Techtips

Techtips

I can't tell you how many times I've climbed aboard a privately owned motorcycle and been greeted by handlebar control levers that apparently were adjusted to suit some bizarrely shaped extraterrestrial rather than a human. Sometimes the levers aim up at the sky, sometimes they dangle down toward the ground, sometimes there’s one pointed in each direction. While someone might learn to cope with this kind of ergonomic handicap, it’s certainly not the best way to operate the clutch and front brake.

Properly adjusting handlebar controls is a simple task. With no bend in your wrists and your hands resting naturally on the grips, extend your fingers forward so they’re on the very same plane as your forearms. If the controls are adjusted correctly, your fingers should just graze the tops of the levers. If you’re making this adjustment on a dirtbike, you should angle the levers downward very slightly to make them easier and more natural to operate when you’re standing on the pegs. And don’t tightly cinch the lever bracket bolts or screws on a dirt machine; leave them a little loose so the entire assembly stands a better chance of rotating out of the way in a fall rather than grotesquely bending the lever or breaking it off altogether.

-Paul Dean