clutch lever replacement

[mikev]

I broke my clutch lever , its shorter but still works.  I actually like it shorter. But I am thinking it won't pass inspection.  I ordered a replacement from mgcycle.  Any advice on doing this repair?  Should be pretty simple right?

Also want to stiffen up / adjust my rear brake foot pedal.  

[gstallons]

As long as the lever has the ball on the end , you will be in good shape . You need to explain "stiffen up" the brake pedal ? Is it spongey or what ?

[mikev]

stiffen up means I have to push down on lever a fair amount to get break to engage, a few inches, I'd like to push down less.

no ball end on the damaged lever, repair seems simple enough. I saw something somewhere that there is a black plastic part inside the lever assemble somewhere.  not finding it in the manual yet.

[docc]

The hidden part is the small actuator for the safety switch. When you remove the lever, be prepared to catch the little puck that is in a hole in the housing between the lever and the switch. Sometimes that is a little ball bearing whose chief purpose is to spit itself into a parallel universe if you're not ready to nab it.

Clean that hole well and grease the pivot pin. Once the stamped nut is on, consider a zip-tie through the pivot pin in case the nut works itself loose and the pin pops out. This allows the lever to fall out and ruins our day.

It sounds like time to flush your rear brake fluid and clean/service the rear caliper. Inspect for excessive pad wear that would contribute to increased pedal travel.

Another source of increased pedal travel is a bad wheel bearing. Absolutely worth checking your rear wheel bearings.

[gstallons]

Ditto to everything docc mentioned . Be sure to use Dot 4 fluid and while you're at it , bleed all fluids and Dot 4 everything.

[audiomick]

3 hours ago, docc said:

Another source of increased pedal travel is a bad wheel bearing.

Or a warped disc, perhaps, although not as likely as bad bearings.

[gstallons]

You can test that thought w/the bike sitting still. Pump the rear brake w/your foot three Xs and see if it gets better every stroke. If it does , let it sit for 60 seconds . If it is the same , you MIGHT have a warped rotor . Get the rear wheel off the ground and rotate the wheel . If the rotor is warped you will see the lateral movement and see the warp in the rotor. Also , try moving the wheel to see if there is lateral movement there . There should be NONE . 

[audiomick]

1 hour ago, gstallons said:

.... If it is the same...

I feel the urge to clarify that

If it is "the same" in the sense that the brakes stay "pumped up" and still have a good feel after standing for some minutes with no wheel rotation, the problem is probably the disk or bearings or something at that end. Something that pushes the pads back away from the disk when the wheel rotates, causing them to need to be "pumped back up" when the brakes are applied.

If it "the same" in the sense that the brakes need "pumping up" again after standing for some time, there is probably air in the system that needs bleeding out.