I'm looking at getting a set of aftermarket levers and there are so many to choose from. I have read many pages about peoples preference over CRG or Pazzo and also the fleabay knock-offs but most peoples view on their purchase is straight out of the box........or just after installing them. I am interested to see peoples views after a while of using them and sun exposure. How does the colour stand up over time and build and material quality?
I'm looking at getting a set of black levers and obviously turning purple after a few rides doesn't appeal!
Interested to see if people have tried the other brands of levers as well like Ducabike, CNC Racing, Rizoma, MW and Gillies.
Cheers.
I tired the Oberon Aero adjustables when I had the masters for it, simple installation, no hassles . . .
Have also used Ducabike on the coffin masters, also simple install . . .
Installed some Rizoma ones for a customer . . . had to fiddle with them a bit . . .
My $0.02
I've got a MW brake lever. It folds up in a stack and has a knob type front span adjuster. The more angular blade fits my fingers/hand perfectly. It looks powder coated to me so I'm glad of that.
I have a CRG adjuster-click clutch lever. It's metallic grey/silver and appears anodised. It is a great fit for how I hold the clutch and fits into the first joint of my fingers/finger tips. I kind of use the lever with a finger tip action rather than with the palm.
I picked up both levers on the forum and they were good deals from good guys.
I 'spose that's the thing, it's about individual fit. Both those levers are very well made and look great. Clearly I don't care about the asymmetry. Keep an eye out for used levers on the forum and I note that Motowheels and Monsterparts have deals going from time to time, including used parts or closeout sales.
I've now got a set of CRG "garage sale" shorties. There's nothing wrong with them. My bike just turned into Amber Sweet after my last trip to CO...
My understanding is that all black anodizing turns purple eventually, the better stuff just lasts longer in the sun.
My bike came with eBay knock off CRG's. The anodizing was faded and the levers had a lot of slop to them. I replaced them with genuine CRG's and am very happy. I have only had them a year so can't really comment on the fading yet.
My clutch CRG is working as it did ~100,000km ago - grey lever and red adjuster haven't faded at all.
To help with the anodising you need to look for products which have been hardcoat anodized this is the only way to prevent coloured parts fading and black parts turning purple. I can pretty much guarantee that the cheap ebay knock offs will all be type 1 decorative anodozing which will fade and scratch very easily stick with a reputable brand and you shouldn't have any issue.
I have a set of the ASV C5 levers and really like them. 5 year warranty, if you break them in a crash, free replacements. The adjustment wheel allows for fine tuning.
(http://www.af1racing.com/store/ProdImages/st3/CRC540-xx.jpg)
+1 with the ASV. Fantastic levers and great quality. I had them on my old Triumph and no issues at all. I currently have Rizoma's, which were on the bike when I bought it. I had them on my old Monster as well. They are good enough that I haven't bought another set of ASV's yet but I am less keen on the way they bend up in a crash, which I find a bit distracting as you sometimes move them whilst riding. The ASV's bend back, which seems to be a better solution. No anodising issues with either. Both have more reach positions than you know what to do with. The ASV adjuster is more discreet.
I went with the MotoWheels Folding levers. Good price, incredible quality and super easy to fit. One of the reasons I grabbed them was the lack of brand name carved into them. Just a clean and simple lever.
Quote from: deviant on April 27, 2014, 03:01:49 AM
To help with the anodising you need to look for products which have been hardcoat anodized this is the only way to prevent coloured parts fading and black parts turning purple. I can pretty much guarantee that the cheap ebay knock offs will all be type 1 decorative anodozing which will fade and scratch very easily stick with a reputable brand and you shouldn't have any issue.
I agree that sticking with a reputable brand usually is the best policy to avoid product issues.
Advice to look for products which have been hardcoat anodized seems logical but is actually almost impossible to do when it comes to aluminum dress up bits for bikes. Hard anodizing is no guarantee against fading and, in fact, most hardcoated aluminum products are left in their natural state which is usually a darker shade of grey. I've worked with a lot of hard anodized parts and do not think I have never seen any which were dyed. The increased cost of hard anodizing and the lack of color selection are significant reasons MC aftermarket manufacturers do not use it routinely.
The problem with fading is relative to the quality of the anodizing process, the equipment, and the materials, not the type of anodizing. Various anodizers will select their materials from various vendors. The dyes can vary in color as well as UV resistance. Their equipment and the resultant fidelity of their process will also vary. Case in point, compare some of the Chinese anodizing to U.S. or European anodizing and the difference in the dyes are quite apparent although they are using the same type process.
The propensity for color fading of anodized parts is proportional to the amount of UV radiation and heat the part is exposed to. Some dyes and/or colors do better than others. Myself, I select my anodized part cleaning product based on UV protection properties. Coming from an aerospace background, my choice is 303 Aerospace Protectant. I found some at a marine supplies store and no longer have to order it on line. Unfortunately it does not prevent fade caused by heat. I have SpeedyMoto belt covers and two of the pieces look like new, but the one close to the exhaust has faded somewhat in comparison
Before I went into the military I had a job in a plating shop and I did a fair bit of anodizing, the hard anodizing was done by only 1 senior fellow as the oxalic acid would eat holes in you, butt my experience parallels the old dudes.
