G oog le BadWeB | Login/out | Topics | Search | Custodians | Register | Edit Profile Ads by Motorcycle.comMotorcycle InsuranceMotorcycle PartsMotorcycle Helmets Motorcycle Tires Buell Motorcycles

Having replaced my handlebars with superbike bars a few months ago, I have a few tips to share that I could have used when I mounted mine.

- Don't be too disappointed if you can't save your old grips. They are glued on from the factory. If you are lucky you might be able to save them but at what cost? They are not worth the effort when they can be replaced for less than $10.

- When putting the controls on the new bar, leave the bar unmounted. It seems like a good idea at first to put the bar on first and clamp it loosely so the bar is held while you install the controls. If you try that you may find that there is not enough free travel side to side in the clamps to move the bar over enough to allow the controls to reach over the ends of the bar to be installed. The cabling and wiring is too short to allow the controls to be mounted after the bar is clamped on. Leave the bar unclamped & free until you slide the controls onto the bar. After that you can clamp & snug down the bar and then adjust the controls.

- The controls have a nub on the inside that fits into a small hole in each end of the original bars that is used to keep the controls from slipping once installed. You could simply cut off the nubs and hope to get the controls tight enough on the bar to keep them from slipping. If you go this route, put a layer of duct tape on the bar under the controls to thicken the bar and give the controls more to grip.

I chose to keep the nubs on my controls because I didn't feel comfortable with the chance of them slipping on me - especially the throttle housing. Measure carefully, not once, not twice, but at least three times before drilling the holes for the nubs. Once drilled it's hard to widen them in any one direction without making the whole thing wider which could lead to loose and sloppy controls. Mark the spot to be drilled with a sharpie. Unless you have access to a drill press with a nice clamping attachment, you will find it extremely hard to drill a hole in steel tubing without the bit wanting to skid all over creation. Try this trick I use: take a bastard mill file and, using not the flat of it but the edge, file an "X" over the center of the spot to be drilled. Now when you go to drill your holes, the bit will stay in the center of the "X" and not skitter around on you. Make a small pilot hole to start, 1/8" or less then redrill using a larger bit, then once more with your final bit. I can't remember the exact size of hole needed. Use the holes on the original bars to gauge what size bit should be used last. I managed to drill my holes after the bar was mounted and the mirror brackets were mounted loosely but before the switch and throttle housings were installed. You may want to have more foresight than I did and measure and drill your holes before mounting the bars to the bike.

- Ignore the tip of putting sandpaper strips between the bar and the mounting clamps. As stated earlier, it can be very dangerous and the clamps alone are more than capable of holding the bar firmly in place if properly torqued down.

- Before you start mounting the bar and putting the controls on it, you may want to first place the naked bar on the bike and center the bar. Now apply a single layer of masking to the exposed parts of the center areas of the bar (between, and left & right of the clamps). Later, when you have the controls on the bar and are making your adjustments, it will not only allow you to quickly center the bar in the correct position, but it will prevent any side to side sliding of the bar in loose clamps from creating fine scratches on the bars while you get everything else adjusted. This is especially useful if you are installing black or painted bars.

Start New Thread

Thread Last Poster Posts Pages Last Post Bars lower than superbike Gearheaderiko 4  1  03-14-17  05:40 pm Laverda Bars Ezblast 3  1  03-10-11  08:35 pm New handle bar 129cbrider 7  1  04-21-07  11:25 pm Drag bar pics Super_cj 29  1  02-11-09  11:17 pm Superbike bars? Ezblast 42  2  06-25-08  01:03 pm Handlebar question ??? Ezblast 63  2  12-25-12  03:16 pm What bars? Zeroeffekt 21  1  03-27-12  11:10 pm Clip-ons Hotdog271 37  2  07-12-07  08:40 am What bars are these? Ezblast 3  1  05-03-07  10:36 pm Change out handlebars Fathermike 26  1  07-20-11  05:16 pm Handle bars- superbike-vs-xroads-vs-clip ons Ezblast 9  1  06-12-08  12:51 am Archive through December 07, 2008 Ezblast 30  1  12-07-08  02:23 am Archive through October 18, 2008 Reuel 30  1  10-18-08  06:05 pm Archive through January 24, 2008 Gearheaderiko 30  1  01-24-08  01:07 am Archive through August 24, 2006 Naustin 30  1  08-24-06  04:56 pm Archive through March 09, 2006 Humboldtblast 30  1  03-09-06  08:29 pm Archive through March 11, 2005 Gearheaderiko 30  1  03-11-05  02:05 am   Start New Thread

