Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Get a new Grip on your bike. Wrap your hands around a pair of Hunter FlatBars and discover the secret to a smooth painless ride. Kill those nasty vibrations that numb your hands and arms and cut your trip short. Post comments, questions, stories and pictures from your rides.
7 comments:
Ken:
Here is my BLOG on installing the Flatbars on a Yamaha FJR 1300. (I believe this will work on all the FJR 1300's that do not have factory heated grips)
The Yamaha bars, (as all FJR owners know) are a two piece affair. They are hollow for the first three inches inboard and then they are solid cast
aluminum. This presents a problem with drilling the bars to accept the Flatbars. The bars need to be drilled straight and getting them jigged up so they could be drilled with a drill press would be difficult. I elected to take them to a machine shop where the ends were squared off nicely and the holes were drilled straight. (Cost $70.00). An alternative might be to cut one inch off each bar end, leave them mounted on the bike, then use the hollow sleeve as a guide to drill into the solid section. Once the holes are drilled to the correct depth the bars could be cut to the correct length.
On the clutch side the switch cluster is pinned to the handlebar. On the throttle side the switch cluster is also pinned as is the throttle housing. (By pinned I mean the clusters have plastic tabs which fit into indents on the bars. Once the bars are drilled the indents become holes in the bars. If you install the switches with the tabs in the holes they will protroud slightly into the cylinder. (This could muck up sliding the flatbars in on both sides). I took a Dremel and removed, (1/16") inch from the plastic tabs. This allows the tabs to seat in the holes and hold the switches where they are supposed to be and the tabs don't protrude into the cylinders.
If you map the holes out accurately on the throttle rotor you can use a smaller bit than 1/4" inch. With a smaller bit you have less chance of cracking the throttle rotor. The key to drilling the plastic rotor is to get a really sharp bit, drill whle it is mounted on the handlebar and go verrry slooowly with verry little pressure. I was able to drill the rotor without cracking it but I did crack it next to a drilled hole when installing the flatbar. The rotor sleeve fits tight around the flatbar collar. Putting some lube on the rotor is a good idea. Warming it up with a hair dryer might also ease installation.
You need to remove some the Kapton tape from the Flatbars to get a snug fit inside the cylinders. When you remove some of the tape you end of leaving glue residue on the tape which can snag as you insert the Flatbar into the cylinder. This should be cleaned off with a little lacquer thinner. I had to repeat this step a couple times until the correct amount of tape was removed. (It would be nice if Ken could invent/use some kind of properly sized rubber bushings and eliminate the tape altogether).
That's it. The bars are installed. Time for the test ride!
Gary Powel
Ken's reply to Gary:
I have read your notes carefully and am most impressed by your insights. I have simplified them a bit, the replied with the thinking behind the simple answer to the questions that you posed.
Q: How do I drill properly?
A: You can use the hollow as a drill bushing, or have it machined, or if you’re really, really good and you do it in small steps, you can hand drill. This problem is common to BMWs with clip ons and riser bars. I have a 17” drill press-cum-end mill in my garage for just that purpose. Think of this…you got the job done for $70. I charge $50 PLUS machining as necessary. Machining is the neatest way to do the installation anyway. I’d say you got a really good deal and you also got the job done with very little effort. Laudable.
Q What do I do about the switch locating pin?
A: Indeed, you do have to file the pin, but not all the way off, just enough to clear the 11/16 (.69”) hole diameter. What remains of the locating pin is the thickness of the bar, so it will still pick up the locating hole. I filed mine completely off, and I keep the 2 screws tight. I also wind some thickness of tape around the bar inside the switch, just enough to keep the switch from moving outward. With the nub filed off, I can rotate the switch cluster on the fly to make it an ersatz cruise control (bet you didn’t think of that one!).
Q: How do I avoid fucking up the throttle rotor?
