WTF Were They Thinking??? - handlebar screws

[tlhamon]

New nightmare:

I bought bar end mirrors for my bike and went to put them on today. After breaking three screwdrivers (literally snapped the tips off) I resorted to drilling and then using a screw extractor.

The bar ends are held on by 1.5" bolts with a full tube of RED locktite. It seems to me that this is a bit excessive as if you need to have the throttle serviced, they would have to replace the screw because there is no way you could save it.

Anyone else try this horrible task? My hands are killing me.

[rockNroll]

I've had to put some heat to those to get them loose (torch).

[kkim]

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12960

[tlhamon]

Thanks for not reading my mind and sending me this before I started Kelly

Here she is now:

[muffinman]

Kelly's DIY bailed me out.. I had to readjust the grip on my 636 and didn't have any spray adhesives to glue it back on. Instead of clear spray paint, I used clear spray clearcoat and that worked beautifully

[sofo]

1. I love your bike's color scheme with the U.S.S.R. flag motif, damn cool.
2. How do you like the bar end mirrors thus far? Better visibility?
3. You are in hella good shape.

[Cedilla]

Are those rim stripes yellow or gold? Your bike looks good.

[kkim]

Damn, Thomas... get out and exercise every once in awhile, will ya???

frickin' kids!!!

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by kkim

Damn, Thomas... get out and exercise every once in awhile, will ya???

frickin' kids!!!

LOL! At least he's wearing shorts!

[Wade]

yeah the guy at the bike shop had to us an impact drill to get my bar off when i got the bar ends changed.

[tlhamon]

1. I'm a high school teacher, so all I do in the summer is go to the gym, run, ride bike, etc. Not bad for a 40 year old, huh?

2. The mirrors are better than stock because they aren't reflecting your shoulders. However, because the handlebars are so raked, you have to look down to see them and when you lie down you can't see them at all. So, IMHO, they are worth putting on as they do work better, but they are far from ideal.

[nate-bama]

Originally Posted by tlhamon

Thanks for not reading my mind and sending me this before I started Kelly

Here she is now:

cool graphics comrade

[demp]

I remember the horror of changing the bar ends... ende up with me holding the screwdriver in tight, and my dad using a pair of vice grips on the screw driver to take em out - took a bit of effort but it worked

[JaeL]

I just drilled them out after about 4.5 seconds of trying to heat and a screw driver.....

[NJD022588]

I heated 20-30 seconds with a torch and they came out with ease. I read on my red loctite bottle that it breaks down at something like 250 F. There is a **** load of loctite in there though!!

[Grn99Kawi]

Am I the only one that thought of Ivan Drago when I saw the bike? The colors work well.. even the sliders!

[SpyderGirl]

I'm actually interested in raising my handlebars on my 09... like 1"... does anyone make handlebar risers for our 250's? Any adverse effects on handling? I have short arms so there is quite a reach for me. I'd like to be able to sit a little more upright and still have some bend in my arm instead of riding stiff-armed.

[kkim]

just buy a front lowering kit for your bike, install the lowering blocks, but don't do anything w/ the forks. That will effectively raise the handlebars. Can't say if you'll have any problems w/ control cable/hose lengths though.

[SpyderGirl]

Oh, okay. I might get lucky. I saw that Roaring Toyz has some 1" blocks.

[Finder]

Originally Posted by SpyderGirl

I'm actually interested in raising my handlebars on my 09... like 1"... does anyone make handlebar risers for our 250's? Any adverse effects on handling? I have short arms so there is quite a reach for me. I'd like to be able to sit a little more upright and still have some bend in my arm instead of riding stiff-armed.

You can buy the Roaring Toys risers which are very close to 1" up, and due to the slant of the triple clamp, about .5 inchs back towards you. From there, if you want to leave the forks alone and just raise the bars, you'll need longer brake lines. Stock lines are 27.5 inches "middle of the banjo to middle of the banjo". You'll need another 1.5 inches to be safe.

If you're raising the forks as well to lower the front end, you can get away with the stock lines (just need to move the brake hose clamp). On the clutch side, the cable is very tight unless you re-route it. And by re-route, I mean pulling the cable out of the metal loop. That's about it.

Ergo wise, using the risers and lowering ONLY the front end will give you pretty much the SAME riding position as stock, so that won't help you. Sounds like all you want is a more upright riding position so use the risers and leave the forks alone. Unfortunately, that means getting new brake lines and the work associated with putting them on (which is not hard at all!).

Like you, I wanted a more upright position so I didn't touch the fork position and just used the risers. It's much more comfortable for me now, and because I'm more relaxed and balanced, I'm in better control of the motorcycle. I'm actually riding faster at the same comfort level with the risers than without. The only negatives are ergos for very aggressive and track riding where you're typically tucked, hanging off, and/or putting more weight on the front end. In that case, you'll want bars possibly lower than stock based on your reach and height.

Cheers!

[SpyderGirl]

Originally Posted by Finder

You can buy the Roaring Toys risers which are very close to 1" up, and due to the slant of the triple clamp, about .5 inchs back towards you. From there, if you want to leave the forks alone and just raise the bars, you'll need longer brake lines. Stock lines are 27.5 inches "middle of the banjo to middle of the banjo". You'll need another 1.5 inches to be safe.

If you're raising the forks as well to lower the front end, you can get away with the stock lines (just need to move the brake hose clamp). On the clutch side, the cable is very tight unless you re-route it. And by re-route, I mean pulling the cable out of the metal loop. That's about it.

Ergo wise, using the risers and lowering ONLY the front end will give you pretty much the SAME riding position as stock, so that won't help you. Sounds like all you want is a more upright riding position so use the risers and leave the forks alone. Unfortunately, that means getting new brake lines and the work associated with putting them on (which is not hard at all!).

Like you, I wanted a more upright position so I didn't touch the fork position and just used the risers. It's much more comfortable for me now, and because I'm more relaxed and balanced, I'm in better control of the motorcycle. I'm actually riding faster at the same comfort level with the risers than without. The only negatives are ergos for very aggressive and track riding where you're typically tucked, hanging off, and/or putting more weight on the front end. In that case, you'll want bars possibly lower than stock based on your reach and height.

Cheers!

VERY INFORMATIVE! Thank you!! I'd like to not have to extend wires and lines if possible. I am looking for a way to be a little more comfortable, and a little less "lock armed" when riding. I'll look into it and may consider it a winter project. Thanks again.

Hey, you're in the Bay Area, maybe you'll want to help a fellow Ninjette rider out???

[Finder]

Originally Posted by SpyderGirl

VERY INFORMATIVE! Thank you!! I'd like to not have to extend wires and lines if possible. I am looking for a way to be a little more comfortable, and a little less "lock armed" when riding. I'll look into it and may consider it a winter project. Thanks again.

Hey, you're in the Bay Area, maybe you'll want to help a fellow Ninjette rider out???

Since you're in the Bay Area, you can get a DOT approved braided hose made for you on the spot in Fremont at Hoses & Fittings (http://www.hfeweb.com/Default.aspx) for about $50. Another $6 for a bottle of fresh DOT4 brake fluid, and few cents for 4 replacement crush washers. After that, it's probably 15-20 minutes worth of work, and most of that is bleeding the brakes properly. I have all the tools so I can help if you want.

Anyways, I'm done hijacking of this thread. Maybe we can setup a riser and braided line install day for the Bay Area folks...