To Those With Pazzo's (or knock offs):

Zealot

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How are Pazzo esque levers in comparison to the stock ones? Between the heavy clutch pull having all the bite at the end of the lever, I always feel like I'm blundering my shifts. I've lubed the cable properly and it helped a bit, but due to the nature of where my fingers have to extend to in order to grab the clutch lever, they don't have much in the way of grip strength and it often gets dropped for the last bit of the motion.

What I'm looking for is a way to have my clutch lever closer to my hands since they're a lot easier to hold in position the closer they are to a 'fist form'. I've wound out the slack a bit, but I'm worried I might go too far if I give it any more - and was hoping that perhaps through some custom levers I may be able to have it closer to the bar and as such make shifting easier on my hands.

Distance wise, and as far as feel is concerned - did custom levers help you? If you - are there any in particular you'd recommend? Also - what's the difference between long or short levers? I've heard short makes the clutch pull easier.
 
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Erci

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Yup, that's the #1 reason to get adjustable levers for FZ6. You can move the clutch side very close to the bar.. so much easier on the fingers!

I used cheap shortie levers from the2wheels. They worked perfectly. I've been using the same levers on FZ1 for over 3 years now (long version though, because FZ1 has very long friction zone.. can't do 2 fingers)
 

Zealot

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Well, thanks for the product endorsement! As far as short levers are concerned, I can't currently pull the stock clutch very well with two fingers and that has me a bit hesitant about picking out some shorter alternatives. What was your experience with the switch in regards to 2 vs 4 finger clutching?
 

ANLR21

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Zealot, Pazzo's and similar levers are adjustable to provide flexibility in the grip distance, but really aren't going to change the heaviness of the clutch pull.

Many, including me, have extended the clutch actuating arm down on the right side of the engine where the clutch cable connects (as well as the cable bracket) to increase the leverage, therefore "softening" the pull, but if you go too far you may not disengage the clutch completely even though you've pulled in the lever as far as you can. I extended mine 10mm, which was about right. Have a friend [MENTION=14469]motojoe122[/MENTION] that inspired me on this, another welder friend did the dirty work. Really helped a lot.

With this update, 2 finger pulls are no problem

Good luck.
 

Zealot

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Zealot, Pazzo's and similar levers are adjustable to provide flexibility in the grip distance, but really aren't going to change the heaviness of the clutch pull.

Thank you! The clutch pull being heavy isn't really a huge complaint, it just makes the overall clutch operation more difficult due to the fact my fingers are at their least efficient point to pull (try squeezing with just the final bit of your fingers where they bend, versus closer to your knuckle) with the stock lever location. The heavy pull would be a lot easier if the clutch were moved back some distance towards the handle bars, since I've got a lot more control over my hand when it's more clenched than extended straight out. I'm hoping that through the use of custom levers I'll be able to bring the lever to a point where the heaviness is no longer a problem since the point where I can grab the lever has changed.

I'd love to extend the actuating arm a bit, but I don't have the welding equipment (despite my ability to weld which I was taught while attending college to become a Millwright) or welding friends, so I'm trying to stick to the quickest and cheapest solution in the mean time. If I'm still having trouble afterwards, I think I'll start seeing who's around here that would be willing to weld for me.
 

ccew

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Thank you! The clutch pull being heavy isn't really a huge complaint, it just makes the overall clutch operation more difficult due to the fact my fingers are at their least efficient point to pull (try squeezing with just the final bit of your fingers where they bend, versus closer to your knuckle) with the stock lever location. The heavy pull would be a lot easier if the clutch were moved back some distance towards the handle bars, since I've got a lot more control over my hand when it's more clenched than extended straight out. I'm hoping that through the use of custom levers I'll be able to bring the lever to a point where the heaviness is no longer a problem since the point where I can grab the lever has changed.

I'd love to extend the actuating arm a bit, but I don't have the welding equipment (despite my ability to weld which I was taught while attending college to become a Millwright) or welding friends, so I'm trying to stick to the quickest and cheapest solution in the mean time. If I'm still having trouble afterwards, I think I'll start seeing who's around here that would be willing to weld for me.

[MENTION=26523]Zealot[/MENTION], +1 on the "the2wheels" levers. I had the long ones, but went with the shorties for my naked conversion due to barend mirrors. FWIW, I have the same year and model as yours, bought with 15K km, although lubing the clutch cable helped, I replaced it and man what a difference...for the cost, it's well worth looking into. Chris
 

ChanceCoats123

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I've got a cheap set of eBay knock offs and I love them. The pull is obviously the same length, but with the lever closer to the bar, it feels easier (your fingers have to reach less, like you mentioned). After lubing the cable well, the pull is nice and smooth, and the actuation zone is perfect for some nice quick shifts.
 

