Hi Guys,
I just recently started riding to work one day a week and I just noticed that one of my barends has either been snapped-off or stolen.
I mean, at first thought it mighht have been snapped-off, but the whole bar-end is missing, including the weight, the rubber, the nut and washer, so this leads to believe that someone has helped themselves to it.
Is it common for these barends to be a traget for theft?
I called the local Suzuki dealer and they quoted me $46 bucks for one barend just for one side!
Probably not a targetted thing, more likely just a "DERP I HAVE A SCREWDRIVER THAT FITS THIS SCREW AND I WANNA SEE WHAT'LL FALL OFF IF I UNDO IT?!?!?!!!!1 MAYBE THE ENGINE WILL FALL OUT LOL" moment from one of the less intelligent.
And $46 is a bit steep for a metal tube full of powdered milk. Try a local wreckers, or fleagay. Might have some luck.
I had one fall out a couple of months ago.
Go down to your local motorcycle accessory store and you can buy an aftermarket pair for about $20. Not as heavy as the originals but they don't need to be and I reckon they are more secure.
Aftermarket ones are also usually secured with an allen head bolt (key supplied) which your average bogan is less likely to carry around.
I ordered a genuine one, ended-up finding a dealer that sells it for $36.00 (the whole assembly). I have been advised against fitting the light aftermarket barends, as they do nothing in terms of reducing vibration and my hand went numb just with this barend missing on one side, so I doubt the lighter one would work at all.
It's not just about the amount of weight in the bar end (though it is important) ... How much you tighten (or over tighten) them counts too
Not sure how one can "over-tighten" them, as I moved one from the left to the right (while waiting for the replacement to come in) and the only way it would stay firmly in place is by tightening the screw all the way and pretty hard too. It consists of the piece of rubber sandwiched between 2 nuts, but only one nut is actually doing the tightening, the other is just there to stop movement inside the handlebar itself.
Mmm ... Ok I get what you sayin.... And it's just something I read recently .. Either on this site or another bike site... If you make the rubber plugs super tight... It affects how the bar end resonates in the bars ... Firm is good... But tight like you doing a wheel nut is overdoing it...
Part of the magic of the bar ends is that they do sympathetic vibration with the bars and by doing so dampen/minimise what you feel in your hands... It's like holding a golf club with a rigid locked wrist or allowing your grip to be firm and controlled but flowing with the swing... If you hold it way tight then you feel more vibration and usually make a crap shot, if you flow with it you get a nice 'sweet spot' feel and also a smoother shot...
If you have to make the nut super tight to stop the thing moving then odds are you have a thrashed out or wrong size rubber bush ... Which still needs replacing .... :thumb:
Got the bar-end today.
The part number for those needing to buy one is: 56200-01841
The description is: Balancer Set, Handlebar