Altering brake levers for smaller hands?

[WAATV]

As noted in another thread, we just upgraded my son to a Predator 90. The brake levers are just a bit farther from the handlebars than I'd like... he has to shift his hands a bit to grip around the levers properly. In a panic situation I want to minimize the number of things he has to think about.

The brake levers are some sort of metal, and they're not terribly expensive even as OEM parts from Polaris (about $14 each). I'm thinking about getting an extra set and heating them up with a torch so I can bend them back toward the handlebars a bit. I'd have to adjust the cables so he can apply sufficient tension with the new, limited travel.

Has anyone ever tried this? Is there another, better solution to this problem?

Thanks!

[mywifesquad]

In the past I took a couple of those skinny nuts that fit on a valve stem (dirt bike wheel) .. I slit one end open with a hack saw and slipped it over the cable between the lever and the housing...Then I crimped the nut so it couldnt fall off...This moved the lever closer to the bars so my kids could reach them...The cables had to be adjusted a little for this to work...This idea wont work with hydraulic brakes....just cables..

[huntingfromaquad]

We used the adjustable brake levers from an YFZ-450 on our DRR's. They work pretty good, you just have to turn them upside down to use on the left side.

[WAATV]

Originally Posted by mywifesquad

In the past I took a couple of those skinny nuts that fit on a valve stem (dirt bike wheel) .. I slit one end open with a hack saw and slipped it over the cable between the lever and the housing...Then I crimped the nut so it couldnt fall off...This moved the lever closer to the bars so my kids could reach them

That's a really good idea. No permanent mods and nice, inexpensive parts. I'll probably try that first before I commit to modifying levers.

Thanks for the idea!