Pazzo Levers worth the $$$???

Pazzo Levers or R6 Fork/Brake mod???

Ok guys I (el cheapo) wants to know if the Pazzo Levers other than being extremely beautiful are really worth the money.
I really want a set for my bike but 160 bucks seems like a lot to spend for something that is basically just for looks. Altough I must say that I have read many reviews on this and other forums where people swear by them. The lack of an adjustable clutch on our Fz6's does justify this buy in a way but not 100%. I just bought a Scorpion SR-i500 Alarm for $200 with the Perimeter sensor add-on. This I feel was a necessity and I don't feel bad about spending the money because it was a birthday present from my wife. The money is not burning a whole in my pocket at the moment so I must convince myself that this is really worth the $$. I am also considering doing the R6 fork/brake conversion but only one of the 2 mods can happen right now.

The only money I have put toward it was buying a Geza cover which I don't use because I keep it in my garage and don't want to be bothered taking it off on good riding days like today. I wouldn't dare put it on while it is parked on the street from fear that it will get stolen or ripped by some punk.


So tell me should I shell out and get them and what size would be ideal (short or long) as I want these to be comfortable as well.

I need your input on this one!!!!
My bike is the naked blaze orange version color suggestions are welcome.

I ordered a set of long Pazzo's (black with red adjusters), but after waiting a week, a pair of shorties arrived. I installed them anyway. I must say that the clutch has a much better feel to it with the lever adjusted properly, and the brake side seems to have better ergo's....all very subtle. They add killer looks to the bike, which probably should have had black levers to begin with....the OEM lever brackets are black.
However, I think I will order a set of longs...I found the shorter clutch lever became noticeably "harder" to pull in after an hour of riding last monday. It was my first ride of the year, so I'll give it a couple more rides before making a final decision to swap them out for the longer ones. I'm very conscious of symmetry, so wouldn't be able to stand the sight of a long clutch lever and a short brake lever. I notice that the rather gauche owners of blue and silver FZ6's who have installed Pazzo's don't seem concerned about that, however....
Anyhow...are they worth the money? ABSOLUTELY. :thumbup:

I was going to do the R6 forks, but after reading so much about the racetech springs and all the ways to adjust this (manually) to suit your riding style, plus the lower costs, I'm going to try this first and see how it reacts to my riding. DefyIntertia has an excellent write-up on this mod and it is certainly cheap enough to try without being too invasive.

I'm also considering, rather than dump a bunch more money into the FZ6, to just go get the R6 and do the handlebar mod to eliminate the clip-ons and make the bike a sudo-FZ6 sport touring R6. It's about $500 to do this.

I have the shorties and really like them. They have a smoother pull and the lever wobbles less in the mount than the stock ones. I also like the shape of them. They also look cool, very high quality.

I still say Race Tech fork springs are the best bang for the buck if you are about 160 lbs or more. Only $99 for the springs, and about 90 minutes of time and you'll have a completely different, improved, bike.

mine are on order. so i cant say yet. should be here next week. i bought a short clutch and a long brake. because im not sure i will like the feeling of grabbing a handful of brake that isnt there...

safety before style, but a combo of both can be had sometimes.

schumacher62 said:

mine are on order. so i cant say yet. should be here next week. i bought a short clutch and a long brake. because im not sure i will like the feeling of grabbing a handful of brake that isnt there...

safety before style, but a combo of both can be had sometimes.

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Lol..did you quote me from my own web site!!?

decided to mix and match my lever sizes. I chose to go with a SHORT clutch lever and a LONG (regular) brake lever. I had heard good things about 2 finger shifting and I decided to leave the brake lever stock length...in case I ever need to grab a hand full of brake.

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Same reasons I choose the short and long combo! You will love em!!

I did a little write up with some pics here: Boneman's "FAZED" web site - Mods: PAZZO Levers

I have a set of the shorties and they are awesome, the ability to adjust the clutch for me personally was exactly what I needed. They look awesome and in my opinion have a better feel. I'm glad I dropped the coin on 'em.

Boneman said:

Lol..did you quote me from my own web site!!?

Same reasons I choose the short and long combo! You will love em!!

I did a little write up with some pics here: Boneman's "FAZED" web site - Mods: PAZZO Levers

Click to expand...

yikes! i didnt notice i used the same phraseology as you...

i confess. not to plagiarism, but to a similar thought. and yes, i got the idea from you. but in a reverse way. grabbing the brake should be a given for safety, so that lever i would not change. but having a shorter clutch while maybe taking some getting used to, is an option i wish to exercise.

as a testament to your good taste and stylish sensibility, heh, now its frame sliders and pazzo levers. but you read all my mentions of your amazing exhaust....we might end up differing there friend!

i encourage all to look at bonemans website. its full of freeware ideas, proven and tested, executed with a certain talent and flair, and tastefully done!

Pazzo shortie levers kick ass as far as looks and style go...no question about that. My biggest concern (after having ridden for the first time with Pazzo shortie levers on my bike) is that the short clutch lever DOES require slightly more effort to disengage the clutch than the OEM long levers....regardless of what other folk are saying. I can feel the difference, and while it may not be that apparent at first, it does become very apparent after an hour. My biggest concern would be to find myself an hour from home, unable to operate the clutch due to pain in my hand and wrist. Old age is a bitch.

The short ones in black with blue adjuster look great on the blue FZ6.
I have always used two fingers on the clutch and brake. This may be from four wheeler and dirt bike riding over the years.
When I discovered the Pazzo levers they did seem kinda pricey.
I am pleased with the quality,and they feel great.
Has anyone noticed the receipt? It looks like the levers are $40 each and the adjusters are $40 each.

