[azad]

I have somehow managed to bend the stock handlebar on my red Icon. Don't know how, haven't dropped her, maybe some impact while she was parked and i was away. The right side is off towards the outside by half a centimetre. Is so irritating when i ride it is not funny. Hate it.

Any advice on whether i can get the bars straightened or do I go for new ones. any suggestions on aftermarket bars as I was considering the FT bars but they are just too expensive with new clamps required as well.

 

[azad]

forgot to mention I am based in India, Mumbai, have looked at some Vortex MX bars that i could get but no Renthal available here.

 

[Derek]

Are the bars bent or is the rear wheel alignment out? If the chain has been adjusted and the adjusters haven't been turned by equal amounts the wheels will be out of line resulting in the handlebars being slightly to one side when you ride.

 

[azad]

The bars are bent. Took it to the service centre got them to remove them and check them as they kept on saying there is no problem with the bike but i kept on feeling it. I wasn't around when they checked but they called me up to tell me they 'placed the handlebars on a glass table' and checked them and told me that they were off by half a centimetre.

 

[Jerry Winder]

I stand to be corrected but couldn't you straighten them out with a set of pipe benders?

Jerry

 

[azad]

Thats what i was hoping but the guy at the service centre told me it cannot be done and i would have to buy new ones which just sounds wrong. I have straightened it on my previous bikes but wanted to check if it is possible on the scrambler. are these aluminium handlebars?

 

[truant]

As long as you can hold the bars firmly without damaging them, then a tweak of half a centermetre should be fine. If you wrap it in a rag and put the end you want to tweak down into a large solid pipe such as a outdoor umbrella base, fence or similar, it's worth trying to tweak it. Small effort, check, try again, check etc.

 

[azad]

Sounds like a plan, am gonna give it a shot. Let see. Thanks guys

 

[Slaine]

The bars are made of aluminium, so if they really are bent then they will now be an area that has been weakened and most likely will have a stress fracture, thus making the bar somewhat dangerous.

 

[mitra]

Had something similar happen to my bike yesterday night. Believe someone must have gone to sit on it while parked or similar and dropped the bike. Scratches on the exhaust and the handlebar has bent and the "bar end" on the right has slightly broken off.

The bar is bent much more than 0.5cm, can feel and see the change on the right hand side. In fact did take it for a ride just to see that everything else was ok and at low speeds it wobbles a bit (but i believe because of the discrepancy of handlebars and hands trying to level a bit) at higher speeds it feels fine.

Made a police report and hope that maybe they have something on camera.


Anyway, i think in terms of financial stuff, it will be cheaper for me to just buy new bars then go through insurance etc. Any suggestions?

 

[ScrambledEggs]

As stated by Slaine, it may be better to just replace them as there is now a structural weakness in the bar even if you do bend it back. Maybe also invest in some sliders in case someone else tries to test out your bike without permission. I don't trust people to not climb on a bike that's not theirs.

 

[igotone2]

The bars are made of aluminium, so if they really are bent then they will now be an area that has been weakened and most likely will have a stress fracture, thus making the bar somewhat dangerous.

The bars on my Icon are definetly steel. I replaced them with Renthal bars which were way lighter. I would not worry about bending them back. YMMV

 

[truant]

The bars on my Icon are definetly steel. I replaced them with Renthal bars which were way lighter. I would not worry about bending them back. YMMV

I'm pretty sure my UE are also steel. I'd be surprised if they were Aluminium.

 

[azad]

Guys an update. I put Hyperstrada handlebars on my Red Icon and they fit pretty well. slight tightness in wiring but nothing that can't be fixed. Slightly forward sitting position, similarish to the full throttle. Will post some pictures in a day or two. Went for a 200km ride and they felt great. The front end feels a little heavier but definitely more planted. Think gonna keep them on for a bit and see how it goes.

The funny thing is that even after changing the handlebars when i rode the bike the bars were still keeping to the right. I tried to get the front end checked but the mech did a quick twist to sort it. I am not really sure whether it sorted the issue completely as she feels straighter but i feel the front end is still a little wonky. Have asked service centre guys to tell me when they can open up the front end to check everything and reassemble.

Any suggestions?

 

[tburman]

Azad, from the looks of it, your bike's front fender doesn't fit right, and seems offset to the right (viewed head-on). If you're using that as a visual reference while riding, it could throw you off. Could that be it?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[mitra]

So someone reversed into my bike or sat on it and dropped it Ruined the handlebars and made the bike have a weird wobble at lowers speeds (which is still there at higher speeds but less pronounced and at higher frequency i guess)

Got a new set of handlebars thanks to Mixup on the forum and put them on yday. Wobble or swing in bike is much less, but I can still feel as if the bike is trying to auto correct itself when going straight between 20-30mph. Something like with a 0.2-0.5hz frequency or something that increases a bit as the speed goes up.


The bike was on steering lock when whoever tumbled over with my bike and it feels a bit harder to force into lock. Could something have been hit, or got loose or similar that is making this strange swinging, auto-correctness in the bike?

 

[azad]

Hey Tushar good to see you here mate. Naw its not just the front fender, the bike feels a lil off and the handlebars go a lil to the right when i ride. Given her to the service centre lets see if they can figure it out. Just pisses me off every time I ride. Been speaking to people but everyone has a different theory, there are some who say nothing is wrong but I know she handles and feels different from when she was new. She felt so balanced then and now walks with a slight limp.

 

[mitra]

Hey Tushar good to see you here mate. Naw its not just the front fender, the bike feels a lil off and the handlebars go a lil to the right when i ride. Given her to the service centre lets see if they can figure it out. Just pisses me off every time I ride. Been speaking to people but everyone has a different theory, there are some who say nothing is wrong but I know she handles and feels different from when she was new. She felt so balanced then and now walks with a slight limp.

yepp, might not be exactly same symptom, but even mine feels like something is off

 

[mitra]

Also the term I should use for my issues is a Weave or even a very slow weave.

I hope it's just still slightly misaligned handlebars, but what else could it be? Could the back wheel be slightly misaligned after the drop? Seems unlikely right? Front? (unless the reversed hard into it, which I don't believe happen... no real marks)

What to check after a drop and slow weaving symptoms

 

[ScrambledEggs]

It may be best to just bring it into a service center and then you can azad can compare notes.