As China keeps developing we are going to be faced with ever increasing amount of parts made there or teritories there of.
Recently there has been a flood of billet parts so my curiosity finally got the better of me and I purchased a set
Adjustable length levers and flip up too , cost was 2,580 Yen + delivery ( about 21GBP all in) so not the end of the world if they turned out to be crap !
Arrived today so set about getting them fitted up. First impression , CNC milling is very nice and some good design features and nice milling touches. Anodizing is pretty good , nice strong colour , fairly even colour across the part but patchy in places.
Very lightweight but don't feel flimsy overall very attractive
Fitting,
Started with the clutch , straight out the packet I noticed they didn't have Bronze inserts for the pivot points So already knew their lifespan would be short but at the money I paid hardly a heartbreak every few years swapping them out.
Once original lever was off I realised that the new levers pivot hole was larger A quick tap on the bush in original and it pops out and fits right on in Doesn't stay in on its own like the original but at least it fits ! So got it bolted on:
Span adjuster is very easy to use , flip up works on a spring loaded ballbearing that tracts in a machined groove , cable in fitted in no problem and sidestand cut out works too.
On with the brake lever , again no bush but looking at the hole , original it's not machined to take it - you could drill out yourself to fit the original but I left as is, unlike the clutch the pivot isn't under anywhere near the same strain. Unlike the original it interferred with the high throttle so that had to be repositioned , not my favourite place for it to be now but still functions:
Overall rather pleased with them and the bling factor is great However a few things I would point out:
Unlike originals or quality made ones there is a lot of free play in these ie: They rattle about in the holder , the flip ups have play so when you pulling in the clutch it partially lifts - havent done a road report on them yet but hopefully they wont be rattling about like fook - if that is the case I will shim them up with some nylon washers.
The lock nuts underneath are some mental size either imperial or 7.5mm and come with a bit of slack in them , not enough showing to get pliers onto them either so over the next few days I am going to see how to remedy but believe the reason they have play is cause the makers couldn't tighten them up anymore using a socket or spanner, so a bit of bad design there - the originals either slot into a hex hole or there is a shoulder that locks one of the flats.
But, these are not 90 GBP Brand name goods they cost me 20 sobs so for that dosh I can live with the faults , now seeing them I would certainly willingly go 35ish on them maybe a wee bit more but certainly not above 40 quid. They are made in China after all and the labour will have been 1$ on them so it's only material after that your paying for.
I wouldn't be upset getting another set for the next couple of builds
MM!
Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
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- Mori Man
- Blingmeister
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Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
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Nothing worse than having an H and not being able to scratch it !
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
- Mori Man
- Blingmeister
- Posts: 1976
- Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 3:30 pm
- My Bike: ZXR400J2
- Location: JAPAN
Re: Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
Out using them today and all is well, they feel very nice - having them set at #2 seems perfect for me and has given the clutch a right nice biting point.
Top Tip: If you do get a set of these tighten up the fixings, it eliminates a lot of slack.
Utterly inialated a Z750 (ZII) today , kitted out with BEET casings and zorst with CR special carbs, I will assume it was box standard bore.
Fella wouldn't speak to me when we stopped up, I guess busting his baws twice from the lights (giving him the initial start) didn't sit too well
First time I let him get into 3rd before I wound it up, next set only first
Bikes going great guns, expect some new vid footage soon - I bought a new toy at the weekend
MM!
Top Tip: If you do get a set of these tighten up the fixings, it eliminates a lot of slack.
Utterly inialated a Z750 (ZII) today , kitted out with BEET casings and zorst with CR special carbs, I will assume it was box standard bore.
Fella wouldn't speak to me when we stopped up, I guess busting his baws twice from the lights (giving him the initial start) didn't sit too well
First time I let him get into 3rd before I wound it up, next set only first
Bikes going great guns, expect some new vid footage soon - I bought a new toy at the weekend
MM!
Nothing worse than having an H and not being able to scratch it !
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
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Re: Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
excellent write up MM....been looking at getting some for mine..but there seems to be a big choice out there...were yours purchased from flea bay?.....looking forward to some video footage......
- masterofinsanity
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Re: Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
i had a set on my TLR bloody lovely quality they were, will definitely get a set for the 10r 1 day, only snag i would mention is the anodising fades pretty quick, but then you can polish em
Don't forget people there is more to the zxr400 than this forum... check out www.zxrworld.co.uk also.
- Mori Man
- Blingmeister
- Posts: 1976
- Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 3:30 pm
- My Bike: ZXR400J2
- Location: JAPAN
Re: Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
Got them off Yahoo, think they all come out of the same factory though and design changed to suppliers spec as they have a lot of commonalities between them.666damned wrote:excellent write up MM....been looking at getting some for mine..but there seems to be a big choice out there...were yours purchased from flea bay?.....looking forward to some video footage......
Still liking them , I coat everything bar the levers with silicone spray to help stop them fading.
MM!
Nothing worse than having an H and not being able to scratch it !
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
Living life on the edge, SuPposedly
- R P Corse
- CBT slow
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- Location: Surrey
Re: Review: Chinese CNC Billet levers
nice review Drew, i can't fault the quality either, i've found them fantastic and the brake lever saved me yesterday - old 1 was knackered and a car pulled out on me, front end locked up - didn't drop the bike or crashed, tbh i was more impressed with the lever not braking from the grab... The bloke in his scooby shat himself after my evil stare and overall size compared to him though lol
I found my levers a straight swap - albeit i don't have the ones you have but i imagine they come from the same place? The only fault i did find was the lever being 1mm thicker than the standard lever, had to sand down the bracket and give it a good clean up, definitly impressed and best £30 i've spent on bling on all my bikes!
I found my levers a straight swap - albeit i don't have the ones you have but i imagine they come from the same place? The only fault i did find was the lever being 1mm thicker than the standard lever, had to sand down the bracket and give it a good clean up, definitly impressed and best £30 i've spent on bling on all my bikes!