If we shorten a lever we increase the force required to achieve the same load on the other side of the fulcrum. Therefore we have to clench our grip tighter. Now take a light grasp on the back of a chair, banister rail or similar. Now swing your elbow from side to side, to and fro. Now clench the chair or banister with a good solid angry grip. Now swing you elbow around. Now what did our instructors teach us about keeping out arms relaxed and loose? If we are gripping tightly on a windy day, as the wind buffets us, the movement gets transferred through our arms to the bars and unsteadies the bike even more than the wind. Stay relaxed in your arms, but clench with your knees and what buffets you will dissipate though your knees, not your arms. So the bike ill remain calmer. Throw a shorty lever in, making you clench the lever harder stiffening your elbow. . . . . You like physics RJ, tell me where I am going wrong.
Exactly where gusts of wind get channelled round buildings as you are moving off from traffic lights or feathering the clutch filtering round buses and alike.
Shorties aren't to everyone's liking , personally I can take em or leave em my str has standard size asv levers on that I think work great but I don't have any problem when I get on my mates str with pazzo shorties both same bike same year and i didn't notice lack of feel or heightened sensitivity from the short levers
I see your logic on both posts :thumbsup: having child-like hands; ive noticed I only use the inside half of the levers as it is, the outer third or so doesnt get touched as its an uncomfortable stretch when paired with quite a heavy clutch, so I would probably be in the same situation regardless of which I choose. (depending on the level of adjustment in the aftermarket levers of course as that may make it more comfortable to have my hands further out). I suppose there will need to be a period of trial and error. i will never sacrifice performance for aesthetics but if its a section of lever I will never touch then its pointless being there. once I know what fits the bike, ill get a cheapish set of both short and long and see what suits me best then upgrade my preferred option to some decent ones and sell the cheapo's.
I have a XJ6N shorty clutch lever you can try out. It fits both R6 and XJ6, so I'd assume the MT03 too. I'll be selling both clutch and brake lever when I do the R6 swap - but you can take the clutch lever now if you want them in advance. The color has slightly faded so I'd take £15 for the pair. (Assuming the front brake lever fits too). First mod I do on any bike is shorty levers. Honestly those cheap cast standard ones are horrific, and they get that horrible corroded surface after just a few months of winter riding. Anodized or powder-coated only for me. It all depends on where you hold the lever too. My clutch is insanely light so I've never noticed a difference with that, and I moved the brake mount toward the center of the bike so I'm only grabbing the end of the lever with 2 fingers. Never had an issue...controls are still light as a feather. I'd use mountain bike levers if I could!
may take you up on that in the near future to use as the trial pair. sorted out a couple of days loan with l12mason to test fitment and how they feel... if im undecided after that, ill buy them off you for an extended comparison cheers.
so Ive kindly been loaned a set of fz6 shorty levers... brake fits perfectly but unfortunately the clutch (as predicted by a couple of chaps) isnt a match. the point where the pivot bolt goes through is about 5mm too thick for the mounting point. had a quick go around the block with the shorty brake lever on and in all honesty it felt no different to a standard size. my hand position was the same on the bar and there was no noticeable difference in effort compared to stock. due to that, im not going to bother messing about changing out mounting points or hunting through various bikes to find a match at this time. ill stick with stock for now but keep my eye out for any MT03 specific sets as it was the same level of comfort but much more aesthetically pleasing. thanks for your help and opinions everyone and a big thanks to l12mason for loaning them to me
haha sounds good. You can still try the XJ6 clutch I have lying around if you want, might be the same as the fz6 though.
cheers but theyll be the same alot of the sets ive seen for one shows they fit the other. thanks anyway matey
Come to think of it I have a second hand one for an R6 which will fit the XJ6 lever. I think it needs painting though, will have a look. Only issue then is the pain in the ass of removing the grip/bar end to slide the clutch mount off/on, as its only one pinch bolt. Not a big deal but makes simply changing a lever a bit of a headache.
anything more than a direct switch seems more hassle than its worth tbh, but thanks for the advice chaps
Im the same if i drive in shorts but whats that got to do with bikes? Lol Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk
Maybe not. But they will be come Thursday when I'm golfing in Spain. Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk
