Straighting Handle bars

[Wonko]

As some of you know, my bike was knocked over eairly this year and the left hand handle bar was bent at the clamp that bolts onto the top of the forks. I have been told that the if it was placed in a vice, and with the right application of heat and a hammer, or bar fitted over the end, would be enough to knock it back into warrentable service.

The handlebar is a one piece clamp to fork tube style. Has anyone had any experiance with doing this?
Would it weaken significantly more at the bend?
Would it still be 'safe'?

Is anyone wlling to take a look at it in the Auckland area?

Cheers
Eric

[merv]

I'm not in Auckland so can't take a look at it, but it depends on what its made of. If its steel and not too badly munted, put a long pipe over the end and just tweak it back to the right place still fitted to the bike. Steel can take quite a few reverse cycles i.e. bending and straightening, without any problem, provided its not too badly bent and there are no cracks at welds or where ever.

If its aluminium or alloy be very careful as this stuff fractures easily. There would be doubts about safety with this stuff after straightening.

Also care is needed if you heat stuff because it sets up residual stresses in the heat effected zone that can lead to early fatigue fractures later, let alone it burns your paint off if its a painted item. Proper heat treating after straightening would avoid the stress issue.

[toads]

I'm not sure about your bike, but aftermarket bars for our bikes are really cheap, like $35, you might wanna check out the price of some new ones before spending too much time with your bent ones.

[Hoon]

Or you can grab the biggest bashing stick you can find and bash it back into shape again. Worked for all my trackside repairs.

[scroter]

if its one of the handlebars that clamps to the fork tube then im assuming the fork tubes arnt bent as well. Plus alot of this style handle bar are bolted to the upper triple clamp. Also assuming no damage to this. if this is the case throw it away and buy a new one you cant put it on wrong just make sure you dont over tighten the bolts when you do or it can put to much pressure on the forks and impede correct travel. I suggest a torque wrench for this to the reccomend settings.

[FROSTY]

are you totally sure its a one piece bar ?--Im pretty sure that if you remove the bar on a gpz then look from the inward end youll find an allen key bolt that you can unscrew. It attaches the alloy mount to a steel tube You will be able to remove the bent piece of pipe and straighten it in a vice or whatever then bolt it back together . otherwise give henry at takinini wreckers a ring--hell be able to get ya a set to suit your bike

[Wonko]

It's a one piece.

I'm off to see Henry in the morn, he has one from a gpx 400 that may do the job.

[Wonko]

XJXJXJ, I owe you a beer.

Henry had one, still with grip, endweight, and clutch bracket attached :banana:

I'm now back on road, and will have a Wof after fitting a new front tire tomorrow morn.

Thanks for everyone's ideas, wellwishes and other info floating around this site

[FROSTY]

no worries dude --glad i could help
In the outside world Im known as frosty BTW

[TDC]

Before trying to save a few bucks think about what would happen if the bar that was repaired in failed in service, this would likely to be while braking heavily with the bars under full load, could you retain control?

If its made of steel (probably painted and a magnet will stick to it) a competent engineer will be able to identify if the steel is likely to be affected badly (read will become brittle) by heat applied during the straightening process and make a satisfactory repair.

If its alloy you will need a better engineer to in the first place determin if serious damage has been caused to the structure of the component. Then the process of straightening the bar needs to be approached very carefully needing some not very common equipment.

Remember that in this country it is difficult to extract compensation for a poor or downright dangerous repair. As a result many will offer to "fix" things that simply shouldn't be fixed. This is simply because they are isolated from accepting responsibility for their actions, but your body may not enjoy the same legal protection if it goes wrong.....

If it was mine and made of steel I would likely fix it and paint the other one at the same time. If it was alloy regardless of how slight the bend I would put it out with the recycling.