Lubing the levers

[Geezer]

On my way home yesterday I noticed a squeak whenever I shifted gears. I could hear it even though I had my Koss ear plug speakers in. After some quick diagnosis I realized it was coming from the clutch lever.

Today I took the pivot bolt out and pulled the lever off. It appears that the squeak was not coming from the pivot bolt but from the brass insert that pushes against the master cylinder plunger. The brass piece is round and turns in a hole in the aluminum lever. I found what appeared to be dry grease in there and a slight gauling of the brass piece. I cleaned it up, lubed it with grease, greased the pivot bolt and put it back together. No more squeak.

So, I went over to the brake lever and pulled that off as well. The pivot bolt was fine, since I do grease these regularly, but I noticed a shiny wear spot in the hole where the lever contacts the master cylinder plunger. There is no brass piece on this lever, just an indent in the lever where the plunger rests. I cleaned that out, put in a dab of grease, and put it back together.

What I'm saying is that it is not adequate to just grease the pivot bolts on your levers, you need to pull the levers off and look them over carefully. Clean and lube the brass piece on the clutch lever and the indent on the brake lever.

 

[twowheelnut]

Mine's been squeaking, too. Lubed it a while ago, apparently not well enough. Got to get that done before take-off. Thanks for the tip/reminder, Geezy!

 

[Pappy]

Just remove each lever, clean, lube with your favorite grease (I think the manual says white lithium?), reassemble. I lived with that sqeaking for weeks and kicked myself for not doing it sooner once I realized it was that easy to do.

 

[jayke]

Thanks! I wondered where that sqeaking was coming from. It's quiet now.

Jayke

 

[odot]

Exactly what type of grease are we supposed to use? :lol: :huh:

 

[pronomian]

Those levers, particularly the brass piece, should be greased each and every time you change the oil. Both sides. If you only did the clutch side then you can look forward to a squeek coming from the brake side. Simple maintenance even I can do.

My mech told me that when replacing the lever you put tighten the screw, put on the lock nut and tighten the nut WITHOUT putting a screwdriver to the flathead screw while tightening. You will see the screw turn about a 1/4 and stop. This will not overtighten the lever and cause it to "pinch," which could cause the brake to clamp shut and not open when you brake then release. An unintentional stoppy (or endo) could ruin your day.

Mike

 

[odot]

Yeah...but, what kind of grease?

 

[Bearly Flying]

Odot, Are you trying to start a never ending Grease thread??

Try KY.....

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Yeah...but, what kind of grease?

you should know better, its not grease, its lube. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[fjrchik]

Odot, Are you trying to start a never ending Grease thread??
Try KY.....

he won't touch it unless it says amsoil on it!

 

[Bounce]

FYI those busings are also considered wear items. Over time the brass will wear and elongate the hole. A simple swap-in replacement process. In the mean time, they are something to address in your "lube the pivot points" service.

 

[FJRrambo]

Is removing the clutch lever as simple as removing that screw with the bolt on the bottom of it?

 

[Rickster]

FJRambo -- pretty much.

Odot -- of course the manual calls for lithium based, but i think you'll get much better results with hypoid synthetic mob-amso-oline. you can get some at Clicky for a fair price.

 

[Bustanut joker]

And you can only drop the brASS peice three times... then it gets lost, only to be found a week after Glen sends you a new one :angry: yep I did it.

btw odot, I used the moly paste that I used on the shaft that goes in the rear end :blink: seemed to work jus fine. :yahoo:

:jester:

 

[FJRrambo]

Thanks guys