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Message started by billy on 09/07/06 at 21:59:53

Title: making highway bars ?
Post by billy on 09/07/06 at 21:59:53

After reading the post about making your own forward controls I cot to wondering, does anybody have any ideas about making your own highway bars. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. thanks
Billy

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by clueless on 09/08/06 at 04:46:35

I made some. Not using them now as I got some forward controls from Ed_L (which BTW still are awsome). I'll try to find a pic and post. Pretty easy to fabricate.

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by azjay on 09/08/06 at 06:25:06

i'm considering that right now. i have several ideas, eventually one of them will settle in and i'll build it.

one idea is a simple cross bar, with standard, cheap, readily available harley pegs hanging on the ends, u-bolts doing the clamping to the down tubes in a fashion that allows height adjustment of the bar/pegs.

another idea is to mock the forward control brackets, and attatch extensions outward that the highway pegs would attach to, similar to the current factory set up on harley fxs.

thirdly, i'm considering a used suzuki crash bar and modifying it to suit my desire.

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by Trouble on 09/08/06 at 06:58:35

I bought 2001 Savage that has the homemade highway bars. They look OK and are held on by U bolts like Azjay described. You still have to be careful that your heel doesn't hit the brake :o

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by thumperclone on 09/08/06 at 08:56:16

Trouble wrote:

I bought 2001 Savage that has the homemade highway bars. They look OK and are held on by U bolts like Azjay described. You still have to be careful that your heel doesn't hit the brake :o

my oem engine guard is held on by u bolts also

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by DangMan on 09/12/06 at 12:36:29

I made a foreward control kit yself..... and I wonder why I didnt do it the first day I had the Savage..... The ride is much better now ;D

http://tornbjerg.dk/hp/savage/v.jpg
http://tornbjerg.dk/hp/savage/hojre.jpg

If you have not surfed Jons site yet, you owe yourself to do it, theres a lot of good stuff there ! Amongst other a "how to" for highway pegs that I was thinking of doing !
http://www.jonline.org/savage/Tips___How-to_s/HiWay_Pegs/hiway_pegs.html

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by vroom1776 on 09/12/06 at 17:41:56

Can you weld and/or bend pipe?

If so, I may have some ideas.

V

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by billy on 09/12/06 at 21:41:20

Thanks for all ther replies. I have gotten quite a few ideas. Vroom1776 please by all means share. I no longer have a welder, it went with the 'x'. I do have a friend that has access to a machine shop. He has said that he would help out if I did some drawings. So any and all ideas will be a blessing. once again thanks for the help.

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by azjay on 09/13/06 at 08:33:22

vroom1776 wrote:

Can you weld and/or bend pipe?

If so, I may have some ideas.

V

absolutely! plus we have a full size industrial mill and an industrial 48" metal lathe, lets hear your thoughts!

DangMan; nice brackets, i like the hot rod hole drillin' :)

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by vroom1776 on 09/13/06 at 12:15:00

The biggest trick, IMO, is to make something you like the looks of, is comfy, and doesn't get in the way of the header pipe or foot controls.

That being said... I have a couple of ideas...

1) a heart shaped highway bar would require welding AND bending, but should easily attach to where the downtube splits, but I htink it would have to go BEHIND the header.

2) Get some short apehangers, weld to downtube (must be a really good weld). Done. Make sure they don't interfere with turning the bike, though.

3) the top "tubes" that hold the footpegs on could be used to bolt or clamp bottoms of HWbars to, then, you could go up to the neck and weld there. Would be pretty interesting...

4) same as above, but w/ forward controls. Would give you lots of leg room.

I suggest staring at the bike w/ a beer and a cigarette. Keep staring. Any good ideas yet?

I also suggest using 1" OD steel as many footpeg clamps will work.

I also also suggest making amock up first to make sure everything will fit, and not hit the fender or tire.

Hope this gives you guys some ideas.

Good luck!

V

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by azjay on 09/14/06 at 12:44:18

thanks, yep, considered using old handlebars too ;D

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by Ed_L. on 09/14/06 at 16:24:17

I've been looking at shopping carts as a source of chromed, bent pipe to make custom engine guards out of ;D. Bet you could make a real nice luggage rack out of one also. A torch and hacksaw will go a long way with a little imagination. Still need to liberate the raw materials.

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by vroom1776 on 09/14/06 at 16:41:38

Ed,

That is a P I M P PIMP idea!

V

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by DangMan on 09/14/06 at 21:57:42

Ed_L. wrote:

LOL that would be a killer idea, remember to post pictures of before/after cart ;D

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by azjay on 09/23/06 at 06:45:22

after spending some study time with a tape measure and a couple beers on the projcet at hand, i settled on the suzuki engine protector. i was at the stealership the other day ordering o-rings for rocker covers(appearantly at $2 @ they're too expensive to keep on the shelf >:() when i noticed it hanging on the wall for $85, i put a tape measure to it, and decided i was intending to build one with the same demensions, and mine wouldn't be chromed. we then went the HD shop and ordered a set of clamp-on ISO highway pegs from V-TWIN for $40, they'll be here next week. she's talking about saddle bags next :-/

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by ratdog472 on 09/24/06 at 02:37:35

How about an extension plate that goes under the factory pegs and extends forward with a secondary set of pegs on it?

Just a thought.

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by DangMan on 09/24/06 at 03:00:21

azjay wrote:

she's talking about saddle bags next :-/

Ull never have a quiete moment ;D

Title: Re: making highway bars ?
Post by azjay on 09/24/06 at 07:10:20

ratdog472 wrote:

How about an extension plate that goes under the factory pegs and extends forward with a secondary set of pegs on it?

that certainly was a consideration, in fact, that is the factory part on a later HD that prompted me to start looking elsewhere for ideas. the 2 primary problems would be; 1) the exhaust pipe and your right ankle, and 2) not getting your feet/pegs into an argument with the foot controls.
it is probably doable, but would require more time than i'm willing to put in at this time. it is finally cooling down, and riding season is upon us. (debby gets really grumpy, when she cant ride her own bike.) plus i have a bunch of other vehicles and toys that need my attention.