparal catalog the had an intentation, or curve, in the design that resulted in the lever being closer to the bar.

Is it possible to simply heat the clutch lever up and bend it towards the bar?

[superduper]

i agree with mxjunky i would just remove it and bend it

[ttr125lerider]

yea... that would be the easiest thing to do. just put it in a vice and bend it a little. if you mess it up you arent loosing much ?

[thumperslider54]

What they said.I laid my bike down on the left side and bent the clutch lever in and I liked the short reach and don't plan to straighten it. ?

[CaptDan]

...So here's my thought. Drill and tap a 6-32 hole in the ends of the perches and insert a set screw to make the levers reach adjustable then readjust the clutch and brake accordingly.

I've done that to my son's DRZ110 and my YZ250, and it works quite well. (Great minds think alike, wolf_child!) I used 10-32 allen screws. Be careful that the lever still fully disengages the clutch. Some levers may also have a deeper "dog-leg" than others, that will help, too.

If you simply bend the lever, it won't lay flat against the grip when fully pulled-in. But you can use the bending technique to "fine-tune" the lever placement.

Good luck!

Dan.

[wolf_child]

I've NEVER successfully bent an aluminum lever on purpose. They always break. What do you fellas recommend? ??

[wolf_child]

I've done that to my son's DRZ110 and my YZ250, and it works quite well. (Great minds think alike, wolf_child!) I used 10-32 allen screws. Be careful that the lever still fully disengages the clutch. Some levers may also have a deeper "dog-leg" than others, that will help, too.

If you simply bend the lever, it won't lay flat against the grip when fully pulled-in. But you can use the bending technique to "fine-tune" the lever placement.

Good luck!

Dan.

Actually, I got the idea from Bicycle levers. The component companies have been making adjustable reach levers in this fashion for decades. I opted for a smaller 6-32 as opposed to the larger 10-32 you used so as not to weaken the perch by removing too much material.

[CaptDan]

...insert a set screw to make the lever's reach adjustable.

Do that. ?

Dan.

[wolf_child]

Do that. ?

Dan.

This was a good mod. It worked perfectly. I would highly recomend going this route to anyone with "little hands"

[purd]

Great set of pictures and idea wolf child thanks

[Kev_XR]

Is this a new or used bike? New clutch cables do wonders for reducing the pull.

[wolf_child]

brand new

[Guest XR EVOLUTION]

You can buy special levers , they used to be called Magura and they are specially shaped so that they are easier to reach without lessening the amount of clutch cable pull . They work great for people with small hands and also make it easier to hang on in race conditions for all riders !

[Guest XR EVOLUTION]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TWO-Clutch-Brake-Levers-NEW-For-URAL-NEW-motorcycle_W0QQitemZ4574974239QQcategoryZ35615QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

At most motorcycle accessories shops you can buy relatively cheap unbreakable plastic replacement levers that look something like the above Ural levers which are very similar to Magura easy pull levers .

[wolf_child]

yeah, well my mod cost less than a dollar to do.