dfwgreg said:
I don't have the $$ or skill to warrant the ASV shortys so any advice would be appreciated!
If you have the skill, you wouldn't need the ASV levers! The ASV unbreakable levers are really for people like me that can't through a ride without dropping the bike several times. If you don't crash you won't break levers.
OK, not true. The last lever was broken when the bike was tipped over from getting bumped into while it was just sitting there minding its own business.
One aspect to think about is that cheap levers are, well, cheap. Aluminum alloys come in many different flavors and the cheaper alloys are brittle. A cheap lever will snap when excessive force is applied. A better lever will bend.
Hand guards also go a long way in protecting your levers.
I used to break clutch levers so often that I would actually carry a spare one with me on a long ride, and always kept a spare of two in the truck. A couple of years ago I was racing in an enduro one time and fell climbing a hill. Everything was fine except that the clutch lever broke off at the hinge, not even "one finger" left. You should try riding 20 miles of some of the gnarliest terrain without a clutch lever! Needless to say I did not place well on that event.
Having spent $50 on an entry fee and a couple hundred getting to the event I decided that the ASV levers were a good investment. It has worked, I haven't broken an ASV lever yet!
Rod