GoldWing Adjustable Levers...

[Jefro]

I bought the CBR1000 adjustable clutch lever, but it was 1/2 inch shorter and seemed to make the pull harder. So I went looking for an alternative.

My local dealer had a set of Kuryakyn #7436 Chrome Adjustable Levers for the GL1800 Wing. I took my digital calipers to them and they looked to be a perfect match in almost every way. Plus they were 8 inches instead of the 7.5 inches of the stock levers, and they were extra wide like my Harley levers for more comfort.

I highly recommend these, but you must make a few minor mods first.

The following 7 photos show the small tab that must be hacksawed off the clutch lever. And the adjustable cup assembly from the stock brake lever must be installed on the new chrome lever.

These first 4 pics show the pieces of the levers.
Jefro.

[Jefro]

These next 3 pics show the new levers on the bike.
Nice!

[g17]

They look nice. Have to have a set.

How much do they cost?

[Jefro]

The Kury set of levers cost me $36 at my local Dealer.

The CBR1000 lever is 7 inches from the center of the pivot hole to the end of the lever ball.
My stock 05 clutch lever is 7.5 inches from the center of the pivot hole to the end of the lever ball.
And the GL1800 lever is 8 inches from the center of the pivot hole to the end of the lever ball.

I find that the farther my fingers are from the pivot point, the easier it feels to pull in the clutch. It's just a bit more leverage.
But the big difference for me is the width of the Kury levers. Much more comfortable in heavy stop and go traffic.

I'll see if I can take a pic of the levers together.
Jefro.

[Jefro]

Here is a pic with all three levers hanging from a steel rod thru the pivot points.

I'm betting that someone could adapt very easily the stock black Goldwing levers if he wanted the blacked-out look instead of the chrome.

[Horst]

Can you guys imagine having this discussion 10 years ago ? ... hmm, let's see, how do I describe this ... ah the heck, here's my best ASCII-draw :D

1) ====================
2) =====================
3) ======================

[Jefro]

I've been very happy with my new levers so far.
Jefro.

[e4gulf]

I just got the same levers and I'm wondering how you remove the adjustable cup assembly from the stock brake lever?

[Byron]

You drive out the bushing in the center of the pivot. Easier on the parts if you have access to any sort of press. I actually used a small bench top drill press to push out the bushing. It doesn't have to be pushed all the way out, just far enough to allow the part to come free.

Do the same on the other part and swap and press the bushing back in.

[e4gulf]

Thanks. Now I just need to find some kind of press. BTW, I already did the clutch side and all I can say is it's awesome. The clutch pull is light and easy. Thanks for this post.

[wjbertrand]

What's the favored source for these levers?

[e4gulf]

I got mine from http://www.nopork.com/shop_product.asp?id=KU-7436

[jzulaski]

I just completed this installation and it went like clockwork thanks to the pics and instructions I found here and on our ST forum.

I had to buy a small hand press to get the brass ring out but, that was an added bonus. I need excuses to buy new tools. ;-)

So far, I really like the feell of them. I probably need to play around with the adjustment and go for rides till I get them dialed in. It's been snowing here so, the ride might have to wait a while. :-(

Thanks for the info,

[wcleland]

Try Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120032411336&rd=1

[wjbertrand]

There are two varieties of these levers. The ones on ebay above are non-adjustable. If you're gonna do this you might as well get the adjustable ones. From nopork.com, I think the price for the adjustables was close to what they want on ebay for the non adjustable ones.

[smcrae]

I recently added these to my ST - very happy with them. I used a table top drill press to help change the bushing. Thanks to all for the recommendation. The wider lever makes the clutch a bit easier for me.

Stace

[e4gulf]

I just completed this installation and it went like clockwork thanks to the pics and instructions I found here and on our ST forum.

I had to buy a small hand press to get the brass ring out but, that was an added bonus. I need excuses to buy new tools. ;-)

So far, I really like the feell of them. I probably need to play around with the adjustment and go for rides till I get them dialed in. It's been snowing here so, the ride might have to wait a while. :-(

Thanks for the info,

Could you post a picture of the press and whatever else you used? I still don't have my brake side done yet due to lack of tools. Thanks!

[wjbertrand]

I didn't have a press but it was easy enough to tap the bushing out with a properly sized socket, drill bit or other rod material. Make sure that the little cup part you need to transfer to the new lever is well protected.

[e4gulf]

bump :07biker:

Could you post a picture of the press and whatever else you used? I still don't have my brake side done yet due to lack of tools. Thanks!

[Byron]

e4gulf,

I don't have pictures but this is the idea and should get you by.

