So back in the in the fall, I had some sweet black Wild 1 Chubby's 10 inch mini apes installed on the ol' Superglide 2009. Ever since I did, i've noticed two things: my hands are too small for both my Kuryakyn ISO hand grips AND they struggle to reach both the clutch and brake lever, therefore resulting in fatigue. Mostly on the clutch. Now, since I've owned a Dyna this has ALWAYS been an issue for me, but with the apes i'm noticing it more for sure. Back in my sportster days man it wasn't an issue at ALL. Both levers were very close to the grips and the action was quick. But I realize the Dyna has a totally different clutch pack, and therefore has a bit more travel.

I'm not a big dude, and my hands are downright f'n small. Like, glove size Medium. I can reach the clutch and brake levers, but i'm seriously operating them with the tippity top of 2-3 fingers on both sides. Causes fatigue after a good hour of clutch operation especially in the city.

So, I've been lookin around for solutions. Two things are going to happen... smaller hand grips for one, and then I also found these Oberon ADJUSTABLE levers, that have movement in either direction:
http://www.oberon-performance.co.uk/..._Levers-1.html

Anyone have any experience with these or levers LIKE them? I'd like to see if anyone's used them before I drop $100+ per side on em.

I do wish Harley made something like this so I can keep everything in the MoCo, I'm a fan of stock upgrades for the most part lame as that sounds. I can only imagine the gal riders out there with small hands may have similar issues. Of course if they do, maybe they should get BACK IN THE KITCHEN WHERE THEY BELONG!!!

That last part was joke. Please, save me from my kitchen fate.

 

Have similar problem (hands, not other part ) . I'm using shorty levers with triggers - love them. Cheap solution compared to Oberon (which are pretty cool of course). Also, more control in traffic splitting lanes - only 2 fingers are on levers, other two grab grips.

 

Can you show me these? or link me to a page? Are they Harley or are they aftermarket?

 

Adjustable levers are gold!!! If you're hands are that small, you'll need a proper ergonomic setup and levers will do the trick to bring the pull back. It's not going to pull them back a few inches , but that extra 1/4 - 1/2 a inch might be just enough. Also consider pulling back your handlebars. If your handlebars are closer, you'll be able to position your hands over the top of your grips better to extend reach. This might be a viable solution first to see if it helps before buying the levers.


One thing to note, 2 finger clutching is quite normal. I clutch with only 2 fingers on my regular levers. This is common in the sportbike world, most veterans do not grab a handful of clutch (especially folks like us with smaller hands). So your 2 finger issue shouldn't be a big issue, which makes for a further conversation. I would also see a doctor, just to rule out any early signs of carpal tunnel.

 

Awesome thanks for the advice! And regarding carpal tunnel, I seriously doubt it. Like I said, this was NEVER a problem on my Sporty. In fact, whenever I get on my girl's sporty the FIRST thing I notice is how quickly I can operate the clutch simply because it's sitting a good 1/2 to 1 inch closer to the bar. But I've actually already played around with adjusting the bars, AND adjusting the ANGLE of the brake / clutch lever vertically. That actually DID help quite a bit. but yes, an inch or less closer would be flippin' AMAZING.

 

AND I just discovered the Regulator levers from Roland Sands. Much as I DON'T LIKE RSD anything, this might do the trick nicely. For brake AND clutch, and looks like it's got a fair amount of adjustability:
1.4 inch of total adjustment. Lever distance can be reduced approximately .47 inches and extended .95 from stock

 

I have the Oberon clutch lever which I needed due to an injury. It's a beautifully well made unit and has a lot of reach adjustment. I compared them to the Roland Sands levers but decided that 1/4" or less adjustment wasn't worth it. The Oberon uses a cam system as a pivot point and I could tell right away that it also reduced the effort to pull in the lever.
I'll be getting the brake side lever this spring.
Here's a pic where I clamped the old lever on top of the Oberon so you can see the difference.

 

My wife is running an Oberon clutch lever on her Sportster. Excellent build quality and a clear improvement for her.

However, the potential for reducing the travel of levers is limited, especially for the clutch lever where the cable simply needs to travel a certain distance between open and closed state.

On a side note, I'm running these on my Dyna:
https://www.wwag.com/cgi-bin/WebObje...n?page=!100268
Likely not an option in the US, too expensive to import. My hands are not exactly small, but adjustable levers are probably an improvement of the human/bike interface for any driver.

 

I had these on my Switchback and they were great, medium gloves here too.

The other thing to remember is that these bikes have a very heavy clutch compared to sportbikes and most others (I have a 1200cc BMW with more power than about any big twin under 103ci and it is remarkably light).

Getting a good reach is important to keep from getting worn out if you do any shifting at all.


Chonk

 

One day there will be "clutch by wire" and this won't be an issue.