Unbending brake levers

[scrawshaw]

I dropped my 2001 WR250F on the trail Saturday and bent the lever down an inch or so. I can still use it but I have to reach a little with the two fingers that I normally use. Maybe I could adjust the reach of the lever, I haven't checked yet. The new ones are around $25-$30. Someone suggested heating it with a torch and bending it back. Does anyone have any details on how to do this? A broken lever would be worse than what I have now. Anybody
have any suggestions other than installing handguards and/or a lever that piviots both ways (ASV or ARC)? (Yes, that's right, I was just about to install hand guards when it happened)

 

[HiG4s]

Moose is suppose to make a replacment for $10. Make sure you get the one for YZs 2001 and up. All 2001 and 2002 YZ, including the mini use the same front brake lever. My son broke one on his 85 and we orded the Moose lever, but it was taking so long we canceled the order and got a stock.

 

[jeremy]

You can bend them back once, then the metal get work hardened and they crack. Put it in a vice and slip a ring spanner over the lever and GENTLY bend it back in a couple of spots, so to spread the stress. Yam stock levers are very soft.

 

[cujet]

You can use heat to your advantage when fixing bent aluminum. A hardware store propane torch will generally have enough heat to get the lever up to around 700 degrees F. This is the point at which the aluminum becomes plastic and will bend very easily. I generally clamp a lever in a vice and use a pair of pliers to bend the lever back to shape. It takes a propane torch quite a while to heat up the lever so be patient. An Oxy-Acet torch set will do the job faster, however you must be careful not to melt the lever with too much heat.


In addition, you can move the heat around the lever to get the bend out of certain areas.
Chris

 

[Wild Hare]

I did the same thing on my YZ250P this weekend. Just put it in a vice, slip your favorite box end wrench over the end and bent it back. Heat may help, but you can do it without....

FWIW - Flanders makes a replacement for about $10 as well. I bought one and threw it in the tool box, just in case!;)

 

[Todd 95209]

Ya man, i sugest using heat. I just tried bending mine back with out heat and the thing snaped. Had to buy a new one (about $20).