Dirt-bike handlebars on and FXR150?

[Voltaire]

They probably fit thru a rubber bush arrangement on the dirt bike.
I don't like your chances of threading the shaft as its probably hardened.
if you put the shaft in a vice maybe you can unscrew the stud, then fit a short threaded one.
on 10 mm the pitch should be 1.5 mm.

[Damien_Toman]

I didn't expect the stud to be un-screwable! That's worth a try. I'll let you know..... Tried it. It won't budge so I have cut off the stud and re-drilled the mount. I'll look for the right drill size and then thread it to M10x1.25 and all should be well

[Henk]

The aftermarket mounts and KTM mounts come with a T bolt thing that feeds through an unthreaded hole. Trick would probably be to get another top clamp and butcher that. On the other hand if you drill a clearance hole you always have the nut on the bottom if you decide to go back to standard.

[Damien_Toman]

I considered a non-threaded hole but I would have had to drill a 16mm indent so the Allen bolt head would not hit the bar and that would have weakened the mount too much, I think - I'm going to be putting some pressure on those bars during braking.

So, I drilled a 9mm hole, tapped it to M10x1.25 (had to buy a new set of taps & dies as mine did not have tapered taps and are therefore only suitable for cleaning rather than cutting fresh threads). As seen in photos, I can screw a longer bolt in (need to get those) araldite the threads in place on the mounts so they stay there, then cut off the head of the bolt with the Dremmel and use a new nylock nut to secure the bars. I will also need to make spacers for the mounts to clear the top of the forks, or, I could drop the forks in the tripple clamps - not sure how well it would steer with the raised front end. I also prefer to keep the bike as low as possible.

[Damien_Toman]

Anyone raised or lowered their FXR150 forks? What difference did it make to the handling, if any?

[UNSTABLE]

Anyone raised or lowered their FXR150 forks? What difference did it make to the handling, if any?

Most of us, (Rick, Gav, myself at least...) have dropped the front end (the reverse of what you want to do) to get a bit more steering. I don't think raising the front would be a terribly good thing to do as the steering is already a bit lazy on FXR's. You would end up with a bit of a chopper on your hands...

I thought about going the route you have with MX bars but they would just end up too high for my liking.

[Max Headroom]

Damien, have you tried straightening your FXR 'bars? The lovely Mrs Headroom has binned her FXR a few times and bent the 'bars, and i've simply used a length of pipe and bent them back again.

That was after I'd done a price-check at the local Suzuki dealer . . . .

[craisin]

most people would be thinking clip ons for racing

[quallman1234]

How bad are your clip-on's? If they are buggered i'm sure you could still cut and weld a new piece of tube on to them?

[Morcs]

If you are going to have risers fitted, would highly recommend FZ1 bars.

Dirt bike bars are not ideal. They dont have very long flat areas to mount all your switches etc, and are generally just too wide.

I have FZ1 bars on my FZ6. Are the most comfy bars ive ever tried. They have a flat profile with a sweep back toward the rider, giving a comfy yet still sporty-ish riding position. $90 from a yammy dealer.

[Damien_Toman]

Most of us, (Rick, Gav, myself at least...) have dropped the front end (the reverse of what you want to do) to get a bit more steering. I don't think raising the front would be a terribly good thing to do as the steering is already a bit lazy on FXR's. You would end up with a bit of a chopper on your hands...

I thought about going the route you have with MX bars but they would just end up too high for my liking.

I'm going to give the dirt-bike bars a try but as you suggest I will not raise the front, I'll just make spacers for the bars. I agree that lowering the front would probably help and provide faster steering for tight circuits. Thanks for the advice.

[Damien_Toman]

Damien, have you tried straightening your FXR 'bars? The lovely Mrs Headroom has binned her FXR a few times and bent the 'bars, and i've simply used a length of pipe and bent them back again.

That was after I'd done a price-check at the local Suzuki dealer . . . .

Yes, I heated the bars with a blow-torch and had a go - see photos. It straightened a bit but I still want to try my dirt-bike bars. They will be lighter, I will have greater opportunity for adjustments to suit how I ride and I'm prepared to cut them narrower if I feel that helps. I'll go back to standard if I don't like it. Hey, I like trying different things.

[Damien_Toman]

How bad are your clip-on's? If they are buggered i'm sure you could still cut and weld a new piece of tube on to them?

That's an option if I need it but the bend is not too bad and I've managed to straighten it a little. I've just decided to have a go with the high bars that I have lying around not being used. I use ProTaper fat bars on my CRF250R and will never go back to these standard bars for dirt riding. Yes, I've seen FXR bars that have been cut and welded successfully. I don't have welding equipment and don't know how to weld so these are all factors..... Thanks for the advice.

[Damien_Toman]

If you are going to have risers fitted, would highly recommend FZ1 bars.

Dirt bike bars are not ideal. They dont have very long flat areas to mount all your switches etc, and are generally just too wide.

I have FZ1 bars on my FZ6. Are the most comfy bars ive ever tried. They have a flat profile with a sweep back toward the rider, giving a comfy yet still sporty-ish riding position. $90 from a yammy dealer.

Yes, I like that sweep-back toward the rider style. That's what I'm after. I think the CRF bars will hold the switches and levers and my GPS unit - great for checking speeds around sections of the track for each lap. The FZ1's sound great but I already have these bars so they cost me nothing, except for adjustments to the mounts - now well underway.

[DELLORTO]

the left bar on my old fxr was slightly bent, it didnt seem to make a difference........but if you like the mx bars go for it!!! give it a try, you might start a new trend!


you should come to taupo racing this weekend! give the fxr a good run