best method to straighten bent handlebars
Jim
On the bike? Off the bike? How to hold the fork?
They are aftermarket bars and I would really prefer not spending the
bucks to buy another set.
Any ideas appreciated. THANKS A TON!!!!
All liFe iS LoSs
worked fine and they never bent again. The longer the pipe the better, more
leverage.
SBroon
change before next race. Pipe wouldn' work. There was a 2X4 and tie-downs.
I put one tie down around the end of the board at the bar clamps, and the other
near the end of the bend part of the bar. Then I turned the board the long way
so it wouldn't flex, and against the strap. With the bar against the stop and
the long board tweaking it, it bent back easy.
Steve Bruhn
Factory Spectator
Check out the all-new Motonews!
http://www.Motonews.com
MDT Tech®
Well, I've done it both ways, off the vehicle, I mounted them in a huge
vise and just tweaked it back, once they bend, its softer and can be
bent back with a little extra effort, on the vehicle, slide off the grip
(easier said than dont) and slide a large pipe over the end and tweak
it. ;-)
--
Scott Aldrich
If they're the cheap aluminum ones (like I buy) then I use a large
open end wrench inserted in the end and push or pull hard. I leave
the bars on the bike but I remove the throttle housing first.
I only do something like that if it happens during a ride and I really
want to keep riding that day. Normally I'll replace them because I
don't feel comfortable bending back bars. It seems to me that they're
already stressed out at that point. I just keep envisioning that
scene where the guys handlebars snap off while he's stuck in the mud
in the movie "On Any Sunday".
--
Scott Aldrich
'98 Suzuki DR350SE Dualsport
'74 Yamaha DT125A Enduro
'85 Honda CR125R (Injured Reserved)
SmelDaHand
different bend.
Scott Aldrich
> How can you guys ride with bent up tweak bars? I can't even ride with a
> different bend.
I can't. I only bend them back out of neccessity when I'm trail
riding or in an enduro. That's one of the major differences between
MX and enduros. If you're on a MX track, you can just pull off and go
replace whatever broke or leave. If you're in an enduro, you'd better
know how to repair things so that you can make it back to your
truck...
Brian McGarry
Don't know if heating changes the aluminum strength properties, but I've
been doing it for years and never had a problem with them breaking.
Also use propane torch to bend back levers and rims.
Brian
john
some mussel's can learn new positions
"as centered" and some don't
john
who's brian did you get?
Abby's,
abbey who?
abbey normal
(mike another movie for the collection)
"SmelDaHand" <@aol.com>
Jim
Does the heating discolor the aluminum???
Thanks for the idea..
"Brian McGarry" <sca...@execpc.com> wrote in message news:<3bf9e265$0$30971$272e...@news.execpc.com>...
Jakeman
Truespode
pits. Instead I keep a spare set of bars on hand in case.
I do not trust bars that have been bent back into shape.
Ivan
"Jim" <spe...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:f563fac3.01111...@posting.google.com...
Turbodave
aluminum, there is a fine line between making it malleable and brittle, keep
your " propane " torch moving all the time, do not focus on a " one square
inch " area, spread the heat around at least 1.5 inches to each side of the
bend, also put more of the heat on the " pull " or " stretch " side of the
bend ,this will help keep the possibility of hairline fractures to a
minimum.
But for what it's worth, I never use heat on the bars , if they are that
bent they get thrown out , not worth the risk of busting one off on a hard
landing, I just lay the bike down , slide a 6 foot tube over the bar [ make
sure your tube does not have a sharp inner edge that can put a crease in the
bars, this is where a crack can form from , throw a thick rag around it
first if you have to ] , then give it a few good pulls starting with light
ones to feel out the pull needed to move it and not over shoot the bend.
Dave.
Jim wrote in message ...
john
remove from bike
put in car
drive to dealer
find parts dept idiot
hit them on head with "cheep cheesy no good bar"
back up plan if in woods
lean bar against tree find log & smack back to shape
at home lay bike on side (you'll tip it over anyhow)
8ft Douglas fir tied to bar gently tweak it back
(heat it up if the bend is large)
If I'm taking the bars of the bike to bend, I'm replacing them
john
SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as
a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise, used mainly
for getting dog-doo off your boot.
"Jakeman" <spe...@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:ertK7.5889$Ii.1...@nnrp1.ptd.net...
Hoyt McKagen
> Does the heating discolor the aluminum???
No but he's wrong about it being the best thing to do. Aluminum loses
strength extremely rapidly when it's getting hot. You can easily go to
far and the result is one portion does all the unbending, leaving you
with distortions in section. I personally would never do that and I've
been machinist and metalworker for over 30 years. Aside from the strength
question, you also have no color indicator, because aluminum melts before
it shows red.
