Hi there! Thank you for the detailed post. But, can you help me a little bit?I've finally implemented the simplest bar end solution ever for Renthal bars on the 1200. This works for Renthal Twinwalls and should work for Fatbars too (I believe the tube diameters are the same at the grip end).
My original Renthal post detailed how to get the bars on, and the bodge I made to refit the end weights. This entailed machining down the end weights and farting about with some rubber bits to get them to stay in. It never worked properly I'm afraid, and the handguards were always a bit loose.
Then there was Earthmovers OEM bar ends post showing how to fit the original end weights into the bars using a helicoil kit.
I didn't fancy cutting and threading the bars, and helicoils looked far too complex. So, today I was in my local superb bolt shop (Margnor Fasteners in Guildford www.margnor.co.uk) who sell every bolt in the world. I posed the problem and they came up with some Rawlplugs.
Ha ha ha...I hear your cynical laughter from miles away. However, these are the expanding bolt type Rawlplugs which are used to hold things into brickwork and the like.
I bought two of these (10mm ones i.e. they take a 10mm threaded bolt). The diameter of them is almost exactly the same as that of the inside of the Twinwalls. Result!
Then I just needed a pair of nice bolts. They had some 100mm x 10mm black countersunk head allen bolts which almost exactly match the originals.
The OEM bar ends have long bits sticking out of them that wont go into the Renthal bars (or the BMW bars - they stick out from under the grips). To avoid cutting the handlebars as Earthmover did, I simply cut the sticky-out bits off with a hacksaw. I then painted the exposed metal with black hammerite otherwise it rusts like a 70-year old Russian charter liner.
So here's my kit showing the cropped bar ends, the Rawlplug things, and the two bolts, plus the original alloy washer...
The assembled concoction with the handguard on slips neatly into the end of the handlebar. Note that the outer "flange" (the smooth bit to the left of the "M10" on the above pic) on the Rawlplug does not fit into the bar but this is OK as my grips protrude outside the ends of the bar by an equivalent amount.
Prior to inserting, make the bolt so it's just starting to tighten into the Rawlplug, but not so that the plug is expanding.
All that's then needed is for the bolt to be tightened with an allen key (6mm) and that's it done. You can get the bolt well tight, and the handguards are superbly stable now. No more worrying about the brake lever being wedged on etc etc...
And here's the finished article. Cool
Cutting the weights with a hacksaw took 10 mins. Painting 1 min. Fitting (whilst paint still tacky due to rank impatience) took 5 mins. Result!
I'm sure Margnor will send you the relevant bits if you ring them up. Say that want the same stuff that the mad bloke with the bar ends had on Wednesday afternoon and they should know what you're on about.
For reference, a pair of new end weights from BMW is about £22 I think, so dont worry about ruining yours too much.
Cheers!
Andy
Hi! The post is a mere 14 years old, but I still remember making it. I don’t have the old pictures I’m afraid.
Thank you very much!