Zealot

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[MENTION=26523]Zealot[/MENTION], +1 on the "the2wheels" levers. I had the long ones, but went with the shorties for my naked conversion due to barend mirrors. FWIW, I have the same year and model as yours, bought with 15K km, although lubing the clutch cable helped, I replaced it and man what a difference...for the cost, it's well worth looking into. Chris

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the input!

I've got a cheap set of eBay knock offs and I love them. The pull is obviously the same length, but with the lever closer to the bar, it feels easier (your fingers have to reach less, like you mentioned). After lubing the cable well, the pull is nice and smooth, and the actuation zone is perfect for some nice quick shifts.

Quick shifting is the kind of thing I like, heh.
 

Nelly

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How are Pazzo esque levers in comparison to the stock ones? Between the heavy clutch pull having all the bite at the end of the lever, I always feel like I'm blundering my shifts. I've lubed the cable properly and it helped a bit, but due to the nature of where my fingers have to extend to in order to grab the clutch lever, they don't have much in the way of grip strength and it often gets dropped for the last bit of the motion.

What I'm looking for is a way to have my clutch lever closer to my hands since they're a lot easier to hold in position the closer they are to a 'fist form'. I've wound out the slack a bit, but I'm worried I might go too far if I give it any more - and was hoping that perhaps through some custom levers I may be able to have it closer to the bar and as such make shifting easier on my hands.

Distance wise, and as far as feel is concerned - did custom levers help you? If you - are there any in particular you'd recommend? Also - what's the difference between long or short levers? I've heard short makes the clutch pull easier.
The clutch pull wasn't really an issue for me with the FZ6 as I often use clutchless shifting (once the motor is spinning).
The adjustable shorties really have the the most benefit for me with feel and operation of the front brake. For this alone they are well worth buying.
For your info I have uber cheapo copies which were purchased from a link of this forum. With regard of quality lots of people have had issues with the cheaper leavers anodizing fading (particularly black). Mine have faded but the operation is still sweet and for me that's what really counts.

Nelly
 

Zealot

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The clutch pull wasn't really an issue for me with the FZ6 as I often use clutchless shifting (once the motor is spinning).
The adjustable shorties really have the the most benefit for me with feel and operation of the front brake. For this alone they are well worth buying.
For your info I have uber cheapo copies which were purchased from a link of this forum. With regard of quality lots of people have had issues with the cheaper leavers anodizing fading (particularly black). Mine have faded but the operation is still sweet and for me that's what really counts.

Nelly

The only time I clutchless shift is from 5th to 6th because it's an annoying bugger to shift for me. Other than that, I don't really trust it since clutch plates are meant to be consumable whereas gears aren't - so shifting with the clutch in 9/10 instances is a must for me. The heaviness of the pull isn't the problem really, since I can squeeze these little forearm trainers I have (spring loaded handles) that are much heavier without any problem, but due to how stretched out my fingers are to reach the stock lever it's a bit iffy at times and I can only release it smoothly up to a point, wherein I essentially 'drop' it despite my best intentions.

I think at this point I'm going to buy some knock off levers. The paint coating isn't going to bother me much, since I'm after function first and style second.
 

Ultrarandom

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[MENTION=26523]Zealot[/MENTION], +1 on the "the2wheels" levers. I had the long ones, but went with the shorties for my naked conversion due to barend mirrors. FWIW, I have the same year and model as yours, bought with 15K km, although lubing the clutch cable helped, I replaced it and man what a difference...for the cost, it's well worth looking into. Chris

+2 on the2wheels.
I use them and have had no problems and they look nice too (free shipping to NZ was nice as well). I did however have to drill the brake lever hole a little further in as it was pushing the master cylinder in a little bit before I did.
 

Zealot

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Grabbed a pair off of the2wheels as per what you all suggested. The free shipping was an added bonus, and for the set it cost me about $50. Not half bad!

Now to enjoy the long week or two until they arrive.
 

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I'd say your cable is bad. Mine pulls easy but i lube it every 2500 miles.

I've seen 4 other FZs which were hand killers! Perhaps lube didn't come into play until it was TOO LATE and the cable was damaged?

I don't have that silly noodle and mine pulls easy with one finger if i had too.

I could name the members bikes (who need help) and they all know they need(ed) the cable replacement, As it should pull easy if all is well.
 
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Zealot

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I'd say your cable is bad. Mine pulls easy but i lube it every 2500 miles.

I've seen 4 other FZs which were hand killers! Perhaps lube didn't come into play until it was TOO LATE and the cable was damaged?

