New to MX - Why change your handle bars?

[m14cus]

Hi

I'm new to MX and have just bought a used 02 cr125. It came with some taper bars and have been raised.

I have since realised that they are bent and need replacing.

So my question is under what circumstance would I want to raise the bars and what type of handlebars should I go for. Should I take the piece that raises the bars out?

I had never ridden a MX bike before and have no intension of racing its just to mess around on with my son.

Thanks for the input

cheers

Marcus

 

[oldguy]

It is all a personal comfort preferance. You will need to ride it to get a feel for where you want them set.
It takes a pretty hard crash to bend ProTapers so before buying new ones (unless of course you can actually see they are bent) be sure your front tire isn't just tweaked out of line. Does it feel like the bars just are not straight when you are riding straight? If so try twisting the front end into alignment. Easiest way once you determine which way they need to go to be straight is to stand facing the bike with the front wheel between your legs to keep the wheel straight. Now grab the bars and jerk them sharply toward a true position (you can also use a tree or car bumper to hold the wheel in place). Sometimes they can't be easily pulled in which case you should loosen the 8 bolts holding the fork tubes in place and then twist it. Be sure to retighten the bolts when done and be carefull not to overtighten them. If you have a torque wrench do it right and tighten to the torque specs

 

[FruDaddy]

I have also managed to bend 2 bar mounts, one was a hard crash the other wasn't. If your bar mount has a 1 piece top, pull it and lay it on a flat surface to make sure it isn't the bent part. If it is bent, then your lowers are likely out of alignment. The rubber bushing helps keep the lowers from actually bending, but they can be moved enough to make you think that the bar is bent. I don't use ProTapers (Renthal), but it seems to me that a good bar is stronger than the mount.

 

[oldguy]

Good point Fru I forgot about the rubber mounts on the CR's we were always straightening them up when Spider was on his CR125

 

[m14cus]

Thanks for your help. I'll take a look tonight.

With regards to my question about the bars and height, etc so it's down to preference. Any hints to get me started? If the bars are bent and recommendations on what to replace them with.

Cheers

Marcus

 

[DougRoost]

You want to have the bars comfortable when you are in what's called the attack position. This means slightly standing, elbows out. Easiest and most likely change to make at this point is to rotate them for a better fit for you. Once you get them in a comfortable place you will likely want to adjust the clutch and brake levers, which is easy to do by loosening the clutch perch and brake master cylinder, rotating, then retightening them all snug.

A key thing if you loosen those fork tube clamp bolts is to not overtighten them as that would hurt the fork internals. The torque spec is generally around 18 foot pounds, so just snug. If you haven't gotten one yet a factory shop manual is a very good idea, as is Eric Gorr's book on Offroad Motorcycle maintenance and performance.

Doug

 

[m14cus]

Thanks for the pointers. I have just ordered the Clymer Manual, sounds like I'll have to invest in a torque wrench as well.

cheers

Marcus

 

[oldguy]

Marcus it really is difficult to tell someone what bar bend they would want. Often the taller a rider is the higher they want the bars. Now after saying that my son is 6'2" and prefers bars made for 85s because they fit him when he is riding. Lever position is also another personal preferance again he is a freak and everyone that rides one f his bikes always comment on how do you rie with your levers pointing so high?
Just try to sit on (and ride if they will let you) other peoples bikes and move around to different positions on it to find what is most comfortable to you. Once you try the correct bars you will know.
And on the torque wrench you won't regret having one anywhere near as much as you will regret not having one

 

[KX250Dad]

just to mess around on with my son

Your in for most likely some of the best times you'll ever have. In so far as the bars... being a somewhat older/taller/heavier fellow "messing around" with the OEM standard bars I found myself using the low rise slight sweep bars to pull myself up... bad, bad, bad. Straightened a pair (it was an emergency) of my son's 85cc high rise bars and the feel was fantastic. I replaced these with a high rise deep sweep bend. Hard to believe the difference the bar can make in regards to both comfort and technique.

Good Luck, have fun, and experiment....