Mark Johnson's FJR Site

Servicing the Brake & Clutch Levers

The Yamaha factory service manual says to service the brake and clutch hand levers every 4,000 miles or 6 months.

The process is not technically difficult nor is it time consuming. In spite of that some riders overlook this service item. Unserviced levers can make clutch and brake control more difficult as well as increasing wear on bushings and other metal surfaces.

All you need is a large, flat-blade screwdriver, a 10 mm socket or wrench, a cleaner (I use aerosol silicone spray because it breaks up the old crud without the issues that WD40 can cause), some lube (Yamaha recommends LS - Lythium Soap lube*), and a shop rag or paper towel.

*I'd think of LS as a minimum with something more water resistant like Mobile 1 full synthetic grease or Honda Moly 60 Paste as better and best options.

Oh yeah, now might also be a good time to service your sidestand. Yamaha has the same service intervals for it as it does for the hand levers.

We'll need to remove item #4 (the clutch lever) by unscrewing the bolt & nut that also act as the pivot. In the above drawing, the bolt and nut aren't numbered but can be seen as the bolt right above Bushing #5 and the nut right below the Master Cylinder #11.

Once removed, clean all the moving surfaces as well as the area where the return spring is captured using a light weight spray lube (WD40 isn't a lube) and your shop rag. Using a Q-Tip to get into the 2 pivoting areas (where the bolt goes and where Bushing # 5 goes) isn't overkill. You want to get rid of all the old, gummy lube that was there from the last service. Also clean the area on the master cylinder where the lever assembly mounts.

When cleaned, lube Bushing #5 as well as the unthreaded, load-bearing surface of our unnamed pivot bolt.

Reassemble in reverse order making sure to capture the clutch activation rod into the mating hole in Bushing #5. Hand tighten the unnamed pivot bolt and it's nut. Note that the bolt threads into the master cylinder and then the nut is threaded onto the pivot bolt as a retainer.

Once reassembled, check for proper function.

Servicing the brake lever is the same as the clutch lever but without a Bushing #5.