I don't have that silly noodle and mine pulls easy with one finger if i had too.

I could name the members bikes (who need help) and they all know they need(ed) the cable replacement, As it should pull easy if all is well.

Oh god, no. Mine is like a feather compared to one I witnessed a few weeks ago on the same bike. Max clench on that one and I could hardly move it - whereas mine takes only a tiny bit of force. It's not the heavy clutch pull - it's the position! It pulls too hard when I'm letting it out for my fingers to control due to the fact I'm only able to reach the lever with the very tips of them!

Although, what you're saying about a single finger pull is interesting... Even trying with two is rather difficult, although four fingers ain't a problem and I'd consider it fairly 'easy'. I'm going to investigate the cable more closely.
 

Sl!pstream

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I have a set of standard length Pazzos and I LOVE the way they feel. Very nice machined tolerances, less wiggle in the lever than stock. Not to mention they look awesome. My only issue is I set them on the shortest pull due to tiny hands and I dont think I get enough clutch disengagement. I seem to get more missed shifts unless I preload the shift lever.
 

FinalImpact

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Oh god, no. Mine is like a feather compared to one I witnessed a few weeks ago on the same bike. Max clench on that one and I could hardly move it - whereas mine takes only a tiny bit of force. It's not the heavy clutch pull - it's the position! It pulls too hard when I'm letting it out for my fingers to control due to the fact I'm only able to reach the lever with the very tips of them!

Although, what you're saying about a single finger pull is interesting... Even trying with two is rather difficult, although four fingers ain't a problem and I'd consider it fairly 'easy'. I'm going to investigate the cable more closely.


Getting adjustable levers and setting proper cable slack will fix that. I'll measure mine some time, but in vs out is maybe 0.75"... I like it that way! Its great for quick shifts... That said i have pretty big hands compared to many. Most XL gloves are tight.
 

Zealot

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Getting adjustable levers and setting proper cable slack will fix that. I'll measure mine some time, but in vs out is maybe 0.75"... I like it that way! Its great for quick shifts... That said i have pretty big hands compared to many. Most XL gloves are tight.

On the contrary, I've got medium gloves and even they feel a tad loose sometimes (at least toward my finger tips) so that's likely the cause for discrepancy. I've got my slack pretty much like you I barely need to pull it an inch for complete disengagement, it's just simply moving the physical position of the lever inward that I need for a little bit extra finesse. The more I'm able to use the stronger muscles in my hand, the better I think shifting will occur.

That being said, I do have the first to second shift pretty much nailed save for the odd time. It's like I almost never shifted!
 

FinalImpact

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Are your hands and fingers reaching up to the levers? Loosen the pearch and ROTATE the whole perch so the imaginary line from your rotator cuff through your and hand (on the lever) form a straight line.

For those with longer torsos you'll find thr oem lever position to be bad forcing you to reach up which reduces hand strength and circulation plus it can pinch nerves in your wrist....

Do search for JJD952 SETUP and you'll find a picture of what I'm talking about.
 

FinalImpact

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It was Hidden in a Vibration thread.... As stated my adjustable levers are about 0.75" away from the grip. Pull any amount and its slipping. Pulling it 0.75" and its fully disengaged.

Take a look at this; reference is setting the bike to fit you. Mind you I have FZ1 bars as the stock bars turn my wrists outbound pinching my nerves and **MAY BE** responsible for your issue too. However, don't discount the angle of the levers...



Regarding hand strength, hand cramps/pain, endurance and setup up of levers....

When you're on the bike and in position, rotate your levers so the imaginary line from your shoulder, through your forearm, wrists and fingers are all parallel. The factory location for the levers usually has most of us pointing our wrists upwards which pinches nerves and cuts off circulation. In short - lever position is dependent on torso length and your lean angle.

Notice how far the levers are rotated? The levers angle in relation to the bar nearly makes a straight line to my shoulders rotator cuff. My fingers are nearly straight in line with my wrist and forearms.

Point: adjust those levers so your wrists are parallel to your forearm so you have a straight pull. If they were really high, be careful as it will take far less effort to pull the levers!
picture.php


JJD952 - Setup
 

Zealot

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It was Hidden in a Vibration thread.... As stated my adjustable levers are about 0.75" away from the grip. Pull any amount and its slipping. Pulling it 0.75" and its fully disengaged.

Yikes. Yeah, now that I think about it my wrists are kind of angled.

Looks like I've got a list of things to investigate over the next couple of days. Once again, thanks for the links and info! I don't know how you guys figure out all of this stuff on your own, but my guess is that some mechanical skills (slowly but surely gaining those) and an inquisitive mind don't hurt. And so begins the slow learning process for myself!
 
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