Dodgy front brake lever

My front brake lever has corroded, water has got under the laquor and made veins of corrosion. Have been to the dealer today to be told this is common on just the brake lever and not the clutch.The brake lever is a Brembo item, but the clutch I believe is a Magura product.

Now if they had said it was made by Triumph then I would have understanded

Mine did that too!

Mine did that too! And so did my bar ends.

Yup, same here

Yeh, the crappy Brembo front brake lever on practically ALL the KTMs I've ever looked at (or owned) do this after only a few months, and get worse &

And what is even worse, (You've guessed it!), KTM won't do owt about it!!!

If anyones had any luck with warranty on this I'd be interested to hear, I've had 2 turned down!


I wonder if Ducati warranty covers it? same lever.

The dealers are full of shit.

I will tell you exactly what has happened. It happened to mine and my mates also.

Take off your brake fluid reservoir top and throw it as far as you can.

Then go and buy a complete new reservior from KTM (about 16 quid)

You can change the whole thing if you like or just use the inside seal and new top as I did = no more corrosion on brake lever.

What is happening is that the seal has failed and brake fluid is blowing onto your brake lever causing the corrosion. That is why it is only the brake and not the clutch lever.

Ktm dealers wont acknowledge this to avoid warranty claims but I bet they sell a lot of new reservoirs

Note: changing the top for the nice adonised orange one wont solve it as it doesnt come with a new seal, not silly are they

Interesting theory Luke, but I'm not sure it's 100% correct, at least with one of mine, on which the veiny corrosion lines started while the bike was stored & static. And I'd given her a thorough clean before I put her away.
I tend to think it's crap lacquering, as the lines tend to start from edges where the lacquer's probably thinnest.
Either way I think KTM should replace them under warranty. It shouldn't happen period.

Hate lacquered polished alloy, always a pain, should be hard anodised in the first place! (I think the Magura lever's anodised, the Brembo should be too).

(I spelt anodised with a Z? Why is it spell correcting me? )