I have only three major niggles with the Buell Ulysses XB12XT at the moment, first being the exhaust, second being the front mudguard (or lack of) and third being the brake/clutch levers. I have started to address these little issues, starting with the the levers.

OK, the levers will not be a problem for everyone but I have small paws and then add to that the thicker grips because of the heated grips means that when commuting in slow traffic my hands soon start to ache. Other Buell owners pointed me in the direction of Pazzo Racing for a solution which soon had me looking at the UK distributors website, Speedycom Performance ltd. I knew they would be at the NEC so I held off my purchase until then. Met the guys at the stand, they ‘built’ the levers in front of me with my colour and length preferences and I left happy…until my better half hid them until Christmas.

So 3pm on December 25th I was in the garage with mug of tea in hand and my shiny new Pazzo levers all ready to be fitted…I know, it would have been sooner but had family duties to attend to 😉 So here is a brief run through of what I did to get them fitted though please note that following anything I say may not be the wisest of options.

First thing that had to come off was the hand-guards, this is very easy using a ‘Philips’ screwdriver and removing the top and bottom screws from each hand-guard.

Next the parts which the hand-guards are mounted to are also the bolts that run through the respective levers. I took a size 12 wrench and gently started loosening the upper bolt while holding onto the lower one. Soon the lower one had come off followed by a small nut, this process was the same for each lever.

Now for the brake lever the process is very easy. I just pulled out the bolt I had just loosened while holding the lever. I then gently removed the lever from its position. Cleaned out the slot, then greased it up and slide in the new Pazzo brake lever. Making sure everything was sitting were it should I got a drop of loctite onto the threads. Then I took the bolt and slid it back into position, attached the nut, then the lower part of the hand-guard mount and tightened it all up.

The clutch lever is as above with the exception of the clutch cable. This is no mystery though! As I removed the old clutch lever just looking underneath I saw that a slight turn and then pulling it downward had it off. Then clean up, grease up and slid the new Pazzo lever into place the exact same way. NOTE that the actuator pin had to be pressed in and then released when the lever was in place as it would not sit right otherwise. I then tightened everything up.

The last thing to go was to replace the hand-guards, tidy up and then admire what I had done. If I had not been stopping to take pictures then the whole thing would have only taken 20mins at a relaxed pace. Very simple and they have made a world of difference. I took them for a couple of runs…I even went to look for the traffic heading for the sales to see how they were and I did not get a single twinge. The clutch lever I have set to the number 1 position and it is very comfortable, while the brake I have on 3 which is more then ample. The glossy black with the red selector looks great with the bike and a nice extra detail.

In comparison the original levers looked crude, the clutch does not even have adjustment which is a shame. But then again it is little details like these that help make each motorcycle individual and help us bond that bit better. These are superb quality items which I highly rate, simple to fit and look the business. For more photos head over to my Flickr page!

As always, keep the rubber side down.