Author Message   Berkshire Posted on Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 05:14 am:        just checked - a bill to legalize lane splitting was introduced in the TX legislature, but it didn't make it far. with my wider bars and napoleon mirrors, total width is 38-1/4"!!! The funny thing is that on level pavement with the bike on the side stand and the steering locked left, the outer tip of the mirror is only 28" off the ground, so the bike really looks wider than it is tall! lol With the napoleon's folded in one click (rideable) it's 32" wide now - to the ends of the grips it's 27" wide. With my previous bar, it was a hair narrower, and the grips were pretty much straight out from the bar clamps (like the 24" one, very direct steering input), just angled and dropped down to just above the level of the top of the tree. The new one has more pullback and less forward offset, so it needs more rise for steering lock clearance. I figure the grips are 3-1/2" closer to my shoulders (2-1/4" higher, 2-3/4" farther back), so I can sit up 3-1/2" straighter. I need to replace the primary adjuster and see how it feels on the road, but preliminary ergonomic testing indicates that sitting up 3-1/2" straighter will be MUCH more comfortable! This also means that the grips are now BEHIND the steering axis - I know that's not unusual, but I'm wondering if it will feel a little different. If I ever need to replace the napoleons, the 3rd eye sounds like a good choice. I think the 1125CR ones would be nice, but my budget does not currently permit that modification! lol   Berkshire Posted on Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 08:54 pm:        I believe it's legal here for 2 bikes to share a lane, but not riding down the dashed lines between cars. At traffic lights I just wait in line, but of course there are situations where a bike can navigate a tight course and come out ahead, especially when turning right. If traffic is at a standstill on the freeway, I have noticed that it's often necessary (or desirable) to pull over and stop on the shoulder and feel my cylinder fins to check for overheating. Once having felt said fins and finding things satisfactory, I might look for a safe place to pull back into the traffic lane, and it might be necessary to slowly and carefully pull forward along the shoulder to find a good place.   Fast1075 Posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 - 09:05 am:        If you come to Florida, remember that lane splitting is definately NOT legal...also you will get tagged if you pass another bike in the same lane...riding abreast is fine...but no passing.   Berkshire Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 05:32 am:        finally got a ride w/ the new style bars - calling it the "Berkman" style - so far, so good! ...will post report later, but first - SLEEP!   Berkshire Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 07:07 am:        well, as long as I'm still up... I put my primary back together and took it for a test ride with the new handlebar. The "big news" was both good and bad - the bad part being that the adjuster threads in the XB primary cover failed, causing the adjuster to fall down slack, and the oil to leak out! ...and the good news being that the chain didn't seem to be flopping around wreaking havoc and it got me home before the primary ran dry, and also good to find I'd been RIGHT about it feeling like the threads were starting to pull out when I tightened the locknut - apparantly I'm getting good at telling when threads are starting to deform, so... ...I got that goin for me Of course I still had to try it anyway, eternal optimist and whatnot... Anyway, on the topic of handlebars, the news was all good! I tried some different setups - above is with extra spacers under the plate to raise the bars up - it felt very comfortable in the garage. For the test ride I had one set of spacers above the plate, which moves it down a notch to the lowest position where it's still easy to lock the forks to either side, which is still very comfortable... It was only about a 2 hour ride, but that was enough to tell a lot. I'd been getting some numbness and cramping in my hands - just an annoyance, but on long riding days I'd also get a dull ache in my mid/lower back, which sometimes got bad enough that I REALLY wished I was home already! ...must be getting old before my time! Didn't I hear somewhere that 40 was the new 20? I had to cut the ride short because of the primary trouble, and I'm happy to say that with the more relaxed riding position of the Berkman bar, I didn't feel any indication that back soreness would have started to become a factor anytime soon - in all regards, this was my most comfortable ride ever! Well - almost all regards... The weather was kinda crappy, so I wasn't "comfortable" throwing it hard into any corners - this was just a casual "ridin' around" type of test-ride, but so far the handling feels nice! I don't know if it's the tiny bit of extra bar width or the ergonomics of sitting up straighter, but taking some quick little low speed turns around my neighborhood felt great. It's way better for going offroad now! (intentionally, lol!). When I get the primary fixed and the weather sweetens up a bit I'll see how it does in the twisties... The other thing I noticed is that it's easier to turn my head to check blind spots in traffic, because the chin-bar of my helmet doesn't run into my shoulder - I used to sometimes sit up straight and ride hands free to look behind me! that's probably not an MSF-approved technique! LOL (Message edited by Berkshire on December 31, 2008)   Berkshire Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 07:38 am:        ...some different angles of the same two setups shown above:   Chimichanga Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 07:09 pm:        Does anybody know how to get in touch with Berkshire? Just saw his "widget" bars and am interested in a set. Does anybody have any info about them? Good or bad? I tried to private message him, but his profile says he hasn't been on since the beginning of January.   