In standard form, the Type 9 five speed gear lever is very long
The following article shows how to shorten it
This article shows a quick shift lever, but this method can be used to shorten the standard lever, as the original is a bit too long for my liking. The fist step is to remove the lever and decide how much shorter you want it. I chose to go for 35mm as more can be removed if necessary at a later date.
I chose not to cut and weld the lever like mose people tend to do, but instead to turn down the shaft and thread the end as per the original lever. This method may not be available to most people, as a lathe is required.
Shown above is the standard length lever
The first step in the process is to mount the lever in the chuck of the lathe on the original threaded section. This allows the shaft below the original threadded section to be turned down to 10mm for a distance down the shaft that is the same as the amount you want to eventually remove (35mm in this case).
Once the shaft is turned down it should look something like this:
Shown above is the lever shaft turned down and the die to cut the new thread on the original threaded section.
Next, using cutting fluid, cut the thread (M10 x 1.5) in the newly turned section. Leaving the original threadded section at the top of the shaft acts as a guide for the die, so that it runs parallel down the "new" section.
When the threading process is complete, you should have something which looks like this:.
At this point, the lever is still the original length, but the threadded section at the top is now longer by the exact amount that you decided to remove (35mm in this case).
All that is left to do now is to cut the desired length off the shaft (35mm in this case). This should leave a threaded section on the shaft that is the same length as the original. The whole process took less than 20 minutes (not including lever removal).
Now clean up the lever and repaint as necessary. Refit the lever and enjoy the driving experience with the shorter lever. This should make the amount of movement of the top of the lever required for gear changes slightly less than with the original lever.
For an alternative method of shortening the type 9 lever, click here.
