• Welcome to the Yamaha FZ1 Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share. Register Here.

Levers and SS brake lines...

Do you have stock levers? If not, where did you get and/or who makes the aftermarket ones? I ask because I just bought some aftermarket ones.
 
T84A said:
Do you have stock levers? If not, where did you get and/or who makes the aftermarket ones? I ask because I just bought some aftermarket ones.
Click to expand...

These are the Fire Dragon Brothers chinese knockoffs. The stock levers have a little more play in the area where the switch contacts. These are a tighter tolerance. I have to check Michele's tonight because she has the same setup. I didn't think of this yesterday when adjusting mine and because she rides behind me, I don't see her brake lights at all.
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear you are having this issue, Eric. Sure seems like you have covered all the bases. Must be the aftermarket lever, if so many others have installed SS lines without this issue. Am a little concerned now, since I just got my Spiegler lines.:eyebrow:
 
Jman said:
Sorry to hear you are having this issue, Eric. Sure seems like you have covered all the bases. Must be the aftermarket lever, if so many others have installed SS lines without this issue. Am a little concerned now, since I just got my Spiegler lines.:eyebrow:
Click to expand...

Well, it is an easy fix and done in twenty minutes. Mine is fine now but I had never heard of this and would have the same disbelief as others if someone else posted this. But this is important enough to post and make people aware. I would encourage all others with SS lines to check... At what moment in the brake lever pull does your brake light ACTUALLY come on? Do you honestly know? ;)
 
Cobalt said:
Missy, it's not the brake fluid... I think you've misunderstood me. It is the amount of movement in the lever. With the SS lines, it takes a lot less brake lever movement to go to full lock.

The lever, when squeezed, pushes the plunger to compress the fluid behind the caliper pots. At the very same time, the same lever releases the electric switch to actuate the brake light. This is an on/off switch and there is a point where it clicks. If the lever doesn't have enough movement, the switch will never extend far enough to "click" which was my case. This is an equal and opposite reaction to the action of applying the front brake. You cannot depress the fluid plunger without simultaneously releasing the electrical switch plunger.
Click to expand...

I'm glad it's fixed, but here I go... :deadhorse: glue will be had! :ugh:

If there was less fluid and the MC plunger pushed in farther, then the lever would move farther before the brakes caught and thus the plunger on the switch would be allowed to move more and possibly activate the brake light at the proper amount of braking... (not that less fluid is necessarily good, just a thought.) In this manner the amount of fluid in the MC does indirectly effect the brake light, just not directly.

OK, I understand that less fluid in the MC might not effect the amount of travel in the lever because you are compressing the fluid down the line more or less 'excess' fluid in the MC wouldn't change the travel, but that's what I was thinking. The plunger in the MC would have to travel farther to initiate the braking, thus making more total travel. Possibly flawed logic, but that's where I was coming from. :ugh: :chat:
 
BDazzler said:
I'm glad it's fixed, but here I go... :deadhorse: glue will be had! :ugh:

If there was less fluid and the MC plunger pushed in farther, then the lever would move farther before the brakes caught and thus the plunger on the switch would be allowed to move more and possibly activate the brake light at the proper amount of braking... (not that less fluid is necessarily good, just a thought.) In this manner the amount of fluid in the MC does indirectly effect the brake light, just not directly.

OK, I understand that less fluid in the MC might not effect the amount of travel in the lever because you are compressing the fluid down the line more or less 'excess' fluid in the MC wouldn't change the travel, but that's what I was thinking. The plunger in the MC would have to travel farther to initiate the braking, thus making more total travel. Possibly flawed logic, but that's where I was coming from. :ugh: :chat:
Click to expand...

Good thinking Troy, but.... ;) If the fluid level in the MC is within limits, this will have zero effect on how the plunger reacts. Whether the level is at the MAX or MIN, the same amount of fluid is required for the plunger to actuate the caliper pots. If I am at the MIN level, the bike will stop the same as if I was at the MAX level.

I think the best way to describe it is the old rule: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you pull the brake lever, two things are guaranteed to happen. You will depress the mechanical fluid plunger to stop the bike and you will extend the electrical plunger on the switch to activate the brake light. We cannot have one without the other. So, if the bike does a stoppie before the switch activates the light, then there is not enough travel in the lever and somewhere, we have to adjust something. If this is the case, where would the rider make any adjustments?

  • Cannot adjust the switch position - single screw/fixed mounting position
  • Cannot adjust the lever's contact points for either the MC plunger or the switch - fixed positions
  • Cannot modify the amount of plunger travel to increase lever movement - fixed position.

So, I saw three options:

  1. File switch plunger to shorten the distance needed to click on the light - too delicate/only one "in stock"
  2. Shorten the plunger on the MC to increase lever travel - Too risky, only one "in stock"
  3. File switch contact point so switch extends farther with lever pull - Spare OEM lever in stock in case I FUBAR this - Best option and does not modify the OEM bike in any way.