Ezblast Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 08:42 pm:        Well - if you can't contact him, try Al at American Sport Bike they make the original CrossRoads style and it has always been a seller, and since they have started making Blast specific items again - waking up to the fact that the Blast is Buells biggest seller - that is an item again on sale. EZ   Gearheaderiko Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2009 - 11:01 pm:        Berki is a sporadic poster. He comes and goes. Wait and he'll be around. The bars are one off items and he's not in the business of making bars, so you may have to wait awhile for a set. (that being said, if he is now in the business of making bars, he'll need to purchase Badweb sponsorship!). They are essentially "Crossroads" style bars that American Sport Bike now sells (thanks EZ).   Imadreadhead Posted on Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 06:39 pm:        Just pm him..he will answer...it took awhile for him to make mine but it was TOTALLY worth it.   Texasrockerguy Posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 03:18 pm:        Anyone have GP Touring bars on their Blast? Im stuck between Superbike and GP Touring bars for my 06 blast. I'm trying to find out if the GP bars will lock since they are a little higher than the Superbikes. Any pictures of bikes with GPs will help ALOT. Thanks!   Ylwblast03 Posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 04:04 pm:        My superbike bars lock without problem. FYI   Texasrockerguy Posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 04:33 pm:        thanks dude. i'm pretty short, and i kinda like the mini-ape hanger look of the stock bars, but they are just too damn tall.. the GPs are 12.99 and come in black, plus they are right inbetween the stockers and the Superbike bars in measurements. Pictures anyone?   Ezblast Posted on Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 06:03 pm:        Superbike comes in black as well. See my profile for pic. EZ   Louisiana_xrider Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 05:15 pm:        Just added some of the GP Touring Bars to the bike, they fit great , feel 100x better than the stock ones, and i am still able to lock the trees. Here are some quick cellphone pics.   Gearheaderiko Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 05:41 pm:        Pretty darn good for cellphone pics!!! They look like they'll contact the tank cover, just barely. They look very similar to superbike bars. ....and they are what the bike should come with! Should feel a whole lot less like a scooter and more like a motorcycle   Ezblast Posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 - 08:43 pm:        Just rotate your switches a bit and it will barely miss - cut an inch to an inch and a half off each side - for a closer look and lane splitting. EZ   Lastblast Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 07:11 pm:        Superbike bars...I see this topic has been hit often in the past. I'm looking at the renthal superbike bars. The chaparral links just end up on the main page. There are "sizes" of low, ultra low,medium and a high. Any suggestions? I'm short. I did search old posts...I don't think i missed an answer.   Ezblast Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 09:16 pm:        Pick high - your not tall, so it will help. At least according to past references on the topic. EZ   Lastblast Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 09:41 pm:        Thanks, EZ. Apologies if that was an "asked & answered."   Ezblast Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 11:18 pm:        Naw - I was just reading through the topic the other day to answer a question and noticed that part of the topic - a taller guy would probably like the shorter bars. Also it would matter on reach how comfortable they are, bars are not that expensive, and can be swapped out for a more comfortable position at will. So don't worry, you can always tilt them slightly forward or back a bit for comfort as well. EZ   Okcrd Posted on Monday, February 04, 2013 - 12:22 am:        Has anyone installed the superbike bars upside down? Is there problems with clearance?   Gearheaderiko Posted on Monday, February 04, 2013 - 12:29 am:        Been done. There will certainly be some clearance problems, usually the ability to lock the steering is all.

« Previous Next »

Ads by Motorcycle.comMotorcycle InsuranceMotorcycle PartsMotorcycle Helmets Motorcycle Tires Buell Motorcycles

Add Your Message Here Post: -Color- Black Red Green Blue Yellow Purple Orange Cyan Gray White -Font- Arial Courier Symbol Times Verdana -Size- Smallest (-2) Small (-1) Normal Large (+1) Largest (+2) Username: Posting Information: This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional. Password: E-mail: Options: Post as "Anonymous" (Valid reason required. Abusers will be exposed. If unsure, ask.) Enable HTML code in message Automatically activate URLs in message Action:

Topics | Last Day | Tree View | Search | User List | Help/Instructions | Rules | Program Credits

Administration