Dial in your levers and clutch for instant comfort and control

The free upgrade hiding on your handlebars

Most riders never touch the adjustments their bike already has. They live with a clutch that grabs in an awkward spot and brake levers set too far from their fingers, then wonder why their hands ache and slow speed maneuvers feel clumsy. The fix costs nothing. It is built into your controls. You just have to set them up for your hands and your riding.

A lever set wrong forces you to stretch, which kills control and tires your hands. A lever set right falls naturally under your fingers and makes the bike feel like an extension of you. This is the cheapest upgrade you will ever make.

Lever reach and the span adjuster

Many bikes have a span adjuster on the clutch and brake levers, a small numbered dial or a wheel you turn to move the lever closer to or farther from the grip. Riders with smaller hands almost always benefit from bringing the levers in.

1. 01Sit on the bike in your normal riding position with your hands on the grips.
2. 02Reach for the levers. You want to grab them comfortably with the first joints of your fingers without overstretching.
3. 03Turn the span adjuster to bring the lever to that sweet spot. If your levers do not adjust, shorter aftermarket adjustable levers are an easy upgrade.
4. 04Make sure both fingers can still get full travel so you keep full braking and clutch power.

Lever angle on the bars

The angle the levers point matters as much as the reach. Set wrong, they bend your wrists and cause fatigue and arm pump.

• Sit in your riding position and look at the line from your forearm through your wrist to your fingers.
• Loosen the lever clamp slightly and rotate the lever so that line is roughly straight when you reach for it. For street riding that usually means the lever angled gently downward, not horizontal and not steeply dropped.
• Snug the clamp just enough that the lever holds position but can still rotate in a fall instead of snapping off.

Leaving the lever clamp a touch less than fully tight is a trick racers use. In a tip over the lever swivels instead of breaking. Just make sure it is tight enough not to move while riding.

Dial in the clutch engagement

Where your clutch starts to grab, the friction zone, makes a huge difference in smoothness, especially at slow speed and from a stop. Most clutches have free play adjustment at the lever, the cable, or both.

1. 01Find the free play, the small amount of slack at the lever before it starts to engage the clutch. Your manual lists the spec, often a few millimetres at the lever tip.
2. 02Too much free play and the clutch engages right at the end of the lever travel and may not fully disengage, making shifts notchy. Too little and the clutch can slip and overheat.
3. 03Adjust using the barrel adjuster at the lever or the cable, or have the hydraulic system checked if there is no slack adjustment.
4. 04Set the engagement point where you can feed the clutch smoothly from a stop without it grabbing abruptly or feeling vague.

A well set friction zone makes slow speed control, U turns, and stop and go traffic dramatically easier.

Small change, big difference

Spend 10 minutes setting reach, angle, and clutch free play and your bike will feel transformed. Less hand fatigue, smoother takeoffs, better control. It is the kind of fix that makes you wonder why you waited.

Not sure where the friction zone should sit or how to set cable free play safely? Our garage dials in controls as part of any setup and can fit adjustable levers. Book at our service shop, or browse levers and clutch parts in the store.