choke levers???

[don07tncav]

I did a search cause I'm missing one on my special and saw where Spot was going to try and have some made. Any luck sir??!!

[UncleSpot]

....nothing yet. I need to call the machinist I gave TWO sets of carbs to back in May to ask when they might be ready(?). Both of my Specials have the 'tab' broken off on the choke lever(s).

[xs650mike]

Not having a choke lever is a bit of an inconvenience but my SF cold starts readily without choking if I put the petcocks on prime for minute or two first and give it some throttle, I even tried it once with the kick-start and it started second kick. I may have a different tale to tell come winter. BTW I do have the choke mechanism intact on my bike.

[TopCatGr58]

Alternative LEVERS

Hey there Don, and UncleSpot,

Was thinking about what would be involved to try to MACHINE a replacement choke lever! Making a hinge is a little fun. Then I thought, what about using something that already has a hinge? Went shopping at Lowes with choke lever measurements in hand! Found what I think is a decent
"Down and Dirty" alternative! You'll need a Dremmel cutoff and grinding discs, and a drill, some slightly longer metric mounting screws, a few spacer washers, and then a piece of rubber capping of your choice. See the photos below....an impromptu tech tip!

**Photos are NOW links to the larger images due to Photodump changing their direct linking policy! **
Below shows a Special Choke lever, note the cracks forming in the metal from Xsive bending and stresses!

This is the 2.5" wide base, 4" long hinge, only $4.00 for a pair, which is helpful if you bung up one!

Note the interference points and how the mounting screw holes don't quite line up!

Here's a STANDARD showing the other location of the handle!

Below I've dremmelled off the edge of the throttle/synch stop which is NOT USED on the outside carb!!

This shows the need for a few spacer washers to keep the hinge from binding against the spare fuel/vent outlet that sticks up from the body of the carb.

Here shows the Actuator Slot cut, note the hinge is still in one piece to maintain strength, the wider portion proximal to the hinge allows for mounting the choke rod collar.

You need to drill an extra hole in the longer hinge section to allow a screwdriver tip thru to be able to tighten the mounting screw.

Here, the lever is mounted.

And here it is showing it in FULL CHOKE position, note the choke plunger doesnt' make contact with it, and you can see the spacer washers as well!!

I didn't fit a rubber handle to it, you might need to grind it down slightly to fit a vacuum port plug or such!!
Hope this helps someone!?

[xs650mike]

Brilliant!

[don07tncav]

Super job TC!!! I screwed up on my post. The metal part of my lever is still there.

I'm missing the black part with "Choke" written on it!!

[John]

Hey TC!

You don't happent to have really big Mouse ears, and have a Daddy named 'Walt', do you?







Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me....

[TopCatGr58]

Hey John,

Naah, I ride a RAT, but I'm not one!! My ears are pointed more like SPOCK...see my Avatar!! I forgot to mention that folks could also just drill a few holes in the remainder of their choke lever and add an "L" bracket or straight piece to it, either with some very small bolt/nuts or rivets to replace the broken off piece!?

Okay, wait till I get my LATHE up and running completely with some milling attachments, with all of the tools I need, and I'll try again using some 6061-T6 aluminum plate!!

Don, they make vacuum port caps in various sizes, you can probably find one to fit your bare metal piece. YOU KNOW that it's a choke lever. I'm not totaly sure why it's covered, cause you usually use the choke when it's COLD, so it's not necessarily to protect your fingers from heat, guess just to make it a little bigger and easier to grab, so the bare metal doesn't cut you!!
T.C.

[Geezer]

When I get good at using my new MIG welder, I plan to weld new levers on a couple broken choke levers in my junk box. Hopefully one will end up looking good enough to use on the Mongrel.

In the mean time there is enough lever left to pull the choke on but it would be easier with a full lever.

Geezer

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Geezer,
Congrats on the Mig, you'll love it, I love mine!! You'll want to use the lowest power setting, and get a small strip of weld steel that you can put against the back side, and weld it to the two pieces. Also, the metal is chromium, be careful and have good ventilation. You don't want to be breathing any toxic vapors that come off of that part during the welding. Take a dremmel or such and grind the surface on the backside down below the chrome level before attempting it! I'm not a welding GURU either!!
T.C.

[xs650mike]

I'm not totaly sure why it's covered

The Japanese have this polite and refined sensibility. Last couple of times I was there (mid-late '90s) they were starting to get away from those French-style squat toilets and beginning to use sit-down toilets. Not only do their toilets have padded and heated seats there is a little placard which tells one how to use it just in case one might be unfamiliar with this type of toilet. It's surprising that the choke levers aren't heated!

[Geezer]

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
Hey Geezer,
Congrats on the Mig, you'll love it, I love mine!! You'll want to use the lowest power setting, and get a small strip of weld steel that you can put against the back side, and weld it to the two pieces. Also, the metal is chromium, be careful and have good ventilation. You don't want to be breathing any toxic vapors that come off of that part during the welding. Take a dremmel or such and grind the surface on the backside down below the chrome level before attempting it! I'm not a welding GURU either!!
T.C.

I plan to bead blast off all the chrome I can and grind the rest from the area to be welded.

Unfortunalty I won't be using my MIG welder anytime soon. It's 220v and my garage is only wired for 110. A guy that lives across the street from the shop where I turn wrenches brought over and ofered it to me for 50 bucks. I couldn't whip my wallet out fast enough. When I got it home I downloaded the manual and checked it out. It's looks like it may have never been used. Anyway I'm going to haul it over to my father's place where there is enough juice to run it. I haven't welded in over 20 years and I'm do for a refresher.

Maybe then I'll try to repair a choke lever but my plan was to use it to rework the saddle bag mounts for the Mongrel and maybe modify one of the sets of footboards to fit it.

Geezer