Two Wheels - Six Strings

Random news and thoughts about various two-wheeled projects and music, especially my band, Skull Full Of Blues.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Yet Another New Brake Lever/Master Cylinder On The Scrambler

You may have read, a couple of weeks ago, that I found a used Triumph front brake lever/master cylinder that I installed on the Scrambler. Unfortunately, since that unit was made for a dual front disc setup, the larger master cylinder increased the force needed at the lever, and the brakes had little to no modulation.

Last week, I was browsing the motorcycle brakes section on eBay, and I found a generic brake lever, with a master cylinder for single disc setups. So, I ordered one up, and it arrived, yesterday.

I installed it, today, and it worked fine. But, the generic lever, itself, left a little to be desired. And, it didn't match my clutch lever, at all.

Yes, I admit it. That kind of thing is important to me.

I looked at the pivot point of the new lever, then looked at the stock lever (with the replacement blade), and I thought to myself, "Those look pretty similar. I bet they were manufactured in the same factory."

I had replaced the blade of the brake lever, when I broke the clutch lever last summer and i got a set of aftermarket CNC aluminum blades.   The new lever mounted to the stock pivot. So, I removed the lever from the new unit, and test-fitted the stock pivot on the new mount. It was close, but didn't quite fit. So...

 A little bit of grinding and filing...

...and the two pivots matched.






 The old lever mounted right up to the new brake assembly. Not only does it match the clutch lever but, if I break this lever, I can order a replacement Scrambler lever (whether stock or aftermarket), and it will bolt right on to the pivot.

 So, now I have the low-profile brake fluid reservoir, with good modulation and a normal pull on the lever.




Next, I need to replace the headlight.  I have a new 7" light, to replace the 5-1/2" stock light. It will not only look better, to me, but it should work better, as well. The stock light is notoriously ineffective...

But, that is a project for another day.

x

2 Comments:

At 6:54 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

The front brake lever on my Eliminator was broken years ago and Steve wanted to replace it - he had trouble finding a black replacement and asked if he could replace both it and the clutch lever with brushed aluminum - fortunately he understood that I'd rather have a broken black one than a perfect (but ugly) aluminum one - he found a black one. So, yes, this kind of stuff is important. (this is Joy, if you didn't realize)

 
At 8:05 PM , Blogger Jon said...

Yeah, I figured that out. I have the Sherlock Holmes thing going on.

 

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