Newbie here.  While stopped on a hill I lost balance and (gently) laid the bike down on the right side last night.  The only damage appears to be the ball on the front brake lever that broke off.  The brake works fine.  Should I bother to replace the lever?  I guess the ball makes it less likely that my hand will slip off the front brake.  Should I go with OEM parts?  Used parts?  What is a reasonable price?  Is the replacement easy to do?

Thanks.

Other than looking broken, no it should work fine. However there is that pointy end now.  A friend of mine dropped his SV a few years ago and broke the same ball off. Didn't replace it and a few months later T-boned a car that turned left into his path. As he went over the bars, the end of the brake lever caught him in the thigh and left an extra hole in him.

OEM ones are expensive but you can get EMGO reproduction levers for under $20 on ebay or by mail order.

If any part of the brake system, and that includes the lever, appears damaged or defective replace it right away.

the ball is to prevent punture wounds in case of an accident (although many people believe it is to keep ur hand from slipping off).....by not having the ball, u might feel a loss in leverage, so u would need to apply more pressure.....ever since the ball on my clutch lever broke off, my hand cramps easier in stop and go.

take the lever off and instpect it, look for cracks at the stress points, pivots, plunger ect. if it looks ok, while you have it off, file the end of it so its smooth and non sharp, if you dont have  a file, or grinder,  take it out to sidewalk, or find a concrete block and rub it back and forth like trying to erase something with a pencil, it will do the trick.

suzuki part, w/o the adjuster piece is around $33

It's a pain but most of us have dropped a bike early on, I did the same as you with a six week old bike. Order a new part and replace it, you'll feel better (honest) whilst you are waiting for it smooth any sharp edges or you'll rip your gloves to bits as well as the other good reasons already above.

buy a used one from someone parting their bike out in the for sale forum!

welcome to the site. sorry you dropped your bike. I dropped mine 2 times in the first 3 weeks I had it. Clutch lever is still half gone. I snapped it in half when I dropped bike second time and took a grinder to it to smooth it out...works great. I wouldn't do that to the brake lever though. Buy used.

Quote from: Richard UKIf any part of the brake system, and that includes the lever, appears damaged or defective replace it right away.

I'm with Richard on this, while the lever might not seem damaged other than the missing head knob, the lever might be fatigued from the stress it received in the fall. I suggest you replace it immediately before it snaps in two while you're braking!