Handlebars slipping, aftermarket risers?

[whitestroke]

Not sure of the brand of risers or clamp with clock as they were there from the PO.  Anyway I went to push bike and the handlebars slide forward (slipped in clamp).  I checked tightness on bolts.  They all felt tight and clamp looks to be tight against risers.
My guess is that the risers and clamp were chromed thereby not allowing them to clamp-down on the handlebars enough.

Would machining off some of the material off the bottom of the clamp be the best way to fix this problem?  Would the chrome then start to flake off?

[Ricky-D]

Some install a shim on each riser.

Beer can cut to fit works Ok, tho it may not stop the bars from turning.

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[Gryphon Rider]

If it were me, before machining the risers or clamp, I would make 2 shims, the same width as the risers and 3/4" long out of a soda or beer can, and place them between the riser and the handlebar.  If that wasn't enough, use one 1" long shim and one 1/2" long shim, stacked together.

[Gryphon Rider]

Some install a shim on each riser.

Beer can cut to fit works Ok, tho it may not stop the bars from turning.

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You beat me to the punch while I was AutoCADing the right lengths.  Perhaps a thin coating of rubber cement would help, although the stock risers are aluminum, so it should be grippy enough with aluminum shims when properly clamped.

[John Schmidt]

As a side note, now you understand why you don't want to tie down your bike using the handlebars when trailering it. Just imagine what would happen if you were going along at 60mph and hit a nasty bump, the bars slip, now you have a 700+ lb. missile in your trailer. I've seen it happen, unfortunately to a good friend who thought I was a bit anal about it. If you have solid bars attached to the upper tree, then you're usually OK. But clamped bars, NEVER use them for a tie down.

[Jess from VA]

Just remember, when you loosen them up to look them over and consider shimming, pad the tank well....... an aw sh!t is waiting when the bars swing down and smack the tank.

[whitestroke]

Will try the beer can shimming.  Not sure if the bars are stock.  The knerl marks are very smooth, theres not much grip to them at all.

Thanks for the heads up John and Jess.  Luckily when I removed screws I remembered, (don't ask) about bars falling and laid a moving pad over tank.

[98valk]

for OEM, service manual states to tighten front bolts first and then the rear, so that the top clamp, clamps down onto the bar. I did the same with my duece risers, the rear part of the clamp does not touch the riser, even though everything is torqued correctly.
U could try this procedure and see if there is a difference.

[John Schmidt]

Here's something else I've done in the past when the knurling is smoothed out like you said. Using a cold chisel and hammer make a few strikes at a slight angle on the knurled area. That will raise the metal similar to the knurls, sometimes will be all that's needed. I'd suggest using it in conjunction with the shimming.

[whitestroke]

Here's something else I've done in the past when the knurling is smoothed out like you said. Using a cold chisel and hammer make a few strikes at a slight angle on the knurled area. That will raise the metal similar to the knurls, sometimes will be all that's needed. I'd suggest using it in conjunction with the shimming.

Thought about that, but not sure how to support bars for pounding?, without taking all the controls off and laying on a bench.

[Ricky-D]

As long as you are not planning to r&r the bars after/later it would help to add some thread locker to the bars and clamps.

Need to let it set then for a time, it will help some to hold the bars but it is not the "end to all".

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[dreamchaser]

No disrespect intended to Rickey, but I  would recommend against threadlocker, as if the bars still want to slip, you just created another hurdle.  With all those bikes in the list you must have a garage
so why not suspend the bars in place from the rafters while you cross hatch some replacement knurls in with a small cold chisel and about a 10 oz ball peen hammer.  Fast will serve you better than heavy in this case.  when the material in your bars starts to upset and gain some sharp edges that stick out forter than the bar circumference, you will have something working for you, then do the front bolts tight before the rear.

One thing I have always liked about Flanders bars is that they have lifetime knurls to grip on.  Just in case you come up frustrated and have a few extra bucks, you might consider looking through all the different shapes of bars that Flanders has to offer.  Just a suggestion in case the bars you have are to smooth and too hard at the same time.

                                                             Gary

[whitestroke]

So here's what I did after some research.    
I drilled a hole straight into 1 of the risers.  Then I put some blue tape around the handlbar where it sits on the drilled riser and clamped it down (made sure it was in the perfect position). I then removed the handlebars and could see where the hole was located in the blue tape. center punched hole spot and drilled same size hole in the handlebars.  Cut off a piece of the drill and used it to pin handlebars in place.
There not moving anywhere now.    Only downside is there not adjustable.

[Warlock]

So here's what I did after some research.    
I drilled a hole straight into 1 of the risers.  Then I put some blue tape around the handlbar where it sits on the drilled riser and clamped it down (made sure it was in the perfect position). I then removed the handlebars and could see where the hole was located in the blue tape. center punched hole spot and drilled same size hole in the handlebars.  Cut off a piece of the drill and used it to pin handlebars in place.
There not moving anywhere now.    Only downside is there not adjustable.

To me the best shim to use on handlebars is material from a screen door. Cut size to fit and they will not slip.
David

[olddog1946]

So here's what I did after some research.    
I drilled a hole straight into 1 of the risers.  Then I put some blue tape around the handlbar where it sits on the drilled riser and clamped it down (made sure it was in the perfect position). I then removed the handlebars and could see where the hole was located in the blue tape. center punched hole spot and drilled same size hole in the handlebars.  Cut off a piece of the drill and used it to pin handlebars in place.
There not moving anywhere now.    Only downside is there not adjustable.

As I was reading these posts, I was thinking the exact same thing. Pin em...
To be honest I thought the Valk bars were pinned.

[whitestroke]

To me the best shim to use on handlebars is material from a screen door. Cut size to fit and they will not slip.
David
[/quote]

Would that be aluminium screen or nylon screen.

[Gryphon Rider]

To me the best shim to use on handlebars is material from a screen door. Cut size to fit and they will not slip.
David

I don't know what metal screen door screen is made of, but as water gets pulled into the joint by capillary action, wouldn't there be a corrosion issue if it were steel or aluminum?

[saddlesore]

I was thinking to score on the handlebars instead of using a chisel wouldn't using a vice grip set real tight work?   You know the marks and gouges made on other projects. Why not duplicate that?
Just a thought.

[Warlock]

To me the best shim to use on handlebars is material from a screen door. Cut size to fit and they will not slip.
David

Would that be aluminium screen or nylon screen.
[/quote]aluminium or old style metal.

[lakehunter]

I have the same risers and clamp with the clock, used the above mentioned tightening of the front bolts first then torque the rear ones to hold my stock bars in place. I like the pin them idea and will log that in just in case for future reference. Good idea !

FYI : I had a problem with the nuts holding the risers to the triple tree underneath, be sure the lock washers are installed by the previous owner, star type and torque the nuts properly, a loose riser on a long ride is no fun.

[Ricky-D]

I feel most problems like mentioned are the result of using aftermarket handlebars although I don't deny problems can also occur with OEM handlebars.

With OEM handlebars, remember they are Japanese designed and most likely are dimensioned in the metric system while aftermarket bars are more likely made here in the USA and are dimensioned in the inch system.

So when comparing them, OEM to USA, there may not be an exact match, which is some cases could lead to loose handlebars.

Just something to think about when contemplating changing handlebars.

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