for farkles sake..... Handlebars

[teedog]

Hi all
for the sake of farkling for farkling and a set of protaper bars sat in the garage, has anybody fitted aftermarket handlebars on? if so, any improvements (or not)

Thinking.....
Would be nice to have a flatter grip so as not to put pressure on the outside part of your hands
narrow to bike a little
possible less buffetting in bad winds, less of a input effect from the body/arm getting blasted ?
And....the bling factor


thanks
Tee

 

[Edster191]

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/353451-Renthal-Bars-fitted-to-GSA

I still have a pair of inserts up for grabs

 

[earthmover]

Or this thread.

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showth...licity-itself/page2?highlight=renthal+fatbars

Mark

 

[bikemad]

I've fitted aftermarket bars you might get screen touching issues,but can be overcome I used my linisher to sand the edge down a bit on one,but my 2nd GS has the Touratech desierto faring which Id say is the best screen/faring to have period



And here's my thread when I changed them http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showth...r-amp-seating-thoughts?highlight=Renthal+bars

 

[bikemad]

Another part to my thread this was on 1st GS there are no mods to handguards on my bike pictured above all parts clear faring http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/372653-Just-fitted-my-new-bars

£24.99 bars from eBay done about 4000 miles so far on mine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JAX-METAL...540625e061&clk_rvr_id=794466076150&rmvSB=true

If you want any help feel free to pm me

 

[teedog]

Thanks Guys, just what am looking for, anybody had adverse affects with vibration increasing?

Ive pulled together some measurements of different bars and stuck it all onto a word doc, attached

Basically

ProTaper
Evo
Contour
Fusion

Renthal
Twinwall
Fatbar

Now i need to find a dealer around here who stock a range to try out

 

[Bendy toy]

I always get thumb ache on long runs. It never happens on bikes with less bar end sweep.
The BMW bars are fine if you like sitting bolt upright with the bars pulled back into your lap. A more comfortable forwards lean needs less sweep angle.
Anyone concerned about vibes could look at Flexx anti vibe damper inserts or even their shock absorbing bars. The dampers are reasonable but keep the mortgage handy for the bars

 

[teedog]

I always get thumb ache on long runs. It never happens on bikes with less bar end sweep.
The BMW bars are fine if you like sitting bolt upright with the bars pulled back into your lap. A more comfortable forwards lean needs less sweep angle.
Anyone concerned about vibes could look at Flexx anti vibe damper inserts or even their shock absorbing bars. The dampers are reasonable but keep the mortgage handy for the bars

do you mean something like these.............
http://www.fasstco.com/product/anti-vibration-inserts

 

[bikemad]

You won't find any to try out as such 'windham' bend is a good popular one,Iv got renthals in that bend on my xt not noticed vibes so much with alloy bars they are at least half the weight too

The twinwall are MX bars designed to be very strong,might be stiffer ? the Jax metal ones I got are a good price & you could try them out then buy equiverlent bend in an expensive bar ?

Fatbar is just the term used as they've got bigger dia handlebar mounts 25.4 standard versus 28mm fat

 

[teedog]

Thanks again all

Ive ordered Renthal RC 609-01 today. hopefully they will arrive for the weekend and ill stick them on. I'll take some photo's along the way in case anybody wants to know how things go

cheer
Tee

 

[Bendy toy]

The tuned mass dampers are those in the link

 

[Bendy toy]

You might need inserts at each end to take the bar end bolts

 

[teedog]

Well thanks to all the advice on this guys, yesterday i did the change, heres a few snaps

 

[teedog]

and i can confirm not only does it look good, it has made a big differance to how the front feels, alot more direct on the front now.

for whos interested heres what i did:-

clutch side
Loosen off the bars and slide over to the right and nip back up
cut all the cable ties on left and right wiring
take off left handguard and bar end
slacken clutch/mirror mount
undo the small bolt that goes through the handgrip/bar
take mirroe off, and strap up the clutch res against screen
slide off grip

throttle side
slacken bars off and slide to the left and nip up
take off right handguard and bar end
take brake /mirror mount and strap up
remove cluster cover plate and undo the small sliver bolt which nips up againt bars and slide off
remove bars

Bar ends mod

get a couple of old bolts/nuts and put through the bar end and stick the bolt in a vice to like pic above
i used a grinder and just went round cutting the the depth of the bolt.
finish and smooth off with the wheel and undercoat/paint
these went back on by using the method at the beginning of the post, M8 SS countersink 90mm bolts with expanders, easy stuff


installation was just the reverse, the only bit i little PITA was drill the fixing hole for the left handlebar, i installed everthing and got all the controls where i wanted then using a very small drill bit, drilled the two holes (top/bottom) by pulling back the grip a little, take your time and use a smaller bit then open up with the correct size.

job done


thanks again everyone

 

[bikemad]

Do the handguards hit the screen ? mine did only cos my bar is a lot flatter yours might have more backsweep otherwise looks nice

 

[teedog]

They do touch a little at full lock but it isnt that bad really. fitted a slipscreen last night so going to test that today

 

[teedog]

Might try a set of these..........

 

[Bendy toy]

Why did you cut the bar end weights instead of shortening the Renthals to make them the same span as the OEM BMW bars.

 

[teedog]

Why did you cut the bar end weights instead of shortening the Renthals to make them the same span as the OEM BMW bars.

Bar end weights are around 20 quid each, the bars are 70. Plus getting the perfect measurements cut either side on the bars would have been a nightmare with a grinder

 

[Bendy toy]

Fair enough though I'd have used a pipe cutter to at least score the bars for cutting or maybe had some steel bar end weights turned by a local engineering workshop.