Cheap levers off of Ebay are junk.

As a heads up again, the cheap Chinese levers off of Ebay can cause problems. My used 2004 XB12S came with a set already installed. It is enough out of spec to cause the front brakes to lock up. I compared it to the factory set and it is about 1/8" to 1/4" off. It doesn't allow the extra fluid to go up to the fluid overflow. The pressure keeps building and building until it locks up the brakes completely. You have to bled them to get them to work properly. Not fun on a road with a bunch of cars behind you. Thankfully I am a big dude and was able to muscle the bike off the road.

I initially thought there was air or water in the brake fluid as the previous owner mentioned he bled the brakes. So I did a full flush and bled the brakes. Then it happened again as I was doing a shake down run near my house. So I did a search and the problem with the levers came up as a known issue. So I ordered up a set of used factory levers and it solved the problem. So if your brakes are locking up and you have the cheap Ebay levers, it could be the problem.

The levers were the stubby ones and I didn't care for the feel of them. Not to mention the 'anodized' finish faded along the top where the sun hit it.

Yep. We know. Quite a few guys have already gone through this issue.

i havent checked into this,,, but thanks for the heads up.... I have set of those levers I think i bought for my Tuber 97 lightning, Ill look into it,, but is it possible a person can grind or machine them to remove material to make it work??? or are the dimensions way off?

the cheap Chinese levers off of Ebay can cause problems

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chinese being the operative word.

Any idea which cheap levers they were??

Ordered a set of these mirrors and have been very happy with them so far - http://www.ebay.com/itm/30088083078...iewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr

Ordered a set of levers from the same company, they are on their way. Keeping my fingers crossed........
http://www.ebay.com/itm/36069793616...iewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OU:US:3160&vxp=mtr

06xbss: My levers look exactly like the ones you linked to. I didn't order them, but I bet they are the same. The only difference was the ones I got were yellow instead of black. When they arrive, use your factory levers to compare the two. If it is off, you will see it right away. Just line up the pivot hole. It is only a problem on the brake side. The clutch lever isn't a problem.

Yes, you can grind it down to work. If you have the factory lever, it will be easy to see where you need to take a bit off. I am keeping mine as spares, but haven't done any work to them.

I would do a test run with it before grinding anything down. Mount it up and squeeze it a bunch of times to get pressure on the system. Take a ride around your neighborhood to test it out. When I bled my brakes, it happened less than a mile into the shake down run. But I did squeeze it a bunch before rolling out to test it before I rolled out. I did feel the pressure building in my lever before it fully locked, but I was paying attention to it and looking for the issue. Take a wrench with you to undue the bled off screw on the front caliper. Just opening it and closing it takes off the pressure and you can ride home.

is it possible a person can grind or machine them to remove material to make it work???

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Yup, that's exactly what I did and they've now been functioning well for a couple thousand miles.

Yea I had a pair that locked up my front brake to...

Nothing agile didn't fix but still...