Handlebars??

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Mountainman650
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Handlebars??

Post by Mountainman650 »

Hey guys
What are some good handlebar choices.
My stock ones are alittle bent here and there. :mrgreen:
Looking for something "reasonably" priced, and ones that
all the controls will easily swap over to. I'm guessing the stock
size bars are 7/8th??..
I do alot of tight woods riding, and was wondering if they all come a standard width. I know some guys cut them down a bit, but wasn't sure where to start.?? I'll also need a new set of grips while I'm at it, any
input is welcome
Thanks
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Indawoods
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Post by Indawoods »

CR-Hi bars are pretty much standard. They are usually 31" and cut 1" off each end and that leaves you at 29" and add 1" for Bark Busters and your at 30". I have Alumilites by Answer I think. Nice bars and 7/8" are standard. Renthal , Answer or whatever... as long as you get Name Brand bars you are usually alright. :wink:

I will be switching to ProTapers this winter though.... 1 1/8". But the 7/8" are fine.
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Post by FLAKDX »

I'll second Cr-Hi Bend. I would only recommend low bend if your running a dampner.

I have used Answer Alumilites in the past and they are OK much better than Steel anything. Renthals are by fas the best though IMO.

I'm with Idna though next set will. Pro Tapers or Renthal Fat Bars.

If your for sure gonna put on Bark Busters they sell shorter bars pre cut if your afraid of the dremel. I forgot whos name is attached but they make them cut down if your so inclined
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Post by Indawoods »

To cut your bars down...... I use a tubing cutter to make the guide to hack em off with.
Just run the tubing cutter around the bars a couple of times and it makes a nice indention to use for a guide... then I break out the hacksaw and wack em off. Then use the slideout cleaner on the tubing cutter to clean up the burrs inside the bars.... then you can mount your BarkBusters without incident! :wink:
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Post by Mountainman650 »

What's involved with the Pro-Tapers, and Renthal -Fat bars.?
Do all of the stock controls and such fit the "fatter" bars??
I take it these bars are much stronger/lighter.? Since I always see these
on the , uhuhm, orange bikes. they must be essspensive.... :lol:
Later
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Post by Indawoods »

Need new mounts for one... new clamps and or top triple tree. Much pricier to run this way but you eliminate the cross bar... which I like , gives you a much more open feel. And yes... they are stronger due to the dual wall design. All your normal controls will fit on them fine. They are 7/8" on the ends, just 1 1/8" dual wall in the center and taper down.

Did I say they are nice? :grin:
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Post by FLAKDX »

do they even make an upper triple clamp for our stock forks?? I know you can get simple adapters to make pre tapers work but I have yet to see a complete upper clamp setup for our stock old school forks LOL
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Post by KDXGarage »

"Our" stock forks? Not that I know of. For karbon_dunn's and mine, yes. :grin: Hooray for KX parts that happen to fit a KDX. :lol:
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Post by Indawoods »

Somewhere... I just seen a complete setup on ebay a few days ago... may still be up.
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Post by Indawoods »

Nope...gone!
I shoulda bookmarked them. They were cool looking...all machined and all...
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Post by KDXGarage »

mountainman, on the grips, I have found that the full waffle pattern (those rectangles) rub my hands raw. I like the half side flat and half side waffle pattern.

On the bars, I would just go with what Indawoods mentioned, which is name brand bars, and cut them down with a pipe cutter. I cut a pair down with a hacksaw once, and that didn't work out too well.

You may want to try to sit on a few different new in the showroom bikes to see what kind of feel you like.
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Post by KDXGarage »

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... ename=WDVW

PURTY

That's the first one I think I have seen.

Nice lower bearing by the way. :lol:
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Post by Indawoods »

HEY... I just went out and found it too! Damn it! :evil: :lol:
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Post by Indawoods »

Someone got a good deal!
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Post by KDXGarage »

What are you upset about? :grin: I doubt it would fit your current fork situation. :grin:
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Post by Indawoods »

I know it wouldn't.... I just went through my history looking for it... do you know how long that takes with all the ebay pages in there?
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"People ate cows a thousand years ago for the same reason we eat them now. Cause they are easy to catch.We're not savages,we're just lazy. A cheetah could taste like chocolate heroin. But will never know. Those bastards are fast!!! "
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Post by quailchaser »

There is some good advice in here. I'll add my .02 as to what has worked for me.

First off, any aluminum bar will be better than the stock steel bars.

Second, rider preference should be the biggest influencing factor as to bar bend and sweep. For me, I added TAG oversized bar clamps and put them on in the most forward position, replaced the stock rubber cones with the applied neoprene cones, and added a Moose oversized bar in a CR high bend. The whole deal was around $130 with the lovely State sales TAX. I actually prefer the KX high bend because the sweep is less. I like my bars as far forward as possible with as little sweep as possible. However, I found that when I rotated the bars forward, they actually felt similar. Don't forget that you'll have use hand guard hardware for the larger bars if you change to a fat bar set up. Add about 30-45 bucks for that!

Last, there are many bars with many different heights, pull back and widths. If you check around, you should be able to get the specs and compare these with what your looking for. As stated before, cutting your bars down an inch each side is relatively easy.

Good luck and let us know how it went!

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Post by Mr. Wibbens »

These are decent bars
http://www.rockymountainmc.com/Product_ ... d=00038082

I've got em on my KDX and my DR. On the KDX I cut em down to 28" and on the DR 30"
I used a reciprocating saw

I just put Fatbars on the Vstrom. Sweet!

Oury makes a nice and comfy grip
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Post by FLAKDX »

Thanks for the Ebay link. It appears to be a Scotts upper clamp. Hmmmmm????? I think an E-mail to Scotts is in order. I'm gonna with that setup in the future if it's still available since a Scotts dampner is gonna bolt right on as well as Tapered Bars :)

DAMN I just noticed this guy is parting out a 99 KX125. I'm gonna have to watch this auction as I might be able to get the whole front end for a couple hundred bucks. :prayer:

Maybe I shouldn't have posted this here :shock:


EDIT: I just checked Scotts website. They make that clamp setup still but it only comes with a damper and a set of Pro Tapers or Fat Bars in your choice for $599.00 :mad:

Somebody Got a Bitchin Deal. You can find Used dampers for $100.00 if you search awhile and Fat Bars are also only another $100.00 Story of my life "day late and a dollar short"
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Post by Indawoods »

I'm sure they will sell it to you seperately... They are great to work with! :wink:
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"People ate cows a thousand years ago for the same reason we eat them now. Cause they are easy to catch.We're not savages,we're just lazy. A cheetah could taste like chocolate heroin. But will never know. Those bastards are fast!!! "
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