A: The key to drilling a plastic rotor is to go to Tap plastics and buy a drill bit that is intended for use in plastics. The tip angle is radically steeper than usual. You can also go slowly and carefully. The shaft diameter of the 4-40 screws is .191”. The perfect drill would be 7/32”. I counted on no-one having this size, so I got some special screws with heads over ¼” in diameter. They WILL hold in a ¼” slot. In ‘97 I installed one of the first prototype sets on my ’85 V-Max. I, too, thought I was that good. I, too, cracked the rotor at one hole. I used a washer and a dab of adhesive to spread the load to both sides of the crack. It has been there ever since… and I still win drag races.
Q: What about the adhesive that’s left when you remove damper tape to make a good fit?
A: The tape is a very specialized urethane damping material that is generally used for mounting optics. Within a single thickness (.015”) of tape are bubbles, smaller at the bottom, larger at the top. I use regular bond and ultra high bond on different layers, each with its own effect. Regarding leftover adhesive: since you don’t want the clutch to rotate too freely anyway, and the throttle has oil-less bearings under the damper tape, I don’t see it as a hinderance to having some adhesion to the ID of the handlebar. Moisten the adhesive lightly, it will inactivate, as the dampness evaporates, the adhesive becomes reactive again. That way you won’t have to wrestle with it.
That’s some good thinking you’re doing there. Please publish why things are the way they are on the blog.
BTW, Eddie Lawson told me he was putting his pair on an ’06 FJR 1300.
We have just updated our website, featuring new, simplified installation instructions. If any fo you have not installed your FlatBars yet, please see the new instructions. They get you to the same place by an easier path.
Also, an installation trick: if you want to slot the throttle rotor, put the cut off throttle rotor (now with a 1" long barrel) on the cut-off handlebar end on the throttle side. Line up the cut edges, then slide the cut off throttle rotor out so it is still partly supported by the metal handlebar within. To produce a .20" to .25" wide slot. 3/8" is exactly correct for a 1/4" wide slot; Make it a short 3/8 if the slot is narrower. The trick is to line up the metal (handlebar end) inside the throttle rotor in such a way that the metal edge guides the dremel bit along a straight course, easily producing a slot. Each slot should be long enough to see 2 screw holes in the Flatbar core below (about 60 degrees). The slot centerline should be 1/4" from the cut off edge of the throttle rotor.
I notice you list Helibars as one of your preferred bars for installation of the flatbars. I've got a Honda ST1100 with heli multi-tour sport (or is it multi-sport tour?). Anyway, how do the flatbars mount in this application? Is it still necessary to cut the ends of the bars, or does your product mount directly to the adjustable riser part of the heli assembly?
On another subject completely, do you have a return / exchange policy? If I don't like the flatbars, are the returnable, or exchangeable for the regular round version? (I do like the vibration damping aspect of your bars, regardless of shape.)
Ken,
I have a 2002 Kawasaki Nomad FI. Will your flat bars work with the stock bars? If yes, are there instructions for this type of application?
Doug Baliko
Dallas,TX
Ken, I race and am wondering if your product could help my sleepy numb and dangerously unfeeling right hand. Sny other racers using your product?
A few years ago, it was difficult to find synthetic motor oils, and equally difficult to find someone who admitted to
using them. Nowadays, however, you can find synthetic motor oils on the shelves of Wal-Mart, and other retailers, and the
number of people turning to synthetic motor oils, particularly in light of the recent events affecting fuel prices, has
risen greatly.
So why do people use synthetic motor oils rather than sticking with the old petroleum based stand-bys which are
admittedly cheaper?
1. Let's start with the cost per quart issue. Synthetic motor oils ARE more expensive at purchase. However, these oils
last longer, requiring fewer oil changes. As a synthetic motor oil outlasts several changes of petroleum based
lubricants, the ultimate out-of-pocket cost of the lubricant is less. This cost savings becomes even greater if you have
someone else change your oil for you rather than doing it yourself!
Post a Comment