Adjustable levers for my '79

Mia_D

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Hello!

New rider and first poster here. Against some gentle admonitions of my motorcycle riding friends, I went with a 1979 for my first bike. Check her out!

Anywho, I went on my first real ride yesterday, and found that both the brake lever and clutch levers were a bit too far away for my hands. It was only an hour ride and my hands are still aching today. I've heard about adjustable levers? I checked a couple other threads on here and am still a bit confused. Will aftermarket adjustable levers be OK for this bike? Will searching for "adjustable levers" for this model suffice? The search results don't all say "adjustable".

Thank you!
 

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If you adjust those levers in too far the device they control may not work. Take clutch, it requires a certain length of movement to activate it both ways and not having that will either not fully release or let the clutch slip.

Same with brake, it may tend to drag or not enough movement to stop you securely.

There is a certain small amount in there of space that can be removed but past that we're talking re-engineering of the cable and lever operating lengths to work the devices, not an easy thing to do.

And it may have nothing to do with aching hands at all as they ache mainly from force used to do the work, that force will be the same even if the levers are moved in. Adjusting levers in does not reduce force required at all. In fact it can be worse if the device does not work fully like described above, the paranoia then at the loss of control can make one tend to pull harder thus making hand hurt more.

On top of that the cables themselves can be adjusted to allow the levers to come in, they have adjustment on the cables or front brake in that case.

Not trying to pop anyone's bubble there but the physics are what they are.
 
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You have the nifty rubber covers at the lever/cable join point, loosen one of the rubbers and pull it back, there may well be an adjuster under it. Pic that point where the cable joins the lever.
 
There is a span adjuster on my original brake lever . This is shown in the owners handbook if you have one. It varies the depth of the plunger which presses on the master cylinder . Comprises of a screw and locknut . This is assuming you have a front disk brake. As for the clutch you can try readjusting the cable at the engine case which should be done first and then try again at the lever. Not sure if you will find after market adjustable levers for this age of bike.
 
You think you are adjusting 'span' in there but you are not, you are changing freeplay only. The actual span is built into the mechanical lever parts down at the clutch and the movement of the M/C piston to get solid to begin pressurizing the brake. They are built in and not adjustable. If custom levers fall into still working with those locked in parameters then they will work, but if not you cannot get around it with lever alone.
 
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