cracked handelbars
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 12
From: Arizona
im happy now. as for, what did i expect for $65.00. well i expected the local bike shop to sell me a set of bars that wouldnt break. i didnt car if they cost $65.00 or $165.00. if you go into a tire store and they tell you they can put a set of tires on your car for $400.00 but then add = they will only last 5,000 miles, then you at least have the chance to upgrade. the shop knew i wasnt dirt poor, hell they just installed a bdl open belt drive on my bike. the problem with apes is that they make so many many different versions of what is called the same bar, i mean that this place says there bars have a 12" rise but it depends where they measure them. anyway i found the exact same ones but thicker, dimpled, knurled and drilled for internal wires.
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 572
Likes: 6
From: Ft. Worth, Texas
im happy now. as for, what did i expect for $65.00. well i expected the local bike shop to sell me a set of bars that wouldnt break. i didnt car if they cost $65.00 or $165.00. if you go into a tire store and they tell you they can put a set of tires on your car for $400.00 but then add = they will only last 5,000 miles, then you at least have the chance to upgrade. the shop knew i wasnt dirt poor, hell they just installed a bdl open belt drive on my bike. the problem with apes is that they make so many many different versions of what is called the same bar, i mean that this place says there bars have a 12" rise but it depends where they measure them. anyway i found the exact same ones but thicker, dimpled, knurled and drilled for internal wires.
And if the shop you took it to drilled out the bars for internal wires that was a really unsafe and unprofessional thing to do. At least without warning you of the pitfalls of such an idea. Bars that already have the holes for internal wires are designed so that a weak spot is not left in the bar at that point.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 12
From: Arizona
i told the shop i was drilling them out and he told me what size drill and where to drill. the set im getting are already drilled and that makes sense that they would take that into consideration. when i talked to J&P cycles about thicker bars they told me that didnt know of any such thing. anyway the ones im getting are much thicker. you know, theres cheap and then theres danger cheap. again money wasnt the problem, if they would of said the bars they sold me for, as i remember, $35.00, and added that they were really cheap and could break id never of bought them. i had no idea what bars cost at the time. in fact i was surprised at the price. did a quick search on Carlini handelbars but could only find 1.25 or 1.50 bars and ofcourse there going to be more. anyway its a done deal. now i have to wait to get them and put everything back together.
Last edited by hotrod351; Jan 14, 2010 at 07:48 AM.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,193
Likes: 7
From: North Atlanta Area, GA
i told the shop i was drilling them out and he told me what size drill and where to drill. the set im getting are already drilled and that makes sense that they would take that into consideration. when i talked to J&P cycles about thicker bars they told me that didnt know of any such thing. anyway the ones im getting are much thicker. you know, theres cheap and then theres danger cheap. again money wasnt the problem, if they would of said the bars they sold me for, as i remember, $35.00, and added that they were really cheap and could break id never of bought them. i had no idea what bars cost at the time. in fact i was surprised at the price. did a quick search on Carlini handelbars but could only find 1.25 or 1.50 bars and ofcourse there going to be more. anyway its a done deal. now i have to wait to get them and put everything back together.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 12
From: Arizona
well i finally got my new handlebars yesterday. i have to say that it blew my mind how thick they are. im telling you they have to be at least 3 times as thick as my old cracked ones. in fact where the wires come out, between the knurled sections, i almost thought there was a insert of steel tubing, or that the metel was bend in there, but no it the thickness of the metal. pretty sure these arent going to crack on me. whats really lucky is that there the same exact , rise, pullback and width as my old ones. i wish id of known there were different thickness of bars when they sold me these, it would of saved me a lot of work. would of been nice of them to tell me that. anyway there mounted. all i have to do now is re-solder my wires and put my tank back on.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,193
Likes: 7
From: North Atlanta Area, GA
well i finally got my new handlebars yesterday. i have to say that it blew my mind how thick they are. im telling you they have to be at least 3 times as thick as my old cracked ones. in fact where the wires come out, between the knurled sections, i almost thought there was a insert of steel tubing, or that the metel was bend in there, but no it the thickness of the metal. pretty sure these arent going to crack on me. whats really lucky is that there the same exact , rise, pullback and width as my old ones. i wish id of known there were different thickness of bars when they sold me these, it would of saved me a lot of work. would of been nice of them to tell me that. anyway there mounted. all i have to do now is re-solder my wires and put my tank back on.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 12
From: Arizona
yeah no more looking down between my risers to check them. i found them on ebay, new, for $40.00 plus $15.00 shipping. i really feel lucky, perfect match and 3 times thicker. you know they make so many ape and everyone has there own way of measuring them. i was able to talk to this guy and he measured them on the floor as i was measuring mine. what are the odds of finding the same exact set but thicker. hey im going to the casino, naaa just kidding. anyway all i have to do now is start it up and go for a ride.
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,606
Likes: 29
From: Baytown Tx.
I'm seeing more and more posts about cracked, broken handlebars. All of them I've read so far have been the cheap Chinese made bars people buy on E-bay and such. Pretty scary stuff. Makes you wonder how many people have been killed because of them and aren't around now to post their experience here.
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Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 12
From: Arizona
funny this was when i was telling a friend about mine breaking he said his friend just installed a set and they were much thicker than the ones he was taking off. he said maybe i could find a thicker set than what i had. i talked to J&P cycles and they said they never heard of such a thing, thicker bars. soo when i found a set, ebay, and called the guy to make sure there were the same as mine he first said = whow they sure are thicker than normal bars. said he had gotten 4 or 5 sets of them. im pretty sure there khrome werks bars, and the shop is the one who told me how big of holes and how to slot it. like i said, never even thought they came in different thickness tubing. but ironic to have a friend talk about his friend putting on a set that were much thicker then for me to find a set to match mine and have them be 2 if not 3 times thicker. i also noticed that i dont seem to have any flex in them. i have two 4" risers and when id stand my bike up the bars moved the risers around but not any more. you know theres cheap and then theres dangerously cheap. makes me kinda of wonder if using cheap parts is why both of the owners have wrecked there bikes. oh well its over now. now its time to ride and enjoy.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,364
Likes: 40
From: Los Angeles, CA
beautiful ride today. then i get home and see my bars are cracked almost all the way around. they cracked from the slot where the wires come out on each end, right to the inside of each riser, front and back. i looked at bars that already have the slot for the wires and mine are damn near exactly like theres. im sure this has happened to other people. what to do, look for a expensive set. these were custom chrome 13" apes with 6" risers.