Can you get the throttle assembly off the handlebars without disassembling the

[Jabba]

cables from the carb end?

I want to "tweak" my handlebars a little, and don't want to do more than I HAVE to.

Jabba

[Colin]

I did it on my standard with standard risers without any problems.

Hope it helps.

[Jess from VA]

Jabba, not sure exactly what you are contemplating, but there is a trick to minimize disassembly.

Loosen up the riser clamps and slide the handlebars sideways a bit in the clamps (in your case to the left).  Gives you more room to diddle without taking things completely apart.  As always, pad the tank BEFORE loosening the riser clamps    (whoops.... ah sh!t   ). 

[fudgie]

What jess said. Plus if you drop them down it may also help.

[Jabba]

What jess said. Plus if you drop them down it may also help.

I just moved them up a little and they are better, but they are too bent.  Does that make sense?  The long bones in my arms are too long, and the angle where I have to turn my wrists out, smashed the cartilage wedge in my wrist and they get VERY sore.  I need the handlebars to have less bens in them, and be straighter.  I want to put a cheater bar on the handle bars and "tweak" them out a little.  But I don't want to tear up my grips and the throttle mechanism in the process.

Jabba

[Jess from VA]

Too bent does make sense.

The bars (angle) give me right shoulder pain (constant after 2-3 hours).  I have Aeromach and Deuce risers on my bikes, which are much better than OE, but nothing will fix the eagle wing angle of the semi-buckhorn bars, short of a different handlebar.  I have contemplated changing them for years (tall, long pullback drag bars would be my choice), but there are so many variables with likely new cable lengths, at significant expense, with trial and error that I gave up.   I do a lot of one handed riding, using the throttle lock for left handed.... which relieves shoulder pain.

Best of luck trying to bend them.

[Colin]

Don't forget you will be putting a load of unusual pressure on the risers and triple trees when you are bending them if you are trying to do it on the bike. IMHO it would be better to remove them and try to do it on the bench.

[Jabba]

Don't forget you will be putting a load of unusual pressure on the risers and triple trees when you are bending them if you are trying to do it on the bike. IMHO it would be better to remove them and try to do it on the bench.

I just had a brain fart too...

OK... I can get the whole bar off anf the associated "stuff" if the bars are loose in the clamp, or even out of the clamp so I can work on them off the bike.

I don't have a decent vice.  I keep threatening to learn how to weld (I have a welder) and build a good solid work bench with a good vice mounted, but it seems I never get around to it. 

My biggest fear, is not getting them symetrical, and having some small asymetry bother me.  I have OCD about stuff like that and I freely admit it.

In fact... I think the right side of my bars are already bent a little, and it bugs me already, so that's PART of why I am willing to try it.

What size are the handlebars?

Jabba

[RLD]

I cut mine on the down tube after drawing a line too show the original alignment, inserted a piece of tubing as a snug splice, cut 7/8" off the vert dim and off the end of each bar, drilled new holes for the controls. Using a piece of old tape measurer, I rotated both sides eaqually and re-welded them rotated as far forward as they will go. My clutch cylinder now touches the fairing. To me, it's like riding in the sport tourer position. My hands are aligned with the bars, my tailbone is off the seat and I can ride all day in comfort. I covered the weld with a peice of 1"id balck faon and black wire ties rather than replating. I will be at the MN VRCC meet if anyone wants to see the difference it makes.

[vanagon40]

Jabba,

You can definitely remove the throttle assembly without messing with the carbs or even removing the cables from the handlebar housing.  I removed mine (on a 2001 Standard) without even loosening the handlebars.

I have a vice and several pipes you are welcome to use (and a tire changer also).

I'm pretty sure the diameter of the handlebars is one inch.

I'll be out of town this weekend, back on Tuesday.

[Jess from VA]

I cut mine on the down tube after drawing a line too show the original alignment, inserted a piece of tubing as a snug splice, cut 7/8" off the vert dim and off the end of each bar, drilled new holes for the controls. Using a piece of old tape measurer, I rotated both sides eaqually and re-welded them rotated as far forward as they will go. My clutch cylinder now touches the fairing. To me, it's like riding in the sport tourer position. My hands are aligned with the bars, my tailbone is off the seat and I can ride all day in comfort. I covered the weld with a peice of 1"id balck faon and black wire ties rather than replating. I will be at the MN VRCC meet if anyone wants to see the difference it makes.

