!@#$!ing bar ends! Torch, impact screwdriver, breaker bar, etc ALL failed. :(

[CZroe]

!@$#!ing barends, man.

I bought a pencil torch a while back (probably a year ago) with the intention of using it to install new bar ends. I bought new bar ends sometime last year and never got around to install them until recently. I bought new grips last month and finally decided it was time to take a crack at it.

First of all, the pencil torch WOULD NOT LIGHT with a match. It would blow the match right out! The wind was doing a good job of that at first so I finally decided to go inside and light it there before taking the lit torch outside to the bike, but the torch blew right out as soon as I stepped outside. Grrr... I eventually had to borrow someone's lighter and sit there lighting and relighting it on the bike. I couldn't get it to stay lit unless I ran the person's lighter empty. Eventually, there was one big "poof" of fire and the pencil torch quit working: No butane flowing at all even when attempting a refill and no way to tell if it was still holding any. I swapped it out for another one at Harbor Freight and it did the exact same thing: TWO broken pencil torches in a day!

I tried to take it off using this T-handle thing with a socket and #3 Phillips bit. I knew that it may not have gotten hot enough but I figured that as long as I stopped before it slipped, I'd be fine. It gave me plenty of leverage to ensure that it was not slipping, but it cracked the metal between each fin of the bit. I stopped and bought the micro torch at Harbor Freight instead along with a impact screwdriver set. At least this torch had a built-in lighter and it was capable of staying on in a light breeze. Using it without the impact screwdriver, I got the opposite bar end off just fine with the original T-handle tool and I found a bit included with the impact screwdriver that fit a million times better. Unfortunately, it no longer fit the cracked bolt on the other side (impact screwdriver was useless) and I ended up having to pay someone $37 to remove it.

I came into this knowing what I would need and thinking I was completely prepared and yet I still ended up having to get this taken care of by a professional for way too much money.

Now, to make things worse, my new bar ends do NOT fit! The auction said that they fit "Ninja 250R" and yet they are the kind that expand inside a hollow bar instead of the kind that thread right in to a bolt hole. The hole machined through it is too small to fit the proper sized bolt, so I can't simply buy the right sized bolt. Weren't the pre-gen bar-ends the same way?

At least I finally got my new grips installed but now I have no bar-ends. Looks like I'm going to be getting clip-ons sooner rather than later. I only hope I don't fail nearly as hard as I did at this!

[00NissanNinja]

D*** man you are scaring me. I was going to be doing my grips and clip-ons next weekend. I was just going to use a lighter guess that won't be enough.

[Momaru]

Sadly, no, a standard lighter won't cut it. I used ~30 sec of focused blue flame from my propane-bottle torch to get it sufficiently hot to loosen the red loctite they use at the factory.

Czroe, about those HF pencil torches. As you've discovered, they're crap. I was given one by my father several years ago and it literally exploded in my toolbox on a hot day. Thankfully there was no spark, so it was just pieces of the torch all over the inside of the box. My dad then gave me his which he'd bought at the same time and never used. I filled it, lit it with a laboratory magnesium cup-striker and used it for about 3 minutes before one of the seals gave out and it went the way of the first one. Frankly, the only thing I even sorta trust from HF are solid pieces of metal like breaker bars or impact wrench bits.

[bob706]

I bought one of those cheap torches at walmart that worked great. It's the kind that uses a lighter inside.

[00NissanNinja]

Great more money wasted on tools that I won't use that much

[Mad-B-Man]

I don't know how different the bar ends are, but i just drilled them out on my pregen. simple as pie. you can torch the locktite directly afterwards, though i just left them since i put on lowered risers.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

D*** man you are scaring me. I was going to be doing my grips and clip-ons next weekend. I was just going to use a lighter guess that won't be enough.

Things would've been fine if I had bought the $8 torch in the first place.

I've seen some people do it without heat using an impact screwdriver but by the time I bought one for a few bucks it was too late.

Originally Posted by Mad-B-Man

I don't know how different the bar ends are, but i just drilled them out on my pregen. simple as pie. you can torch the locktite directly afterwards, though i just left them since i put on lowered risers.

I don't even have a drill and I'm pretty wary of buying that $12 cordless one from Harbor Freight!

[Domagoj]

Saw them off.
You are not going to use them later, are you?

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Domagoj

Saw them off.
You are not going to use them later, are you?

