AMC gear lever length

I bought a new gear lever for my 60 Dommy to replace the rusty orriginal, it was an inch or so shorter. The splines were a poor fit and the loss of leverage made gearchanging harder and uncomfortable. I have re-fitted the old one with a burst of silver paint. Lesson learnt.

I have 2 x '64 AMC bikes and a '53 Norton (Norton box) and all three have 6" gear-change levers.

As long as the splines are OK I would ALWAYS get the original lever re-chromed. They can be reshaped by bending true quite easily and filed and sanded to remove gouges, then taken for re-chroming and should end up with far better chrome than a Chinese bendy replica item will. Apart from quality, I believe the more parts you simply replace with modern pattern items the less interesting the bike...Think of the history of those old levers have endured, the countless gear changes that have been made by various owners boots, for 50 or 60 years always sitting there patiently and faithfully waiting for their next rideout and willingness to obey your every command...they have earned their right to exist for ever........

So.... Never change to a new part just because the old one looks tired or possibly that it's going to be better, the quality rarely is and you are just diluting the real machine bit by bit.

Les