The brake light should come on by the time the brakes even BEGIN to engage the discs. If they do not, then you could be braking without warning to the rider/cage behind you. This is dangerous and I had to fix it. :D
 
The problem is the brake lever.
The angle between the flats that press the plunger for the brakes and the one that keeps the switch for the brake light pressed in is smaller than on the stock brake lever.
Adding to the problem is the new brake lines that have less flex than stock which means less lever travel to engage the brakes.
If you file one of the flats to take off some material it will fix your problem.
 
Not to make things to difficult but it may be the hole in the new levers is drilled closer to the top of the lever than the stocker.

Either way file a little off the brake lever tab either one and it should fix your problem,
 
I just put some eBay (the2wheels) Pazzo knock-offs on the bike. Went for a ride and noticed that the brake light wasn't working either. After reading through this post, I am going to disagree that filing the plunger or the contact point on the lever would be beneficial. In fact, I think it would prove to be the opposite of what you want to do.

If the plunger is not engaging when squeezing the lever, that means there needs to be MORE travel for the plunger. If you file either side (plunger, or lever) then you will have a longer distance between the lever and the actuator. This means that you have to squeeze the lever an even further distance.

My suggestion is to add a small piece of fabric/rubber/metal inside the lever where the plunger contacts the lever. This way, the plunger is somewhat depressed before you even start pulling the lever. When you go to brake, the plunger will be depressed even further, turning the brake light on.

Maybe?
 
Good info. Curious what you put on? I am going to install lines, lever on my bike. I have ordered Spiegler SS lines and a CRG brake lever. Should get them next week!!
 
Curious problem. The SS lines should not make that much difference. You should still have "free-play" as the hydraulics have to take up pad knock off. The lever should move maybe 1" at the end, before your brakes start to work.
 
hmm.. I would check If the lights turn on at high speed(by themselves) ... there is quite a bit of pressure on the lever .

Another fix for this would be a pressure sensor switch on the brake lines,old kawi had those but works only if you have 3 hoses+splitter
 
Blanchy said:
Curious problem. The SS lines should not make that much difference. You should still have "free-play" as the hydraulics have to take up pad knock off. The lever should move maybe 1" at the end, before your brakes start to work.
Click to expand...

The free-play isn't quite that much but it still was an issue with the design of the levers. The measurement of the stock levers allowed for more tolerance than these knock-offs. The good news is, it was easy to remedy with the filing of the bump-stop on the lever. It was either that or try and drill the piston hole a little deeper which would not have been easier.

End result is I have very strong brakes with little movement of the lever (took some practice to get used to this!!) and a brake light that comes on at exactly the time the fluid starts compressing.

I got what I paid for in cheap lever knock-offs. Next time it will be Pazzo or ASV. I'll set aside some cash and grab a used set when opportunity knocks. :tup:
 
Cobalt said:
I got what I paid for in cheap lever knock-offs. Next time it will be Pazzo or ASV. I'll set aside some cash and grab a used set when opportunity knocks. :tup:
Click to expand...

Getting high quality levers like Pazzo or ASV won't necessarily guarantee perfect results. I put ASV levers on my bike (no change in lines) and noticed the lever wasn't having any effect on the brake light. Looking at the lever and the switch I noticed the little cast tab on the new lever wasn't quite lined up with the plunger so the plunger just slid past the tab, so the plunger was permanently in the out position. As noted there is no way to adjust things down there. I fixed the problem by taking a small piece of plastic, super glueing it to the tab and that fixed the problem permanently. The tolerances are tight and with moving parts sometimes things don't work quite as expected. I was surprised that there just wasn't a good way to adjust the switch to fix mis-alignments, but perhaps the safety lawyers want it that way.
 
Thread resurrection time! Ironically, google search led me to this post.
I replaced my original pads with brand new OEM ones, a week ago (still using OEM lines). The lever travel has decreased drastically (old pads were ~80%).

I have the same issue (with cheap levers). Brake light comes on way too late. I'll be filing mine tonight. Easy fix!

Thanks, Eric!!
 
Good timing! I should comment that my Chinese knock-off levers are COMPLETELY un-anodized and are silver with a golden hue to them. Now, they still work perfectly after the modification but Black is no longer an option.
 
FZ1inNH said:
Good timing! I should comment that my Chinese knock-off levers are COMPLETELY un-anodized and are silver with a golden hue to them. Now, they still work perfectly after the modification but Black is no longer an option.
Click to expand...

NICE! That's a very common complaint about those. How long have you had them?

I've had mine for over 2 years. Bike lives outside quite a bit (I commute by bike). The only fading so far is on the inner part of the clutch lever (not the blade, but the part the blade attaches to). It's got a nice bronze color to it.
No change in function.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top