I don't have a saw either. That said, I intended to replace them with new bar-ends so I didn't want pieces stuck inside (just how would I get rid of the stuck bolt once the head was sawed off?). Now I wonder if I can saw off the threaded piece blocking either end so I can install these bar-end intended for hollow bars.

[wayanlam]

i attacked mine right away with an impact screwdriver, without heating either side up, and managed to get them both off. i had to get my GF to hold the handlebars steady since i hammered away at it like a mofo... after working up a sweat and a rather numb hand from the hammer blows i managed to pry them off, haha...

i did it after my accident, which caused my right handlebar to bend. so i replaced them with KTC clipons.

the clipons have hollow ends, onto which i put the KTC bar end weights like you discribed, with the rubber inserts that expands after putting it into the hole, hmmm... some strong sexual similarities in that action there.

you went thought one hell of an ordeal to only find that you need to put the OEM bar end weights back on!

or you need to buy clipons, OR drill that hole out bigger, so again i think you need to give it to someone with a proper bench press drill or something, so you dont ruin the new bar end weights.

GL!

ps, or give the handlebars (after youve removed them from the bike and taken everything off) to a "specialist" and have them drill or lathe out the end part and the bolt that is in there. that is if just sawing it doesnt do the job in the 1st place...

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by wayanlam

i attacked mine right away with an impact screwdriver, without heating either side up, and managed to get them both off. i had to get my GF to hold the handlebars steady since i hammered away at it like a mofo... after working up a sweat and a rather numb hand from the hammer blows i managed to pry them off, haha...

i did it after my accident, which caused my right handlebar to bend. so i replaced them with KTC clipons.

the clipons have hollow ends, onto which i put the KTC bar end weights like you discribed, with the rubber inserts that expands after putting it into the hole, hmmm... some strong sexual similarities in that action there.

you went thought one hell of an ordeal to only find that you need to put the OEM bar end weights back on!

or you need to buy clipons, OR drill that hole out bigger, so again i think you need to give it to someone with a proper bench press drill or something, so you dont ruin the new bar end weights.

GL!

ps, or give the handlebars (after youve removed them from the bike and taken everything off) to a "specialist" and have them drill or lathe out the end part and the bolt that is in there. that is if just sawing it doesnt do the job in the 1st place...

Yes, that statement sounds full of innuendo. The ones I have use expanding metal sleeves though (sleeves are slotted and the bolt pulls a cone-shaped nut into them causing them to flare). I can't put the bar-ends back on because I only have one left after the guy at the shop removed the other (he must've destroyed it).

[FrugalNinja250]

Propane torch, or better yet, MAPP gas torch, applied for 10 seconds more or less, on the head of the screw, that will generally soften the locktight enough to get the screw out. Once the screw is junked the options that leave a good bar end diminish significantly. If you're not worried about saving the bar end, use a 4" cutoff wheel like are often on sale at Harbor Freight for $10-15 to grind out the end of the bar end screw head. Just start making edge-wise cuts into the face of the screw. Once the screw head is gone the bar end will fall off, and you'll have the stump of the screw left sticking out the end of the bar. Hit that with the propane or MAPP torch until you see the locktite bubbling, then grab the stump with vice grips and unscrew it.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by FrugalNinja250

Propane torch, or better yet, MAPP gas torch, applied for 10 seconds more or less, on the head of the screw, that will generally soften the locktight enough to get the screw out. Once the screw is junked the options that leave a good bar end diminish significantly. If you're not worried about saving the bar end, use a 4" cutoff wheel like are often on sale at Harbor Freight for $10-15 to grind out the end of the bar end screw head. Just start making edge-wise cuts into the face of the screw. Once the screw head is gone the bar end will fall off, and you'll have the stump of the screw left sticking out the end of the bar. Hit that with the propane or MAPP torch until you see the locktite bubbling, then grab the stump with vice grips and unscrew it.

I was using butane torches. It would've worked great if the two butane pencil torches didn't fail to light, stay lit, or ever work again (they both completely died after a few attempts to get them to stay lit). The butane micro torch I bought after those worked fine on the remaining bar end but it was too late for the first. I don't have any kind of electrical outlet anywhere near the bike (apartment parking lot) so I can't work with powered tools unless they run on batteries. I considered Harbor Freight's 12v impact wrench but it was too expensive for something I'd likely use only once (you connect it to the vehicle's battery like jumper cables). Anyway, what you describe is exactly what they did do my bar end at the shop I took it to. It took them about 5 minutes but I had to pay 1/2 an hour of labor ($37.50). I should've retreived my grips from home and had them install those too if I was paying for that much labor!