Quote from: SpikeC on April 28, 2014, 03:14:15 PM
the old dudes.
I'm 37!
Quote from: SpikeC on April 28, 2014, 03:14:15 PM
What?
I'm not old!
Quote from: SpikeC on April 28, 2014, 03:14:15 PM
Well, I can't just call you dude, can I?
Actually, you can. I know the thing about the donkey butt and all... I just don't care.
I've had 2 pairs of the Fleabay levers. First pair was beautiful out of the box but they did purple within 2 seasons. Considering my bike was kept outside every day for 2 summers I don't think that's bad for a $30 pair of levers. The second pair was a "shorty" style and I got them in clear ano to avoid the issue. Had no issue with slop on either, both installed very easily with no hassles. I really, really loved my shorty pair and am sad I can't use them with my new RCS masters.
As far as price/brand dictating quality well I don't buy it as far as anodizing goes. Speedymoto parts are some of the worst when it comes to purpling and fading, and I've seen plenty of purpled CRG levers. Another thing; I love billet aluminum and am critical...the machining quality on both sets of levers is excellent. By comparison I'm extremely dissapointed in my Cycle Cat clip ons...
Thanks everyone you pretty much answered all my questions. Looking at either CRG or ASV although you can't get either here so most likely will get a set off Motowheels. Looks like you cant get CRG from their 'Swap meet' site sent overseas which is a bummer as they have some good prices.
Cheers,
Scott.
Quote from: Scoober1103 on May 04, 2014, 01:03:26 AM
Thanks everyone you pretty much answered all my questions. Looking at either CRG or ASV although you can't get either here so most likely will get a set off Motowheels. Looks like you cant get CRG from their 'Swap meet' site sent overseas which is a bummer as they have some good prices.
Cheers,
Scott.
Hold on, I'll check their "vip" price on those and let you know if it's worth it to you to buy their $15 membership. ..
I'm not sure which ones you're looking at but there's a lot of choices for CRG, membership prices are all at least ten bucks cheaper per lever, the carbon set is $30 off and those look sweeet. Same thing with the MW levers. You'd at least pay for the membership.
I have CRG's on my bike and absolutely love them. Mine are black. When I contacted CRG I asked them if they would come out with carbon fiber levers for my year and model they said they were currently working on it!!!! As soon as those come out I'm buying them! We also have a GSXR 1000 that have the silver CRG and they have held up after years of track use.
Well in the end I was at my local Duc shop ordering some other bits and asked what they could get as they used to stock ASV but not anymore. They had Pazzo's for another model in stock which looked nice and the price was pretty reasonable considering so I ended up ordering a set of black with black clickers and they arrived yesterday and they look great. Yet to install but the look and feel is good and they are readily available locally.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3842/14355992882_fe476ba305_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nSAdwE)20140606_172650[1] (https://flic.kr/p/nSAdwE) by scoober11031 (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/14355994522_f859299eb7_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/nSAe1W)20140606_172728[1] (https://flic.kr/p/nSAe1W) by scoober11031 (https://www.flickr.com/people//), on Flickr
I like the fact their not branded on the top or front of the lever rather a small logo behind and my previous concerns of the tooling marks being very apparent and rough well are'nt, their smooth as a proverbial!
17k miles on a set of Pazzo levers on my last bike and almost 15k (different set of levers, same company) on my current bike and bout 3 years ownership each, never had any issued with them at all. They seem to wear very well in everyday use too. Quite honestly, I would expect more wear... or any.
I have no complaints with my Pazzo levers. This is my current bike.
(http://s1.postimg.org/5o1egp45b/Pazzo.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/o3lve3i9n/full/)
My black CRG RC2s (bought direct from CRG - so unlikely to be knockoffs) have faded to a purple shade. They were replaced in late 2013 after a crash, but did it again. It might just be the higher than average UV level in Colorado, but I'm almost convinced it's not possible to have anodized parts not get bleached. I also have some red anodized frame plugs that are pretty much clear right now.
my opinion is that if you don't want to spent a lot on levers and you are looking brands like pazzo etc etc go for ebay chinesse levers, i have a pair of mc motoparts short levers on my bike over a year and it is still in perfect shape and consider i bought them 30$, a friend of mine bought from a local shop a pair of levers for his bike of xxx brand (i don't remember the brand) he paid 150$ and they are exactly the same as far as the quality the only difference is a small stamp with the brands name.... Of course if you want to go expensive, brands like asv etc are an other league more confortable , more fine tune, and you get warranty too... That's just my opinion right!!!!
I'm in Australia and currently we have no local importer of ASV levers and CRG once currency conversion and postage is added are quite expensive. I went with Pazzo as my local dealer stocks them and therefore will warrant any issues I may (which I doubt) have with them. I have now fitted them and man the fit and finish is great. Feel is great too and even though they weren't in my top two I am extremely happy. Only time will tell how they stand up colour wise but as my bike is not a commuter and lives in a garage under a bed sheet when not being ridden on weekend blasts I feel colour will last ages.
silver crg's on my m900 for the last 4 years. They have held up really well, are very comfortable and work perfectly.
silver knock-offs on my ST4 from previous owner. Not sure how they will hold up over the long run, but they feel fairly substantial and well made. They are just as comfortable and work just as well as the CRG's.