RLD....  I (and I'm sure others) would really appreciate some close pictures of your handlebar modification (especially on the bike).   Please.

[Jess from VA]

What size are the handlebars?

Jabba, Valk handlebars have these dimensions:
(Note IS bars are 32.5", a quarter inch shorter on each side from Std/Tourer bars)

 Bar Diameter     Height     Width     Pullback     Center     Clamp Area     Factory #

 1"                 6"             33"              14"         9"              3 X 5"             53100-MZ0-000


This site can be very helpful if you are looking for other bars (and perhaps risers) instead of hammering/bending/welding the OE bars)

http://www.sideroadcycles.com/AmericanMotorcycles/Handlebars/Stock_Bars.html

What I did was sit on my bike (IS), close my eyes and put my hands where I wished they could be on the bars.  Then did my best to measure the distances from my actual handgrips to where I wanted them to be.  Then I converted height, width, and pullback numbers from OE to what I wanted, and tried to come up with a new set of bars and risers that would put my hands where I wanted them, mathematically by the numbers using the Sideroad Cycle site, rather than by just eyeballing what looked like it might work.  I wanted a narrower bar, about 8 1/2-10" high, close to the OE 14" pullback, with a flatter/straighter handgrip profile (like drag bars).  Oh, and you have to make sure there is enough control surface on the bar ends to get all the Valk controls  AND the 6 1/4" Kuryakyn ISO grips for Valk back on the bars.  Then you have to begin to measure (likely) all new hoses and cables (preferably in SS).  

I gave up.......  and just live with my  Aeromach and Deuce risers.  If I had unlimited money to screw around and a nice garage to do it in............ but I don't.  

[Jabba]

Essentially what I am looking for is a flatter (More drag like) wrist position.  Everything else works, and I don't think I want enough of a tweak to need new cables and such.  Just a very slight tweak to straighten them out a little.

Jabba

[RLD]

RLD....  I (and I'm sure others) would really appreciate some close pictures of your handlebar modification (especially on the bike).   Please.

I'll see what I can do. May not be until Monday though as I'm running out of time this week.

[Tx Bohemian]

Essentially what I am looking for is a flatter (More drag like) wrist position.  Everything else works, and I don't think I want enough of a tweak to need new cables and such.  Just a very slight tweak to straighten them out a little.

Jabba

I know exactly what you mean.  I rode a C50 for 5 yrs before getting my Standard and I guess I got used to the angle cause the semi-buckhorn (as another member called it) is really hard for me to handle on longer rides.  My wrists start to ache.

I got a set of C50 bars and risers like the ones I had on my old bike that I intend to install once I change out my forks.  Hopefully it will give me the same pullback and angle like the other bike.

[98valk]

What jess said. Plus if you drop them down it may also help.

I just moved them up a little and they are better, but they are too bent.  Does that make sense?  The long bones in my arms are too long, and the angle where I have to turn my wrists out, smashed the cartilage wedge in my wrist and they get VERY sore.  I need the handlebars to have less bens in them, and be straighter.  I want to put a cheater bar on the handle bars and "tweak" them out a little.  But I don't want to tear up my grips and the throttle mechanism in the process.

Jabba

Chrome doesn't bend.
did u try rotating the bars down?  I have the same problem and I'm not as tall as u, but lowering them helped a lot.

[Jess from VA]

Chrome doesn't bend.

Not successfully (without damage) it doesn't.

[Black Dog]

Jabba,

Look at these guys...

http://www.wild1inc.com/

Lotsa choices in many configurations.  Their bars are called 'Chubby's' because they are 1 1/4" thick, but necked down to the 1" at the riser and control ends.  Great quality, and if ya shop the 'Blemish' section, you can save some $$$

Here are the WW518RK's I'm using (meant to be used on a Road King)...



Black Dog

[Jabba]

It looks to me like I'd have the same trouble on your bars Dog.  That the axis of the grips is to front to back, and less side to side.  That's what I am fighting.  I want the grips to be more perpendicular to the axis of the bike, rather than parallel to it.

Jabba

[Black Dog]

It looks to me like I'd have the same trouble on your bars Dog.

That's why I said to take a look at their site...  Drag bars, Beach Bars, lots of different rises, pull backs, and shapes...

