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Love the bars, but... Has anyone had issue with KSTs clamping process, with the rubber instead of knurls? When it got over 115F I parked my bike for the month, my bars had been great and installed for a couple of months with no issue. its gotten a little bit cooler, so I went into the garage to perform some pre-AZ Fall checks and clean. When I was done, I jumped on it to push it back into its spot and the bars pull back over an inch. The day before it had gotten to around 120F in my garage. I wonder if the rubber bar in the groove melted? I haven't pulled it apart yet. Just posting to see if anyone else had any clamp issues. I have not contacted KST until I see whats going on.
Following.. I am pulling the trigger on some in a couple of months. I am in S. Texas where it gets in the high 90's low 100's but doesnt cool off like AZ.
I have these same bars on my '19 FLTRU and they're the best bars I've ever owned. Not sure what caused the issue you're experiencing. The problem may be heat related but I can assure you that the melting point of rubber is much higher than 120f. There could possibly be some softening at that temperature but melting is not your problem.
I did lots of research when I was considering these bars and remember a couple of individuals who reported issues similar to yours during install. After mocking up their bars they rotated them forward and back to find the right angle. In doing so the rubber gasket dislodged, or rolled out of its seat. The bars had some movement after final torque as the gasket was not properly seated. If I recall correctly they simply loosened the handlebar clamp to allow the gasket to reset and re-torqued which fixed their issue.
When did you initially install your bars and did you rotate them under partial torque when installing? I doubt heat is causing your issue but i'm in New Hampshire in a much more moderate climate. Nonetheless, mine have been problem free. I went with these bars, not so much for ease of installation (they're almost comically easy to install), but for the ability to adjust the grip angle to a position that falls outside the parameters of any other after market bar.
Again, not sure what's causing your issue but I imagine a quick call to KST will have you sorted in no time. Good luck.
Here are the pics. I did contact KST by email this am. BTW, the deformed strip was in the slot, you can tell by the deformation. I did re-install and got my bars tight, but had to go way over the torque spec.
Here are the pics. I did contact KST by email this am. BTW, the deformed strip was in the slot, you can tell by the deformation. I did re-install and got my bars tight, but had to go way over the torque spec.
What did KST tell you when you called? Like I said, mine have been problem free but after seeing yours they may bear watching...
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KST Vanguard bars
