Modern Vespa

I'm looking to replace the stock levers on my wife's LX 150 to one that sits a little closer the grips. I've looked around and have only found stock replacement levers, and the very nice ones by Oops Clunk Thud. The Oops levers are very nice but they only 5mm closer at the pointing finger. That doesn't seem like enough. I've looked on line and have found some motorcycle levers that come close in dimensions, but not sure if they would work in practice. I rather not have to mill my own or heavily modify an existing set.

Thanks

Ron

I'm curious too, as two-fingers doesn't do it for me due to my medical issues.

I have OOP'S Dog Legs on mine and even tho it doesn't seem like it, they are much closer in reality. Love mine. Good luck

Thanks Judy,

Could you post a picture of yours from above with your hand on lever? I'd like to see how much closer they are on an lx 150. Might have no choice but the Oops ones.

Ron

I will when the sun comes up. Need to do another pic of my rear rack for somebody.

Here you go. Hope this helps.

Funny thing is that there are a lot of options for the bigger Vespa, but I can't find anything for the bike more likely to be ridden by people with smaller hands.
With a heatgun, a vise, a weight, and a lot of patience, you can bend the stock levers back as much as you need, but you need to be diligent about keeping he rear brake adjusted so she doesn't pull it all the way to the grip and keep going.

Well thank you, it does help. It seems that as I thought the pointer finger is closer but the remainder of the grip bends further away. My wife( sorry but she doesn't like me using her name online), likes to grip with the full hand, especially the rear brake. The oops levers will help, but they aren't the best solution. They are in fact the only drop in solution. I think I will order them and see what else I can do own as a side project.

Thanks

Ron

You'd really think so. I guess it's because of the cable brake rear that limits the options.

Modifying the stock levers are an option.

My options are as follows:

1. Do nothing
2. Order oops levers
3. Modify existing levers, better have back up set in case of problems
4. Modify oops levers, keep existing as back ups
5. Buy replacement levers that don't require modification, including the lever perches. Then modify the new perches to fit the vespa.

I have found several levers that will work that meet the requirements for option 5. Some of them are pretty inexpensive too.

I think I'll order the ops levers, modify the stock levers. Then over the longer term search out replacement levers and perches.

Ron

Thank you also for the photos Judy - I don't think those will work for me so I'll keep trying to get along with the stock levers =)

There are a number of compromises that go into a lever. While we wanted to bring the lever closer we also had to make sure the lever could still move through a full 30° of travel (as the stock levers do), and leave enough room between the lever and grip for the hands when not braking.

We reasoned that having the lever parallel to the grip was more important when pulling harder than when applying the brakes lightly. Because of that we designed them so they hit the grip totally flat, but as a result the tips angle away a bit when in the relaxed position.

In practice the pinkie finger may not reach the lever in the initial reach. When the lever is pulled to the point where the brakes start engaging, all the fingers can reach. The harder the brakes are applied the better the positioning becomes.

Or at least that's the intent.

PAT they work like that. I like how you can get it started with a few fingers. Sometimes that's all you need and if you really need to stop hard you've already started and it's easy. I love mine.

I 1000% agree with Judy. It may not seem like a lot, but the first time I used mine, I was blown away by how much closer and easier to operate the dog-leg levers were. Don't over-think it. I've done a bunch of improvements on my LX150 and I think, in terms of scootering enjoyment, by far the best one was the levers.

Because of the reviews here on MV (and how swell the guys at OopsClunkThud are, in general), I added a set of the levers to my GTS300 - love 'em. You can't go wrong!

We'll I ordered the oops levers a few days ago. I'll see how they do. Once they get here I think I will notch the stock levers to aid in bending then weld up the ensuing gap.

Ron

Been thinking about other ways to shift the position of the levers around. These modifications would change the travel of the lever, possibly resulting in reduced braking force.

On both front and rear levers the flat at the end controls the relaxed position. On the front brake, the rounded bit that presses the piston on the master controls the position when braking. The rear is obviously set by the cable. I typically set the rear to "feel the same" as the front at the point of engagement, but it could be set to engage closer to the grip.

I have been thinking about getting a pair of doglegs for a while. The price seems right.

Does $100.00 seem an out of line price for getting them chrome plated? That is what a local plating shop is quoting for a set of levers.

With some aluminum billet polish, you could get very close to a chrome like finish in less than one hour for a fraction of the cost. Mother's is very good and I've used it on a lot of different items around the house (including Pinewood Derby car axles).

You could also go this route...

http://www.harborfreight.com/14-piece-aluminum-polishing-kit-98707.html

Simply secure a hand drill to a steady surface (I prefer to use a bench vise) and mount the appropriate polishing wheel.

Or you could go in a completely different direction, and plasti-dip the levers in a color of your choosing...

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Create_Your_Color_Kit

I'm not a big fan of chromed aluminum as it can weaken it. On my own bikes I spent about 45 minutes per lever to polish them. Started with 400 grit and worked down through 600, 1000, 1500 and then hit them with mothers aluminum polish.

I'm sure a professional could do a better job in less time.

I did this is in about 20 min with the bench grinder.