Tested: Flo Pro 160 Levers
"As the saying goes, to bend is better than to break, or in this case to fold, with these folding levers" - Vital MX
Folding design works as promised. A little lighter clutch pull. No play or wiggle in joints.
Brake lever changed the engagement to be more progressive than aggressive.
Overall Review:
I’m sure you remember just as well as I do when companies started coming out with “unbreakable levers” some years back. Many companies eventually designed similar concepts to help negate the issue of breaking off lever tips in a tip over at the track or out in the mountains. While this concept made a lot of sense to me then, and I have ran a few of the different brands over the years, I have always seemed to switch back to an OEM perch and lever. Mainly I felt the levers had too much play or the engagement just wouldn’t feel as positive as the stock setup. But, it is time for me give them another go. Flo has a very well designed set of levers for my KTM and it was time for me to see how they stack up in durability and feel over my stock setup.
Flo Pro 160 Levers for KTM Features:
- $69.95 - KTM Clutch Lever
- $69.95 - KTM Brake Lever
- Patented Industry leading unbreakable lever design.
- Ball joint pivot point allows the lever to move to any position in case of a impact.
- On the fly adjustable lever reach.
- Made from durable 6061 Aluminium
- Manufactured to tight tolerances to specifically fit OEM perch assembly
- Completely rebuildable
- Quality hardware throughout the design
- Laser engraved FLO logos
- Orange/Black for KTM
- Lifetime Warranty
First Impressions
Flo Motorsports has some of the best packaging and presentation around for their products. While this doesn’t have any effect on the actual utility of the part it does go to show that the company pays attention to detail and details are what make products great! The clutch and front brake levers came in individual packaging as well as a few assorted parts to ensure that the consumer has all they need for property fitment. One of the first things I noticed was that the design of the levers maintained a very slim and minimalistic style that keeps things simple like stock while still providing the ability to rotate in any direction via a smooth operating ball joint so that they don’t break. The black finish on the set I selected was clean and appeared to have a high quality look - not too glossy and not completely flat either.
Install
A design element that I especially like about the Flo levers is that they are direct bolt-ons for your OEM perches which helps maintain that “as designed” KTM ergos. The boots that protect the main joint on the levers is made from what seems like a hard rubber or polymer that gives me confidence that it won’t just rip apart upon the first tip over. Both levers include new springs, bushings and nuts/bolts to replace the stock ones. This is a nice touch to ensure that you have a totally fresh feel on the levers. While everything fit on the brake side I did have to use extra elbow grease to make the rubber boot align for the bolt to pass through for mounting. I hink the boot on the brake side was just a touch stretched from the factory but I was able to get it mounted up nonetheless. The only other thing that I had to be aware of is that the clearance over the stock lever setup regarding the throttle housing is a bit different with the Flo front brake on and so I had to rotate and reposition my assembly mounts a touch to accommodate.
On the Track
The levers fit and finish are great and the bike looks a lot cooler with the Flo levers installed. During the first few laps there’s a few things that stood out instantly for me, the largest being that the clutch pull and feel was somehow much lighter to me. Not sure if this is because of the lever length and shape that provides a bit more leverage but in either case the pull was even easier than my stock Brembo 150 clutch if you can imagine that. The lever contour on clutch side is awesome. I didn’t realize how much more I would enjoy the shape of the clutch lever over stock. I feel that the stock lever is a bit more straight and stretches out and away from the handlebar as it extends to it’s end, whereas the Flo lever has a contour that keeps it more parallel with my bars as it extends out making the reach and pull so much better.
The clutch is a great improvement over the stock clutch setup and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having it on the bike since the first laps. The front brake lever setup has its benefits as well and took me a bit longer to get used to for a few reasons. While the static feel of the front brake setup is great and has some similar attributes as the clutch that help make the pull and reach easier and more natural for my hand, the pull and engagement itself was a little different than stock. The stock setup on my Brembo assembly comes on a bit earlier and the engagement feel is a bit more positive. I might compare the stock lever to be more like a light switch vs the Flo lever feeling more like a dimmer light that comes on a touch slower and the full braking power is realized more towards the end of the lever pull. Being that the “feel” is slightly different than stock doesn’t mean it’s worse, it just means that I had to adjust my braking as I came into corners at the end of steep downhills and how I would lightly drag or touch the front brake in ruts. If the front brake feel and engagement would maintain the positive feel that the stock lever provided I think this review would have been a near perfect one but there’s always areas for slight improvement on products like this, despite them being a product I would still personally buy. One of the coolest features that helped me make those adjustments easier was the on the fly adjustability that the Flo levers allow. I’ve ran quite a few so called adjustable levers and the Flo setup is by far the most solid design making it easy to accommodate different rider preferences.
Long-Term Durability
I’m not sure if putting “unbreakable” levers on my bike created some subconscious desire to test them, but I have actually fallen over a hand full of times with these levers and they are as good as new despite a coupe expected scratches here and there. Two things that I really wanted to test on these levers included the fitment as usage increased over time, meaning that there was not additional play in the joints or mounting components on the levers since that’s a huge pet peeve of mine, and secondly, making sure that the rubber boots wouldn’t rip, tear or fall off completely like many lever combos I’ve tried in the past. Surprisingly, there is no additional play in either of the assemblies and the boots are holding up just great with no signs of wear or boot damage even after quite a few spills.
Last Words
In closing, if you’re ever finding yourself wanting a slightly easier clutch pull feel, a cooler looking bike and as set of levers that will save you from those weekly trips to the shop to replace broken levers then I highly suggest checking out a Flo lever setup for your bike and seeing if you get to experience the same benefits I’ve seen since installing them on my bike.