Pazzo's are dead sexy and i have heard nothing bad about them, worth the $ to me and as soon as i have it i will be getting them.

OneTrack said:

Pazzo shortie levers kick ass as far as looks and style go...no question about that. My biggest concern (after having ridden for the first time with Pazzo shortie levers on my bike) is that the short clutch lever DOES require slightly more effort to disengage the clutch than the OEM long levers....regardless of what other folk are saying. I can feel the difference, and while it may not be that apparent at first, it does become very apparent after an hour. My biggest concern would be to find myself an hour from home, unable to operate the clutch due to pain in my hand and wrist. Old age is a bitch.

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When you say you can feel the difference, is it because you used 4 fingers on the OEM lever vs. 2 fingers on the shortie? Or, are you saying that the Pazzos are harder to pull with 2 fingers than the OEM with 2 fingers?

Good question!
I went for a longer ride today and paid attention to what I was doing with the shortie Pazzo, particularly the clutch side. I was using 3 fingers on the lever, with my "pinkie" either on the ball end of the lever or just off the end. I rode for just over an hour around Richmond and down Highway 99, then turning back over the Alex Fraser bridge and the connector. The most subtle move of my hand towards the "outside" of the clutch lever made the effort to pull the lever much easier (no magic about that, I know). I find the clutch to be quite an effort to operate with just 2 fingers, quite honestly. A person with fingers 30 years younger than mine may not find it an effort, however. I'm pretty sure that I should go with the long Pazzo's, particularly on the clutch side. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that the shortie Pazzo clutch lever requires slightly more effort than the OEM clutch lever. Again, there is no magic about that...it's a shorter lever. Again, a younger hand will in all likelihood find the shortie Pazzo easy.
The brake side is no problem whatsoever....in fact, I find it easier to keep a couple of fingers on the brake with the Pazzo's than with the OEM levers.
As I mentioned earlier...the shortie Pazzo's are drop dead sexy....but Pazzo must have made long levers for a reason.

Boneman said:

Lol..did you quote me from my own web site!!?

Same reasons I choose the short and long combo! You will love em!!

I did a little write up with some pics here: Boneman's "FAZED" web site - Mods: PAZZO Levers

Click to expand...

Does anyone have a detailed step by step thread on how to install the pazzo levers? I mean both the clutch and the front break.

I think they come with instructions, but you don't really need them. It's a s simple as unblot the old levers then bolt on the PAZZO's. Just take 5 mins and have a look at your levers and you will see it's super easy. The clutch cable just needs to be rotated 90deg and then it drops out the bottom of the lever. Reverse to put back into PAZZO's (it's like a bicycle cable).

The only thing you need to remember is to re-use a bushing from the brake side lever. The bushing pops out form the stock lever. Just give it a clean and re-lube it and pop it into the PAZZO's, then bolt them on.

Too easy.

Sweeeeet! Do you notice a perfomance gain, or is it more of a cool look that is more noticeable?

nimzotech said:

Sweeeeet! Do you notice a perfomance gain, or is it more of a cool look that is more noticeable?

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I did really feel a much smoother pull with them, even with a shortie clutch lever! I was pleasently surprized actually!! Smoother and easier pull than stock that's for damn sure.

I also have an extended clutch slave lever which also increase the ease and smoothness of my clutch pull.

Oh, and I think just having the PAZZO's on adds like +5hp!!! :rockon:

Boneman said:

I did really feel a much smoother pull with them, even with a shortie clutch lever! I was pleasently surprized actually!! Smoother and easier pull than stock that's for damn sure.

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+1 on that. It really does fly in face of logic, but the Pazzo shortie lever does seem to transform the erstwhile "on/off" switch feel of the clutch into a very smooth, very controllable clutch engagement. The long Pazzo lever is the exact same profile as the shortie lever, so it should function exactly the same. I'm hoping so, anyway.

Boneman said:

I also have an extended clutch slave lever which also increase the ease and smoothness of my clutch pull.

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Where did you source the extended clutch slave lever from?

Boneman said:

Oh, and I think just having the PAZZO's on adds like +5hp!!! :rockon:

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More like +6hp, imo....I think it's the combo of the red adjusters and my faster red one.

OneTrack said:

Where did you source the extended clutch slave lever from?

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I get this question a lot. It was through a 'group order' over on SBN a year or so back. A forum member was able to custom machine and weld on an extension arm to the stock clutch slave lever. he then did a home powder coat job on it and sold them on SBN. I think he ended up buying up ALL the standard Yamaha clutch slave levers in North America as by the time he was done, he was running into a shortage and asking members who were getting the new ones to send him their stock ones!

Not sure if he still does it or not. If you hunt around SBN - FZ6 forum under "Slave lever" you should find the posts about it.

Ok...I went for another decent ride today. The weather's gorgeous here in the Lower Mainland. I am getting used to the shortie Pazzo's now, and have stopped fooling around with the adjusters. I think I'll be ok with them, now that I've gotten more used to using 3 fingers on the clutch, and letting the "outside" 3rd finger rest on the ball of the lever...it gives just a hint of more leverage which is much easier on my wrist. Again, there is no doubt that they alter the clutch "feel" on my FZ6. Sweet!
On another note, the brake side is encouraging me to keep a couple of fingers on the lever, which I didn't really do that often with the OEM levers.