 The
Homunculus is a distorted model of the human form
based on how much of our brains’ sensory and motor cortex
each body part demands. Clearly our brains have assigned a
disproportionate amount of perception and motor control to
those most useful of appendages, the hands. Which brings us
neatly to the most vital controls we require for a motorcycle;
brake, clutch and throttle. Thankfully, some bright spark
had the great idea of giving us control of these functions
by hand enabling us to assign the most amount of our higher
brain function to the primary control of our machines. Well,
most of us…
And most of us take these controls for granted which is where
Pazzo Racing Levers come in. They have produced some of the
most beautifully engineered and ergonomically friendly levers
currently available for your motorcycle. Their clutch and
brake levers are CNC Machined out of 6061-T6 billet aluminum,
to very precise tolerances. They come in a variety of anodized
colors are fully adjustable, use stainless steel fasteners
and cadmium plated custom made springs. Not only that but
they are also available as “shortys”, cut down
on length for the two fingered brigade among us.
Fitting them is dead easy. When Pazzo say
they are machined to precise tolerances, they are not kidding.
The machined surfaces are finished with jewel like precision
and all of the parts, the inner bushing, spring and  mounting
area slot together like an oversized Swiss watch. Once they
are in place there is no slop or looseness at all.
Adjustment is provided for reach via a chunky
lever that has a very positive and satisfying click. Five
positions are provided which gives you about 25mm range to
choose from in 5mm steps. While this is relatively commonplace
for the front brake on modern machinery, reach adjustment
is also provided for the clutch. This means you can set the
clutch action for slack as per the manual and then adjust
for reach. Once you have tried this you won’t ever want
to go back as you can set the clutch action to exactly where
you need it without having to worry if there’s too much
tension in the cable.
The lever adjustment is infinitely better than the standard
rotary adjuster on most bikes. Not only can you adjust it
with gloved hands, you can easily see where the needle is
set without having to read numbers off a dial. Just as well,
because the first thing people do when they see these levers
is play with your preferred setting.
 I
only ever use two fingers on both brake and clutch so I went
for the shorty levers and what a difference they made to the
bike! In traffic I tend to hover two fingers over the front
brake and being able to quickly set the lever to a comfortable
position is critical. The biggest difference however is with
the clutch. Usually you have to compromise between keeping
the correct amount of slack in the cable and having the clutch
action occur where you want it. Not with these levers; set
the correct tension or slack with the standard cable adjustment
and then set the reach or biting point exactly where you want
it. I couldn’t conceivably give up this facility.
As for the looks, well I leave that to you to decide. I
think they really set off the bike a treat. If you are not
obsessed with black (as I am) then a whole variety of anodized
colours are available. Each and every component can be produced
in whatever colour combination you can think of. Pazzo will
make up a set of levers for you and you can contact them here
to order. Quality items like these do not come cheaply although
so far as I am concerned, they are worth every penny.
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