Is the Clutch Lever Boot Just a Dust Cover?

If you’re dealing with a clutch lever leak on your Honda motorcycle, does it have anything to do with the boot for the lever, or is that simply a dust cover and nothing more?

Partzilla’s Honda motorcycle expert John Talley hosts live Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked whether a worn out boot on a Honda CBR1000 could be the cause of a leaking clutch lever.

Honda CBR motorcycle clutch lever

Clutch Lever Boot Q&A

I’m dealing with a leak from the clutch lever on my 2007 Honda CBR1000RR, and I believe it may be due to a worn out boot. Does the boot do anything besides act as a dust cover?

John Talley: Well, that’s what it’s supposed to be doing. It shouldn’t be keeping in the fluid. That’s the job of the seals on the piston itself. So that tells me that indeed, some dirt has gotten in there and/or it’s just worn down. And it’s time for a rebuild kit. Now, Honda is really good at selling rebuild kits for just about every single machine within reason. It’ll have the piston and seals, and everything you’re going to need to pull it out and get the new stuff put in there. And as long as the actual cylinder bore that the seals are riding in isn’t pitted or scarred up, you’ll be good to go. It sounds like you definitely need to go ahead and get a rebuild kit for it. But to answer your question, does the boot do anything besides act as a dust cover? No. That is its sole purpose in life.