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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Bar hopping on a Savage /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1097588381 Message started by bassman29 on 10/12/04 at 06:39:41 |
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Title: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/12/04 at 06:39:41 My ’98 Savage came to me with low, flat, w i d e drag bars (36” wide!). Here's a photo. (http://home.neb.rr.com/dmorris29/Suzy%20and%20Tomos%20with%20riders2.jpg) I thought it was cool at first, but soon I came to realize that those bars are too freakin’ wide for comfort. So I recently acquired a KhromeWerks drag bar – much narrower, with a little more pullback and a slight rise. I scored it on e-bay – it is brand new and cost me the princeley sum of $2.26 (plus $10 shipping). My question is – should I, a relative newbie with limited wrenching skills, attempt to swap bars myself or should I bite the bullet and have my mechanic do it? He estimates a couple hours or so of shop time, so it would probably cost me $100 or so. I also plan to put new grips on – probably the cushy Kuryakyns. Is there a bar swapping tutorial somewhere on the internet? Any advice for me? |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Gargoyle on 10/12/04 at 06:48:28 Switching handlbars is fairly easy job. For me the hardest thing is removing left grip. they are glued on. Did you consider just cutting the ends off your bars to the exact width you wanted? Oh yes and lay a towel over the gas tank. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Susan on 10/12/04 at 07:14:00 I've had my bars off. It wasn't too hard. Having a helper would make it easier. I think you could do it. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/12/04 at 10:20:57 Quote:
Yep, thought about it seriously - but that wouldn't solve the need for some pullback too. Also the bars are dimpled & drilled so that would have been out of whack. Quote:
Thanks for the encouragement, Susan. You have given me the confidence to attempt it. Why don't you drop by and give me a hand since you have experience? It's only around a 1250 mile ride from your place to mine. You could stop by Mechanicsburg and ask my brother for directions. :) |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by mownor on 10/12/04 at 18:16:16 Try this gentleman's site. He gave me lots of encouragement when I changed my bars out. M. http://www.jonline.org Note to file: check out Bert Heise's site and Be_Savage and read, read, read. You will probably find the answers to all of your tech questions there. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Honda_fan on 10/12/04 at 18:53:49 bassman29 wrote:
Bassman, This is a very easy type of swap. As mentioned above typically the hardest part is removing the old grips. Make sure to lay a old towel or blanket over the tank to protect it. Watch your cable routing to keep from pinching a wire and make sure to test the bars from lock to lock to make sure your not binding the clutch or throttle cable |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/12/04 at 21:01:13 I did it! It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and maybe I'm not as clueless as I thought I was....anyway - I now have new bars and new Kuryakyn grips. Before: http://home.neb.rr.com/dmorris29/Suzy%20bar.jpg After: http://home.neb.rr.com/dmorris29/changing%20the%20bar%20006.jpg Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. Y'all rawk! |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Susan on 10/12/04 at 21:05:24 bassman29 wrote:
Aww David, I can't believe you did it already. I didn't even have time to plan a trip... ;D Congratulations! Have you tried your grips yet? I love my Kuryakyn grips (thanks Greg!).... |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/12/04 at 21:32:55 Sorry, Susan - I couldn't wait around for you...I picked up the Kuryakins at my local cycle supply after work this evening and started the project around 8 pm - finished just after 10 so it was too late for a ride. It took over a half hour to drill a couple of 3/16" holes in the bar - I had to go to my neighbor's and use his drill press. I'll try them tomorrow (if'n it don't rain). Susan, did you remove the chrome colored plastic ring from the original grip that is right next to the throttle cable pulley (or whatever it's called)? I couldn't seem to get it off without destroying it, so it is still on. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Kropatchek on 10/13/04 at 07:10:00 Sorry to break-in your tet-a-tet with Susan but I have a question: Why did you have to drill 3/16 " holes in the handlebar? :-[ And the chrome plastic ring on the throttle grip comes right off when you push it to the outside after the rubber is cut away. Greetz Kropatchek |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/13/04 at 09:57:08 Quote:
Because on the inner side of the forward-facing half of both handlebar switch assemblies there is a protuding stud that fits into the 3/16" hole, keeping the switch assembly from rotating around the bar. Quote:
It didn't on mine. I tried to twist it off with vice grips and it wouldn't budge. Maybe the previous owner who installed the longhorn bar glued it on. I'll tear it apart again in a couple days and see if I can remove it. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Kropatchek on 10/13/04 at 15:46:55 Thanks bassman, my switch assys don't have a protuding stud, hence the question. :-[ Greetz Kropatchek 8) |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by gitarzan on 10/13/04 at 20:35:27 I filed the nub off of mine.. No probs. I don't think the nub is there to keep the throttle from rotating, but rather to speed up assembly by making it pre aligned. Just slip it into place and screw it down, rather than having to pay attention to how it's located. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Greg_650 on 10/14/04 at 02:36:46 Kropatchek wrote:
Mine don't, either, because I filed mine off as well |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by Susan on 10/14/04 at 16:18:20 bassman29 wrote:
Yep, like Kropatchek said mine slid right off. But if its not affecting anything I don't know if I'd tear the grip off the fix it... I think that Kuryakyn glue is pretty powerful stuff. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by gitarzan on 10/14/04 at 18:17:57 bassman29 wrote:
Hey those look pretty nice.:-* They look like the racing bars I used to have on my RD350. I might replace my superwides with something like those 'uns you got there. |
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Title: Re: Bar hopping on a Savage Post by bassman29 on 10/14/04 at 21:32:44 Quote:
That may be true, but....I didn't use any on the throttle side yet. The grip was so tight on the sleeve even after I sanded off all the ribs that I didn't glue it. Yet. |
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