When you go to press or tap out the bushing the lever needs to be supported yet allow for the bushing to protrude out the bottom side. You can do it over a set of padded vise jaws or simply drill a large enough hole in a scrap piece of lumber.

If you don't have a punch that is the right size go through your 1/4" sockets and find one that will drive the bushing but not hit the lever.

As for the press, my small benchtop drill press has an adjustable table. You simply move it up close to the chuck allowing for all the necessary pieces to be stacked under it. Using the handle lower the chuck and apply steady even pressure until the bushing in about 2/3's out and you should be good.

If you need to tap it out just lightly tap on the punch or socket to drive the bushing out far enough.

Swap the parts and then reverse the process driving the bushing in flush with the edges of the lever.

It literally takes longer to explain than it will take you to do it once you have the tools lined up.

[e4gulf]

Thank's a bunch Byron. :yes:

[wcleland]

The ones I got from Ebay were adjustable. They are on my bike now. I used a socket, a tad smaller than the bushing, as a drift and tapped the bushing down. I then use the same socket in my vise to push the assembly back together.

[e4gulf]

I finally got my brake lever on. I used a 1/4" socket bit to punch out the bearing. Note: I had to punch the bearing out from the bottom side of the lever. It would/will not go out from the top side down. From there I just transferred the guts from the old lever to the new one, including the adjusting knob. I learned the hard way that the new knob doesn't work with the old parts.

[dratcliffe75]

I followed these instructions and they worked like a charm. Thanks!!!

By the way, I did get the chrome knob to work with the stock parts on the clutch side.

David

[e4gulf]

Yea it's the brake side you have to re-use the knob from the old one.

[dratcliffe75]

I must have been tired when I typed that. On the levers I used, the two knobs looked almost identical. I used the chrome knob on the brake side. It adjusts and works as expected.

David

[e4gulf]

Dunno, maybe I was tired when I did the brake side but I ended up having to take it off and and re-use the old brake knob because with the new one it was just flopping around.

[dratcliffe75]

By the way, I just found out today that if I adjust the clutch lever higher than "3", the switch that allows the engine to start while it's out of neutral will not engage.

David

[maldos]

Did the swap out tonight. 45 min total. Seems to work well with a great feel. Thanks. Don

[e4gulf]

Here's a pic of my brake side:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/e4gulf/ST1300/ST1300015.jpg

[Nick Cross]

e$gulf:
What kind of grips are you using? They look comfortable.

[wjbertrand]

Here's a pic of my brake side:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/e4gulf/ST1300/ST1300015.jpg


I ended up grinding a little extra clearance on the brake side. Have you noticed that the back of the lever makes hard contact with the throttle cable boss when pulling the lever hard? Dunno if one would ever need to pull it that hard in actual use but it depends on the adjustment setting too. Anyway I felt better doing this:

http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/40832/2884118980039006121S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2884118980039006121ZxayUj)
Note notched lever

http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/29390/2003756810039006121S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2003756810039006121OETbaJ)
Brake lever pulled back moderately hard

http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/39673/2400140720039006121S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2400140720039006121ImeeQd)
Honda's solution, OEM vs. Kuryakyn

[Byron]

Jeff,

Was this with a factory lever or one of the aftermarket?

[e4gulf]

I had no such clearance issues, but my brake is not set on 5 either. The grips are BMW grips.

[wjbertrand]

Jeff,

Was this with a factory lever or one of the aftermarket?

In the last photo of the three I posted, the GL1800 Kuryakyn lever is shown installed and the OEM one is being held beside it to show the difference. Notice the large clearance to the throttle boss that is designed in to the OEM Lever. I think it's much larger because of the span of adjustments that might be used between different riders. Since I knew exactly where my lever was going to be positioned, I was able to carve a smaller clearance. Besides, there's not as much meat in that area of the aftermarket Kuryakyn lever to carve as big a clearance as the OEM lever has.

[michaellovett]

Just another word on the topic.

I installed the GL1800 levers on my bike today and so far I am very happy with them. I did not buy a hand press (aka Arbor press) but instead used a stationary vice to push out the bushing from the stock brake lever.

So far I am very happy with the levers, especially the clutch! The wideness of the Kuryakyn lever is much more comfortable than stock, but the best news for me is that when set to 4 or 5, the engagement point of the clutch is effectively much closer to the grip than the OEM lever.

This is great news for me because all previous bikes of mine had the engagement point near the grip and it has been really hard to get used to having it way out at the very end of the lever travel on the OEM levers-- for me it made feathering the clutch for tight / slow-speed maneuvers really hard -- these are much easier now that the engagement point is closer to the grip..

Michael