KX RBL swap

[canyncarvr]

I wonder how long it will take me to mangle this one?

[quailchaser]

That's sweet CC.

No speculation on the "how long to mangle this one" without having the odds.

[canyncarvr]

Oh, it'll happen...no odds on IF or not. It's just a matter of when!

The downside is...when I pretzel this one (if it doesn't break clean off), I doubt I'll be bending it BACK with my hands...or m0rie's trail wrench.

Maybe I should carry the old lever like I carry my old shift lever...

[m0rie]

Looks pretty nice, should hopefully hold up better than the last one

Have you thought of trying a brake snake and seeing if it helps with keeping them from getting mauled?

*Edit* Needs some shiny KX pegs to go with that shiny KX RBL. Want me to photochop some in there for you?

[skipro3]

So tell us how you got it to fit. Welding must have been involved. I've tried and didn't see an easy way to do this.

[canyncarvr]

Re: '..the last one.'

I've gone through two OEM levers.

Re: Brake snake

The KX lever has a convenient place to put one. I was thinking about it. Surely some simple cable and crimps from a hardware store would work just fine? You can buy 'kits'..but they're $8-10!

Oh..I bent my MSR shifter last weekend, too! Could shift 'up', but not 'down' until I reefed on IT. I don't wanna think of the pressure I put on the shift shaft....

If welding was required, I wouldn't be doing it.

Nope. I put a brass bushing in KX lever mount hole, ground of a bit of the lever here and there (at the mount hole and where there was interference with the footpeg hardware), that was that.

In the interest of 'truth be told' and not a boring story..but I will re-do the bushing part. I could not find 'a' bushing that gave me the required in/out diameters. I have no metal working tools to 'turn' something down. So..I tried TWO bushings, press fit concentrically. The press fit part was perfect: 5/8" OD on the first (the KX lever was .625") with an ID of .500". Another bushing with a .500" OD and I didn't care what the ID was because I thought brass would be easy enough to drill.

Put the two bushings in using Loctite 609..although the chances of it doing anything on brass I suppose would be about nil.

The drilling out part didn't work. With a good bit and a drill press (don't have one'a those, either) it probably would have been fine. The bit I used took WAY too big a bite and the drill would bind in the bushing. I was using a Milwaukie drill that has enough torque to break your arm..and after a couple of binds the inner bushing broke out.

There would have been just a thin bit of the inner bushing left if the drilling had worked. I pretty much didn't expect it would.

So, a trip to the machine shop for a one piece bushing is on tap...

No welding, though. Did take the upper nut off the brake master cylinder shaft to properly orient the lever height-wise.

That was it.

Thanks for the offer m0rie, but I already did!



Cool, huh?


**edit** I use 'brass' and 'bronze' interchangeably...and incorrectly. The bushings I used were bronze, not brass.