Barkbuster installation

[dougjc]

Tonight I started installing Maier deluxe wood pro handguards and ran into a couple snafu's.

1 - The left grip a bear to get off since the whole length is glued. I cut it but there is a tough layer still on the bar, any easy way to get it off?

2 - I plan on cutting off an inch on either side since I ride tight woods trails. On the interior end of each bar is a tack welded inner tube. Will that fall out when I cut 1" off each end?

3 - Do I need to cut the plastic end off the plastic throttle tube to fit the guard?

3 - After getting 1-3 done, it actually looks kinda iffy whether the everthing will line up and fit correctly, anyone else use the Maier's?

Thanks

 

[Canadian Dave]

1 - Try scrapping if off with a razor knife

2 - Use a pipe cutter (like you'd use for copper pipe). You'll get a nice straight cut and the plugs will just pull out of the ends. They are only friction fit with a small spot of welding at the end.

3 - Yes

 

[tedkxkdx]

Sounds like you have the flimsy stock handle bars. Go buy some renthals or other quality aluminum bar and don't mess with the cutting on the stock bar. Don't look for KDX bars, they won't be there. I run CR high and that is just my preference. $.02.....

 

[Fred T]

Before you whack off the ends of the bars check to make sure everything will fit back on the bars. You need enough room for perches, switches, grips and handguard mounts.

I agree that if you can afford it, get a set of Tag X5 or Renthal bars and cut them down. Save the stockers for when you sell it.

I've used a round wire brush on a drill to clean off the bars so you can put new grips on them. When you cut the stockers the grey paint will make the throttle stick so you have to remove the paint under the throttle tube.

 

[Dapper]

If you buy new bars I suggest the Moose Burlesons Flexbars. They are 30.5" so you won't have to cut them. I've also seen others that have woods bars that are narrow. I use Acerbis guard and you do have to crowd all the perches and switches to fit everything. Good Luck

 

[23jayhawk]

it actually looks kinda iffy whether the everthing will line up and fit correctly

I think that is common, at least it has been on 2 pair of EE guards I've installed. In order to get a good fit at the inner bracket (parallel to the mating surface, and also flush to the surface), I needed to tweak both 'busters. In the case of my son's little XR, quite a bit.

There is a brand of barkbuster (I think Cycra?) that comes with an articulated inner bracket which should eliminate much of the bending and tweaking needed to get a good install. I would expect EE to come out with something like that soon.

 

[MX175]

If your grip is really difficult to remove, try a heat gun or sneak out your wife's/girlfriend's hair dryer. That should make the job easier. It can't get hot enough to affect the steel.

 

[Smit-Dog]

... and when putting grips back on, don't glue them, use safety wire to keep them in place. The glue won't last long, and you'll end up re-glueing them or putting on safety wire eventually. Plus they're a breeze to take off with just safety wire!

 

[MX175]

Help me with this. What do you do with the ends of the wires? Don't you tear up your gloves? Obviously Dougjc didn't have trouble with his glue lasting or needing to reglue. I don't like the look of the safety wired grips either.

 

[Smit-Dog]

To each his own...

You twist the wire tightly to secure the grips. The wire rests in the little grooves (2-3 per grip) molded into the grip. Once the wire is twisted tightly, snip it short so only 1/8" or so is sticking out, then push/fold the remainder up into the rubber of the recessed groove. The end of the twisted wire should be at the bottom of the grip, where the hand/palm typically does not go. Even so, the cut off end is so buried into the groove of the rubber that your hand won't catch it. You could use a regular pair of needle nose plies to twist, but there is a special type of pliers that you can use to twist the wire fast and easy.

I give it a :thumb:!

 

[muggy]

The budget way to do this job is as follows:

1. Hacksaw off about an inch of the end of each bar right thru the plug. Just keep sawing away...its good exercise against arm pump.Clean up the ends with a metal file. That gives you about 29" bar tip to bar tip, a decent enough woods setup.

2. When you realise the bar end plugs are stuck, due to gunk getting in there or rust or whatever, take a drill to the clutch side and bore a hole thru the thing. Take a screw of roughly the same size as the hole and turn it in as tight as you can get it. Use vise grips on the screw and hit the v-grips with a hammer. The throttle side has a nice hole in the middle of the plug for some reason, so you don't have to drill it, if you can find a screw that'll fit.

3. Put a big dollup of grease on the throttle side bar before you remount the throttle assembly. You do need to wack the end off the throttle assembly.

4. Superglue works pretty good for holding the grips on. The grip will fail before the glue will, generally. You can safety wire on top of that on the throttle side if it floats your boat.

5. You may have to knock a 1/8 - 1/4 inch or so off your levers to get everything to fit. Removing the safety ball on the end usually does the trick...make sure you file those ends as blunt as possible to avoid possible impalement in a crash. Making the bar ends blunt might also help if you knock off the buster at some point.

6. The nice thing about the stock bar is...it bends back.

 

[gnarlykaw]

i still use the stock bars, and what i did was drill and tapped out the plug to the thread pitch of the bark buster allen bolt in the end. this way, i didn't have to mess with the spread plug. also, yeah, the guard does not fit square to the end of the bar. i had to tweak the guard to make it fit........