[Nemesis]

It's not that difficult guys. No cutting, no sawing, nothing...just simply heat and twist.

All you need is the following:

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by CZroe

I don't have a saw either. That said, I intended to replace them with new bar-ends so I didn't want pieces stuck inside (just how would I get rid of the stuck bolt once the head was sawed off?). Now I wonder if I can saw off the threaded piece blocking either end so I can install these bar-end intended for hollow bars.

I'm confused as to what happened. You paid someone to remove the bar end, but they left the screw inside? To get rid of a bolt with the head missing, you would need a drill and a bolt remover. They work well, but not having a drill will make things difficult. When I went down, I used a #3 bit that I hammered into the screw and tried to remove it. It didn't work all that well. I ended up using vise grips on the bar end itself. I got it to turn loose, which also worked the screw loose enough for me to take it out.

How big of a hole do you need in the aftermarket bar ends? If you want, you can send them to me and I'll drill them for you. Just pay the return shipping.

[ricochet08]

i still need to replace my handle bar, couldn't get that damn screw off to save my life.

then again, i didn't have a torch :P

[blink]

may I suggest axe body spray and a lighter? =p
just kidding! goodluck tho!

[Havok]

#3 bit and ratchet driver took mine off easy as pie not sure if i got lucky or not. Some seem harder then others it looks like.

[austexjg]

I ruined the left side screw before I thought about loctite - still have not solved the problem, but I do have the replacement screw if I ever get around to fixing it.

[Penguin250]

Yea, I guess I got lucky like Jeff. Was going the torch it route, but was using a heat gun rather than a torch and figured I may melt the rubber on the grips with it so I stopped. Grabbed a 12" socket driver with 1/4" bit to hold a #3 philips head bit and a rubber mallet. Used one hand to hold the bit in the screw and beat the hell out of the end of the driver with the mallet until I heard a loud crack and then just unscrewed the screw. Same with the other side.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

It's not that difficult guys. No cutting, no sawing, nothing...just simply heat and twist.

All you need is the following:

My whole point was that I KNEW that and prepared yet failed anyway.

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I'm confused as to what happened. You paid someone to remove the bar end, but they left the screw inside? To get rid of a bolt with the head missing, you would need a drill and a bolt remover. They work well, but not having a drill will make things difficult. When I went down, I used a #3 bit that I hammered into the screw and tried to remove it. It didn't work all that well. I ended up using vise grips on the bar end itself. I got it to turn loose, which also worked the screw loose enough for me to take it out.

How big of a hole do you need in the aftermarket bar ends? If you want, you can send them to me and I'll drill them for you. Just pay the return shipping.

No, they removed them completely. It was a hypothetical situation as if I had sawed it off myself. Thanks for the offer on adapting the bar ends, but I have my eye on some clip-ons that will likely make that unecessary soon (we'll see).

Originally Posted by Havok

#3 bit and ratchet driver took mine off easy as pie not sure if i got lucky or not. Some seem harder then others it looks like.

You see the T-handle thing I was using? WAAAY more torque than a ratchet!

[TnNinjaGirl]

30 seconds? I torched mine with a propane torch for about 2 minutes a piece and then used a screwdriver to twist them out.

[Shaol1n Monk]

i used a pencil torch, heated for a couple minutes, banged the screw w a screwdriver and hammer a few times and tried unscrewing and they wouldnt budge. i dont have a phillips head socket for my wrenches so instead i gripped the screwdriver with a pair of pliers for torque and the screw started moving on the first twist. it came out pretty easy after that.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Shaol1n Monk

i used a pencil torch, heated for a couple minutes, banged the screw w a screwdriver and hammer a few times and tried unscrewing and they wouldnt budge. i dont have a phillips head socket for my wrenches so instead i gripped the screwdriver with a pair of pliers for torque and the screw started moving on the first twist. it came out pretty easy after that.

Was it the Harbor Freight one that would not stay lit for me?

[DarC]

I just used a Berzomatic pencil torch and a screwdriver...

