pros still using aluminum levers

JBernard_401
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JBernard_401
Edited Date/Time 1/24/2016 10:20am
Curious to why so many factory riders are using stock aluminum brake/clutch levers which seem a bit old technology.
Only negative I've ever heard with something like the ARC Composite is the slight amount of more flex they have.
But it seems like instances of banging your levers down like dungey did at ironman natl a while back would be eliminated and save time having to get lever position back in order.
Any ideas?
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Cygnus
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Cygnus 1/23/2016 1:12pm
1/23/2016 1:12pm
Ive never found a lever that works better than the stock ones. jmo.
lumpy790
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lumpy790 1/23/2016 1:15pm
1/23/2016 1:15pm
ARC are not made out of aluminum?
moto455va
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moto455va 1/23/2016 1:18pm
1/23/2016 1:18pm
lumpy790 wrote:
ARC are not made out of aluminum?
They have aluminum ones, they also have a composite lever that flexes
mark_swart
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mark_swart 1/23/2016 1:21pm
1/23/2016 1:21pm
Weight maybe?

I dunno, I think the fancy levers are way over-rated. My current bike came with them, after riding I think the contour and pull on them feels sort of weird. I would never spend my own money on them. I've been racing since the 80s and I swear I can't think of a time that I've broken a stock lever or perch, I run them loose enough to bang back into place.

The Shop

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aeffertz
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aeffertz 1/23/2016 1:25pm
1/23/2016 1:25pm Edited Date/Time 1/23/2016 1:26pm
The best clutch perch/lever setup I've ever used and swear by are the Works Connection levers with the on-the-fly adjuster.

4thGearPinned
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4thGearPinned 1/23/2016 1:45pm
1/23/2016 1:45pm
What we should be talking about is Factory yamaha's custom shock linkages milled to look like the production ones.
imoto34
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imoto34 1/23/2016 1:48pm
1/23/2016 1:48pm
4thGearPinned wrote:
What we should be talking about is Factory yamaha's custom shock linkages milled to look like the production ones.
Why not make em look like a production linkage?
4thGearPinned
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4thGearPinned 1/23/2016 1:51pm
1/23/2016 1:51pm
Oh I'm not against it, I'm more poking at the fact that many parts could be fully worked yet still look stock.

Swing arms, Frames. Linkages. Levers ETC.
Dtat720
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Dtat720 1/23/2016 2:02pm
1/23/2016 2:02pm
Stock levers are dirt cheap and a quick swap when broken or bent. The local pros to me, all have made night shows and nationals, all say the same thing when the little guys ask them the same thing. Cheap and easy to swap. Can carry 10 of each to races for the price of 1 or 2 aftermarket
GIwasB4
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GIwasB4 1/23/2016 2:33pm
1/23/2016 2:33pm
4thGearPinned wrote:
What we should be talking about is Factory yamaha's custom shock linkages milled to look like the production ones.
imoto34 wrote:
Why not make em look like a production linkage?
Because he rides a 4 speed works transmission WFO, he knows.
imoto34
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imoto34 1/23/2016 2:34pm
1/23/2016 2:34pm
GIwasB4 wrote:
Because he rides a 4 speed works transmission WFO, he knows.
What a boss
KMC440
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KMC440 1/23/2016 3:04pm
1/23/2016 3:04pm
The feel ...

... it's all about feeling ...

... the need ...



THE NEED FOR SPEED ! ! ! ! Shocked Cheerful Grinning Laughing Woohoo
Bruce372
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Bruce372 1/23/2016 3:06pm
1/23/2016 3:06pm
Cygnus wrote:
Ive never found a lever that works better than the stock ones. jmo.
Me too!
OR Racer46
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OR Racer46 1/23/2016 3:53pm
1/23/2016 3:53pm
Not so sure a WC. Perch and lever would be the best on a KTM
douglasredding 1/23/2016 4:02pm
1/23/2016 4:02pm
lumpy790 wrote:
ARC are not made out of aluminum?
I stopped by Bob's shop nearly 4 years ago to pick up some ARC levers. He was all pumped up about a new composite lever and showed me the prototypes. He was trying to find the right compound stiffness. He had levers that would never break, but they were just a hair too soft for bikes with super stiff clutch springs and the lever would bend too much. Then, he had levers that were too brittle and would snap. He had this huge chunk of wood, and he clamped a lever in a vice and started beating the living shit out of it. Finally, after 20-30 whacks, it snapped. He would beat the shit out of the levers while clamped in a vice to see how soon they would break. every time i stopped by there he would take time to share stuff he was working on and chat.

The bad-ass thing about the composite levers, as he told me was they are pure black, through and through. So any scratches or wear and tear doesn't make the lever look like crap.

