apes on the 48 slipping...
 

so after hitting a couple of 6" bumps on the highway at 70 mph and on the 48, obviously holding on tight as I went airborne, my apes loosened up and dropped a few inches. I didn't force them back up while I was riding because I didn't want to strip anything, and waited till I got home. after loosening the risers I put them back to the height I wanted, I tightened them back up, hit another big bump an hour later and they dropped again. is there any way to get them to stay in one position permanently? it could definitely turn into a dangerous situation. I hate to put the shorter bars back on...

If your body weight is pulling the bars when airborne there too tall or your excessivly stocky
You may be able to get larger diameter bars for a greater clamping surface and maybe knurl them or add some type of grit to lock them in place

If the bars do not have the knurling, it gets tricky getting them to stay in place when hitting bumps in the road, I tried using emery cloth wrapped around the bars with the rougher side facing the outside, that worked for a while, then the grit finally broke down and the bars ere slipping again, I finally drilled a small hole threw the top clamp and bars and put a small roll pin in it, no longer moves anywhere! I wasn't about to replace my bars with knurled bars or change back to the stockers.

Two options that work well.

1. Get some small pieces of inner tube and put them between the clamps and the bars. I have used this many times, and it has worked each time for me.

2. Some guys drill a hole thru the clamp and bars, then thread it, then use a set screw. Never had to do it myself, but I've seen it on a few bikes and it works.

the bars are semi tall, and i'm 250. I was actually thinking about drilling them and securing it this morning. so i'll try the inner tube first, if it doesn't hold, drilling through the clamp is what i'm going to do after your confirmation...thanks guys.

Drill a hole in the clamp with bars removed and tap for a set screw. Put the bars back in the clamp, put them where you like and mark the bars through each hole. Remove the bars and dimple each spot with a blunt nose punch. Put lock-tite on the set screws. It's never a good idea to drill holes in apes.

Not trying to argue, what do you think happens when you have internal wired bars? Whether it's factory or not, the bar is still drilled for the wires to pass through :icon_twocents:

I bought skateboard grip tape, about 9 bucks on amazon, and it holds like an alligator. plus, I was able to re-do my sons skateboard!

The wiring holes are always between the clamps, never in or outside. I have seen "Z" bars with the wiring holes in the bottom of the upright but those were about .095" wall.

I've had this problem heaps of times on dirt bikes and the easiest way to stop them slipping is to centre punch [the mark you make before drilling a hole] the clamps on the surface that touches or clamps the bars. You need to put a heap of punch marks on the top and bottom of both clamps and decent punch marks as well. The centre punch puts a dent in the surface and raises the edge of the cavity which will bite into the bars upon tightening. In extreme cases we have had to put some horizontal chisel marks into the clamps, mind you this was years ago and the bikes had quite small diameter bolts clamping the bars.
Cheers Greg