How vulnerable is the gear lever?

Carlosfandango

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I was wondering how vulnerable the gear lever was on the GS LC in case the bike was dropped (doing a bit off road)

Last time I went away on a bike (not a GS) I dropped it & had to improvise to keep it going!

so I was wondering if it was worth investing in a second hand gear lever?
 

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I’ve replaced mine with a Wunderlich clever lever which folds back in the event of a drop. Dropped a few times off road and all is well.
 
An old scruffy cheap as possible Vario pannier gear shift side, will help also, if the bike falls it will be propped up by the pannier, just a tip, if you can find an old fleabay battered pannier.
 
I have just fitted a neat foldup gear lever which cost just under £42 from a company called speed4moto, (ebay) it seems well made but time will tell

IMG_0139 by Chris Pocock, on Flickr

IMG_0140 by Chris Pocock, on Flickr

This looks identical to the Wunderlich clever lever I fitted. I may have missed a trick on the price lol


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The bikes at the BMW off-road training school are being dropped all the time and they have the normal standard gear levers which seem to survive okay.
 
The bikes at the BMW off-road training school are being dropped all the time and they have the normal standard gear levers which seem to survive okay.

This is true, I have been to the school and didn't witness any breakages but then there is a van full of spares for the event! In my experience the terrain at the school is not as gnarly and rutted as you might encounter down the average UK green lane which I also do frequently on my GSA. Drop it there and you are more likely to get the gear lever bent or broken by a rock or root buried in the side of the ruts. It's happened to me. It is all about personal choice and experience I guess but on balance if you are doing the odd flat(ish) gravel track there is probably no need to worry about the lever. In that scenario you are much better off worrying about the head covers as they do puncture easily and are far less easy to resolve a problem with in the field. That's another thread :)
 
I originally bought the new gear lever because I have quite small feet and the new one is adjustable in length, I have it as short as I can, the folding part was just a bonus.
 


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