[choneofakind]

When I was installing my lowered risers, I ran into the same problem you did, even using an actual blowtorch. I just ended up using a 1/4 inch bit and drilling the heads off the bolts. much less frustrating. Kkim's got a DIY on here for installing the bar ends into the WC bars, so I might do that to get rid of the vibrations. If you're doing clipons, I'd just suggest skipping that whole heating step and drilling the heads off

[Shaol1n Monk]

i used a bernzomatic pencil torch also, it was $10 at home depot

[BlueEx2]

I actually took mine off yesterday, bought a butane torch at harbor freight for $7 and and impact screwdriver for $5. Heated up the screw, used #3 phillip and smack and twist a few times and it came right off. Without heat the screw didn't move at all. Gotta love harbor freight

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by BlueEx2

I actually took mine off yesterday, bought a butane torch at harbor freight for $7 and and impact screwdriver for $5. Heated up the screw, used #3 phillip and smack and twist a few times and it came right off. Without heat the screw didn't move at all. Gotta love harbor freight

Love AND hate. The orange or black one work fine. The pencil torch was total fail and cause the problem in my original post.

Where did you buy your butane?

[00NissanNinja]

I bought this:
http://www.bernzomatic.com/PRODUCTS/...3/Default.aspx
Plus butane fuel:
http://www.bernzomatic.com/PRODUCTS/...3/Default.aspx

At Home Depot. Worked great for getting the bar ends of just had to wrench the ends a bit to get the screws started.

[Shaol1n Monk]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

I bought this:
http://www.bernzomatic.com/PRODUCTS/...3/Default.aspx
Plus butane fuel:
http://www.bernzomatic.com/PRODUCTS/...3/Default.aspx

At Home Depot. Worked great for getting the bar ends of just had to wrench the ends a bit to get the screws started.

same torch i used, worked great

[BlueEx2]

Yeah I got the orange one and got my butane at advance auto.

[JoeLansing]

I got this big beasty impact driver for $8 at Harbor Freight:


This impact wrench was $39 with coupon. No compressor needed.


- Joe

[nickadolph]

I took a deep socket that would fit over the butt end of my screw driver and used a breaker bar. Easy peazy lemon squeezy.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by nickadolph

I took a deep socket that would fit over the butt end of my screw driver and used a breaker bar. Easy peazy lemon squeezy.

I did not have a leverage problem. The bolt heads were simply not capable of conducting the amount of torque required without simply tearing up. Perhaps mine had more Loctite. *shrug* I'm just saying that it isn't going to work for everyone.

[Buffalony]

Great cheap electric drill.
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-t...rill-3670.html

I used a electric heat gun from harbor freight to get my ends off. they're only 10-12 bucks and worked perfect. better than screwing around with those dinky mini torches. used the heat gun to put on my headlight protector and removed some wall paper with it too

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Buffalony

Great cheap electric drill.
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-t...rill-3670.html

I used a electric heat gun from harbor freight to get my ends off. they're only 10-12 bucks and worked perfect. better than screwing around with those dinky mini torches. used the heat gun to put on my headlight protector and removed some wall paper with it too

I have that too but I have no way to power it anywhere near my motorcycle (no garage; apartment parking lot). Mini torch was $2 and no one ever said that a heat gun was hot enough, so it seemed like the obvious solution. Also, did you have the accessory kit with the attachments or did you melt your grips and such?

[Suave]

I was googling a solution to this problem and this is its answer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z34JYwNGFtw ... idk if it is gonna work

[leed]

I used a portable electric impact screwdriver (a DeWalt to be specific) along side a PH3 and they came out like butter.

[Buffalony]

Originally Posted by CZroe

I have that too but I have no way to power it anywhere near my motorcycle (no garage; apartment parking lot). Mini torch was $2 and no one ever said that a heat gun was hot enough, so it seemed like the obvious solution. Also, did you have the accessory kit with the attachments or did you melt your grips and such?

The heat gun has a switch that allows you to set it at two different temps. the sucker gets pretty hot.http://www.harborfreight.com/power-t...112-96289.html

No attachments came with this one. they werent needed though. It didnt damage my grips at all. Instead of aiming inline with the bar I aimed it 90 degrees to the barend so only the end was grabbing the heat. I used an impact driver as well, but it didnt take much with the heat gun on it.

The parking lot situation kinda sucks. Extension cord? Or maybe a friends house. propane torch was another good idea. if that screw head is too damaged you might have to drill it out. You could get an extractor bit too. If you end up drilling, start with a larger bit to clean up the gnarled up head, then go into the bolt with a smaller bit.