Front brakes (82 XJ)

[tab1324]

I rode tonight and noticed my front brake lever is really tough to pull to get it to grip. Also noticed that the lever seems so far away from the grip. Is there anything I can do to improve the lever location? I losened the screw that actuates the brake plunger to see if I could adjust it that way but then it just had free play in the lever. Is it possible to bend the lever with heat?

I rebuilt the front master with a parts kit from Partsnmore and noticed the plunger was slightly smaller in dia. than the original. I thought maybe the original was just stretched so I installed the parts as they were. Could this be the problem with the stiff brake lever pull before it grips??? Maybe none of this makes sense..

Thanks,

Tom B.

[Ken Talbot]

If the lever has not been bent before, you should be able to bend it cold. Stick it in a vice with some wood or plastic guards to keep from scratching it. Slowly tighten to to change the lever shape to what you want. Check it a few times along the way to make sure you don't bend it too much and have it interfere with the handlebar grip before you get full braking pressure.

Not sure about the stiffness in the lever, unless you have tightened the pivot bolt too tightly and that's making it bind??

[Jerry]

Just to make sure....the XJ rebuild kit is different than the XS rebuild kit. The XJ bore is smaller diameter, as it operates only the right front caliper. (Left front is tied to rear brake through a proportioning valve.) If you used the XS kit I cold understand why the lever would be hard to pull...the rubber parts would be oversize and drag considerably.

[tab1324]

drag

If it were a mechanical problem, it should exist when I bleed the brakes right? When I bleed the brakes, the lever pull is real easy so I don't think it's mechanical. Maybe I just need to triple bleed, like I triple cleaned the carbs?

Tom B.