Bob Barnett is a cool dude, 1 of a kind. Smile
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mx317
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mx317 1/23/2016 4:16pm
1/23/2016 4:16pm
Dtat720 wrote:
Stock levers are dirt cheap and a quick swap when broken or bent. The local pros to me, all have made night shows and nationals, all...
Stock levers are dirt cheap and a quick swap when broken or bent. The local pros to me, all have made night shows and nationals, all say the same thing when the little guys ask them the same thing. Cheap and easy to swap. Can carry 10 of each to races for the price of 1 or 2 aftermarket
It is not a quick swap when a low side snaps one off in a main event while a folding lever may have saved your night.
Joko
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Joko 1/23/2016 4:31pm
1/23/2016 4:31pm
This. Or bent difficult to use.
ML512
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ML512 1/23/2016 4:41pm
1/23/2016 4:41pm
Personally, I like the composite ARC levers, but some rider's don't. Pros are creatures of comfort, period.

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kiwifan
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kiwifan 1/23/2016 4:44pm
1/23/2016 4:44pm
WC's for me
Nom DeGuerre
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Nom DeGuerre 1/23/2016 4:46pm
1/23/2016 4:46pm
Are any pros running Factory MRC? My favorite levers by far.
ML512
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ML512 1/23/2016 4:48pm
1/23/2016 4:48pm
Nom DeGuerre wrote:
Are any pros running Factory MRC? My favorite levers by far.
None at Supercross that I've seen. Actually, I had to google it to figure out what they were.
wwoberg
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wwoberg 1/23/2016 4:54pm
1/23/2016 4:54pm
Like some others have said, the feel of the old stock ones are just better than the expensive/non-breakable ones. Plus, it takes about 2 minutes to swap them out and costs about 6-8 bucks. I think the expensive ones would be much more important in enduros/GNCC/WORCS type racing where if your 10 miles out you have some insurance.
Nom DeGuerre
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Nom DeGuerre 1/23/2016 5:07pm
1/23/2016 5:07pm
Thanks ML, great levers though. I guess many of the top guys are sponsored, etc., with levers and the like. I have noticed a good many running what appears to be stock as well.
jimmie
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jimmie 1/23/2016 5:46pm
1/23/2016 5:46pm
Personally, I prefer UNbreakable control levers.
But to each their own.

Cygnus
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Cygnus 1/23/2016 5:57pm
1/23/2016 5:57pm
An old factory Honda mechamic told me to use teflon tape between the bats and the clamp. You can tighten them up enough so that the vibration doesnt let the brake/clutch resevoir slip but almost every crash they can slide and you can just tweak it back with no worry of breakage. Try it guys.
olympiamann
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olympiamann 1/23/2016 6:06pm
1/23/2016 6:06pm
My 8 Yr old at the time was breaking a lever every time he rode it seemed like. Most of them in the pits from dropping his bike or something goofy like that. I threw the ARC levers on his 65 and that was the last lever I had to buy,So far anyways,...Same levers are on his 85 now 3 years later...Now he only breaks helmets and neck braces, chains, spokes, plastics, motors and bones .YOU KNOW! The normal stuff..
Cygnus
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Cygnus 1/23/2016 6:15pm
1/23/2016 6:15pm Edited Date/Time 1/23/2016 6:17pm
olympiamann wrote:
My 8 Yr old at the time was breaking a lever every time he rode it seemed like. Most of them in the pits from dropping...
My 8 Yr old at the time was breaking a lever every time he rode it seemed like. Most of them in the pits from dropping his bike or something goofy like that. I threw the ARC levers on his 65 and that was the last lever I had to buy,So far anyways,...Same levers are on his 85 now 3 years later...Now he only breaks helmets and neck braces, chains, spokes, plastics, motors and bones .YOU KNOW! The normal stuff..
Hand gaurds solved that for my daughter. Seema when they fall over standing still is when stock levers will break instead of bending.
Pirate421
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Pirate421 1/23/2016 6:22pm
1/23/2016 6:22pm
Little off topic but does anyone know where to get replacement front brake lever springs? Was putting hand guards on my ktm today and forgot hat sprig was in there and that sucker popped out and somehow was all mangled up when I found it (probably from stepping on it)
ML512
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ML512 1/23/2016 7:35pm
1/23/2016 7:35pm
Nom DeGuerre wrote:
Thanks ML, great levers though. I guess many of the top guys are sponsored, etc., with levers and the like. I have noticed a good many...
Thanks ML, great levers though. I guess many of the top guys are sponsored, etc., with levers and the like. I have noticed a good many running what appears to be stock as well.
ARC provides the majority of the levers in the pits. It's not a money thing, ARC makes a few limited run parts on the bikes outside of levers, plus they go through the effort of making custom bends and ratios for many rider's in the pits.
JBernard_401
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JBernard_401 1/24/2016 12:00am
1/24/2016 12:00am
ML512 wrote:
ARC provides the majority of the levers in the pits. It's not a money thing, ARC makes a few limited run parts on the bikes outside...
ARC provides the majority of the levers in the pits. It's not a money thing, ARC makes a few limited run parts on the bikes outside of levers, plus they go through the effort of making custom bends and ratios for many rider's in the pits.
any clue on percentage of composite ones? Hard to tell by looks due to both being same color scheme.
hard to think that people can tell that amount of flex in a lever when there are so many factors in play in the whole braking system. not saying the pros cant though, of course.

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