Black Dog

[Jess from VA]

That's the same problem I had with other aftermarket bars.... to get enough pullback, they ended up being too much like the (semi-buckhorn) OE bars.  Aftermarket 1" (or 1 1/4) bars for Harley Road King and Yamaha Venture were about the best alternatives I could find, but both still had too much wrist curve at the grip.

These are the bars that came closest to what I wanted, Milwaukee Twins Super Radius drag bars for Metric Bikes with 100MM (4" ) center to center risers (not the 3.5" used by Harley and Kawasaki).

Milwaukee Twins™ Super Radius Handlebars


Nice flat bar profile, plenty of room for the controls, 8" tall, but only 11.5" of pullback.  If I could be sure they'd mount right up on an IS with no change in control cables or hoses, and wouldn't make me lean way forward (since the OE's have much more pullpack) I'd try some.

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/ZZ50488?N=28004109+274980 
 
I think this is them on a Yami Warrior

[Jabba]

That's why I said to take a look at their site...  Black Dog

Wow.  Old dogs can be grumpy sometimes... 

I can't find anything the looks like what I want.  It's almost like you have to keep buying them till you fond one that works...  I am gonna try bending the OEM's.  If I screw up the chrome... then I'll either cover it up, or start looking for a aftermarket set then.

I'll let ya'll know how it comes out, when I get around to doing it. 

Weird thing is... the OEM bars on my Std don't bug me a bit.

Jabba

[98valk]

That's why I said to take a look at their site...  Black Dog

Wow.  Old dogs can be grumpy sometimes... 

I can't find anything the looks like what I want.  It's almost like you have to keep buying them till you fond one that works...  I am gonna try bending the OEM's.  If I screw up the chrome... then I'll either cover it up, or start looking for a aftermarket set then.

I'll let ya'll know how it comes out, when I get around to doing it. 

Weird thing is... the OEM bars on my Std don't bug me a bit.

Jabba

the I/S bars are not as wide as std/tourer bars. 5mm per side narrower for more hand protection from the fairing. this is per rider mag june 1999.
maybe converting to a set of std/tourer bars will work for u.

[Jabba]

the I/S bars are not as wide as std/tourer bars. 5mm per side narrower for more hand protection from the fairing. this is per rider mag june 1999.
maybe converting to a set of std/tourer bars will work for u.

Maybe...  Anyone want to trade?

Jabba

[Black Dog]

Wow.  Old dogs can be grumpy sometimes...     

Didn't mean to come off as grumpy...  By your reply, I was under the impression you were just looking at my pic, and not their site. 

Hope the Standard bars work out for ya...  Sounds like an easy solution.

Black Dog

[fudgie]

10 mm dont sound like a huge diff. Check pinwall Jabba. Seen some cheap bars on there. Run to the HD dealership. Most have bars to 'try' on in the store. Get ones with a good feel and see if you can get them online some where but in metric, JP Cycles as such. Or you might be able to fit 1" HD bars with minimal work. Drilling out the triple tree sounds easier then bending the bars.

[RLD]

RLD....  I (and I'm sure others) would really appreciate some close pictures of your handlebar modification (especially on the bike).   Please.

Here ya go!!   

[Jess from VA]

Thanks very much for the pics RLD.  It appears you have to lean forward a good deal in the "sport tourer" configuration.  It is the flat grip that some of us are after but would be trouble for our old backs (you appear to be a bit younger). 

I am thinking those bars would be great with a tall set of pullback risers.... like maybe the deuce risers many of us use. 

Thanks again for taking the time to take and post pics.

[RLD]

I lean forward less than on an FJR1300, and I'm early 50's.  It's close to what my KLR was like.

[thewoodman]

Though this may be late to the party, I had the same issues when I bought my '97 tourer after riding GL 1200 Goldwings for almost 20 years. What I found was the the bars from my last 1987 Interstate worked great but had to leave them on to sell. Yet, my wife has a '99 Fatboy with Heritage bars on it and my brother-in-law has a '97 Heritage too and those bars are real comfortable. They are 31.5 or 32 inches tip to tip and flatter in profile and along with higher risers, now my scooter is day-long-comfortable.

Maybe find a used bike in a dealer showroom somewhere or a friends with bars with a flatter grip angle and try before you buy.