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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: Tyrant171 on May 11, 2005, 07:20:22 AM

Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: Tyrant171 on May 11, 2005, 07:20:22 AM
I could not freakin believe it.......

I took my GS to work for the first time yesterday and all was fine until I parked the damn thing. I don't know what I did or how I could have been such an idiot, but I wasn't 10 steps from the bike when I heard it hit the ground. It had fallen on its left side. I quickly picked it up and it seemed like a pretty light fall.....no real damage. No damage, that is, except for the clutch lever. The thing just snapped. The remnants of the lever is being held on by the cable and there is a broken piece being held in by the mount but the lever snapped completely away from it. Other than the actual lever itself, there appears to be no damage. I already ordered a new clutch lever, but I'm just wondering if that'll be all I need. Could the fall have done more damage than it seems? Also, how hard is it to connect a clutch lever as far as hooking up the cable and whatnot?

Thanks guys!
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: JCH on May 11, 2005, 07:32:19 AM
The clutch lever is a very easy fix.   Look for my post about it a few weeks back.  Kerry gave excellent directions on how to replace and adjust the lever,

Good luck!
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: goat on May 11, 2005, 08:46:24 AM
I would reccomend staying away from the levers on ebay. They don't quite fit unless you use sandpaper.

Just make sure that your clutch adjuster is in one piece, and make sure that its tight enough. Mine wasn't tight enough and decided to put a whole bunch of slack in the line while I was in stop-and-go traffic. All sorts of fun trying to adjust your clutch in the middle of traffic so that it doesn't kill the engine when you stop.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: Tyrant171 on May 11, 2005, 08:52:11 AM
Cool beans.....thanks guys!

I ordered my clutch lever from my local Suzuki dealership. Do you think that levers from dealers and levers from Ebay are different?
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: Kerry on May 11, 2005, 09:53:54 AM
In the replacing clutch lever (http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12735) thread, my post talks about the tools you should need, and scratch's post gives the actual step-by-step.

Quote from: Tyrant171Do you think that levers from dealers and levers from Ebay are different?
Probably.  Dealers will sell you the "real Suzuki" part, while eBay usually has aftermarket items.

Having said that, both levers on my bike are from Flanders.  They work just fine.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: JCH on May 11, 2005, 10:01:25 AM
I got the clutch lever from bike bandit.  11 bucks or something cheap like that.  It was an easy fix for me, which means it will be a piece of cake for a normal person.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: rclz on May 11, 2005, 01:15:04 PM
Any lever will work it's just you may have bent the clutch assy so the lever might not fit and pivot properly. My dealer charged me 15$ for the lever 25$ for the lever and the assy.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: PAC on May 12, 2005, 09:05:55 AM
I had a similar thing happen and replaced the clutch lever myself.  Super simple, just follow the links provided.  I purchased a genuine Suzuki OEM replacement lever from the dealer for about $12.  Not only is it exactly the correct part, it was cheaper than buying online when you consider the $5-$15 shipping that some places charge.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: denman on May 14, 2005, 06:50:42 AM
ride home using vicegrips to pull your clutch cable after the end comes off.   thats fun.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: JetSwing on May 14, 2005, 07:14:12 AM
Quote from: denmanride home using vicegrips to pull your clutch cable after the end comes off.   thats fun.
visegrip? you couldn't use your bare hand??
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: denman on May 16, 2005, 02:17:28 PM
the cable was too small,a small pair of vice grips in you pocket can fix a ton of stuff.
Title: Broken clutch lever....what am I in for?
Post by: kvgs on May 17, 2005, 09:11:30 AM
I did almost the same thing the other day. I had to trailer the bike home, no clutch = no ride. But I got a clutch lever on order only about $10. I'm there I hear ya.