Regards,
Hoyt McKagen
Belfab CNC - http://www.freeyellow.com/members/belfab/belfab.html
Best MC Repair - http://www.freeyellow.com/members/batwings/best.html
Camping/Caving - http://www.freeyellow.com/members/batwings/caving.html
Hac ahac que haec, hoc, hoc, patui
Hoyt McKagen
> bend, also put more of the heat on the " pull " or " stretch " side of the
> bend ,this will help keep the possibility of hairline fractures to a
> minimum.
Wrong as wrong can be. If you heat the stretch side you promote cracking.
Try it and see.
--
Turbodave
stretch, I am also a machinist and have been bending my levers back for
quite a while , no heat they break, no heat on the stretch side , they
break.
You do realize I said " the stretch side" not the "stretched" side as in
the past tense, when you are heating and bending it back you heat the "
stretch side "...
Hoyt McKagen wrote in message <3BFBDF...@i-plus.netSPAM>...
Hoyt McKagen
>
> Sorry Hoyt , if you heat the "stretch" side it softens the grain letting it
> stretch,
You have your way and I have mine. I've certainly seen metal stretched
apart from heating the inside of the bend. If anyone else has experience
with this I'd like to hear it.
MXOldtimer
bars & controls have to be in the right spot, anything else just bugggggs the
shit out of me. I've used Pro Tapers since 95 and have never bent a set (knock
on wood)
Doug
Scott Aldrich
What kind of bike(s)? More importantly, do you crash like I
do? :-) I would like to try a set of the more expensive bars but I'm
reluctant to try them on the DR because even the easiest of lay downs
seems to pretzel them. I'm using the MSR Dominator bars now and
they seem to be holding up good but I'm trying real hard not to fall
so they haven't taken a good hit yet.
MXOldtimer
fun, not getting back up is the bad part :-)
Doug
MDT Tech®
LOL, that makes 2 of us (the bugging thing with bent handlebars) and I
also have to have a front fender in perfect alignment, not tweaked etc,
or it actually hinders my riding, I guess I use it to locate the
position of my front tire.
--
Mike W.
<scott_...@agilent.com> wrote:
> What kind of bike(s)? More importantly, do you crash like I
>do? :-)
I don't think anyone crashes like you do:) Check out my web site
sometime...
Mike
Mike W.
96 XR400
74 CZ250 Enduro
BRC, AMA, NETRA, NOHVCC, NRA
Suburban trail-riding best practices:
http://www.crocker.com/~mwilliams/Suburban.htm
Scott Aldrich
> On Thu, 22 Nov 2001 16:30:31 +0000 (UTC), Scott Aldrich
> <scott_...@agilent.com> wrote:
>> What kind of bike(s)? More importantly, do you crash like I
>>do? :-)
> I don't think anyone crashes like you do:) Check out my web site
> sometime...
Wow, cool web site. I feel honored.
I like your "Responsible Suburban Trail Riding" page. Some good
tips in there that anyone riding dual sport should adhere to.
I can't repack the silencer on my exhaust because the end cap is
welded on. Suzuki installed two bolts on the bottom of the exhaust
can and I open them up every now and then and blow out any gunk
that builds up. The bike is still super quiet so I guess it works.
Clay A. Ghann
trade. That's the way he taught me - heat the side that needs to stretch.
kriketman
Mike W.
<scott_...@agilent.com> wrote:
>
>Wow, cool web site. I feel honored.
Actually, that wasn't the current page. Now you can feel honored. I didn't
feel I called Wes a bastard enough in the one you saw. But really... can
it ever be "enough"?
>
> I like your "Responsible Suburban Trail Riding" page.
Thanks... Now if I could get people around here to actually do some of
that stuff...
>Some good
>tips in there that anyone riding dual sport should adhere to.
>I can't repack the silencer on my exhaust because the end cap is
>welded on. Suzuki installed two bolts on the bottom of the exhaust
>can and I open them up every now and then and blow out any gunk
>that builds up. The bike is still super quiet so I guess it works.
I thought it was more of an issue on 2 strokes because of the oil buildup.
The XR is still idling at 74 dB so I think it's not an issue on that one
anyway (3000 miles so far).
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
jeb
>What is the best method to straighten bent handlebars on my XR400.
>On the bike? Off the bike? How to hold the fork?
In my young and dumb days, I'd use a tee post driver over the bar end while the
bars were still attached to the bike. Now I own protapers and never have to
worry about it anymore. Had the same bar since 98 on 3 different bikes and
they're still perfect.
>They are aftermarket bars and I would really prefer not spending the
>bucks to buy another set.
Buy new ones. Rebending them will further weaken them. They could end up
breaking off at the bend.
jeb-John Brunsgaard