Lever Maintenance

There are many tasks involved in maintaining a motorcycle. A simple, but very important task is making sure your control levers are in the best condition possible. It's a minor task because it only takes a couple of minutes, but very important because levers in poor condition will make your bike difficult to control.

There are just a few things to work on when doing lever maintenance. They are lubrication, cleaning and inspection. Start by removing the locking nut and the pivot bolt from the lever. Make sure to hold of the lever when you do this so it does not fall out or allow loose parts to fall out and get lost. Carefully remove the lever and any loose parts from the perch. Then, using a rag and some contact cleaner, clean off all the parts that are dirty and greasy, and don't forget to clean the inside the perch as well. When all the parts are clean, carefully look at all the components. Is anything visibly worn, pitted, or cracked? If so, it's a good idea to replace anything that looks suspect. You depend on your brake and clutch way too much to get you home safely to skimp on a few inexpensive parts.

If everything looks clean and in good condition, now is the time to use some good high quality grease and lubricate the pivot bolt, the pivot bushing on the lever, and any bearings or bushings that go in the lever. Also, if this is a cable pull lever, add a dab of grease inside the cable barrel recess of the lever before reinstalling the cable.

Reassemble in the reverse order of disassembly and pay particular attention to proper torque on the pivot bolt and the lock nut. Make sure that the lever does not bind in its perch and extends completely when released. Refer to the service manual of your motorcycle for more detailed information about this. Always make sure there is a lock nut on the pivot bolt, so that it is secure from loosening. You never want a lever to fall off when you are riding! That's it, you're done! Just a couple of minutes of work, and your control levers will feel like new!