Handlebar follies

Need help finding information or parts for that old machine in your shed? Someone in here will know!

Moderator: Moderators

David Lahey
Champion
Champion
Posts: 4062
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 7:01 pm
Bike: Many Twinshocks
Club: CQTC Inc, RTC Inc
Location: Gladstone, Queensland

Handlebar follies

Postby David Lahey » Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:27 pm

Do my bars look big in this?
Attachments
P1010254.JPG


relax, nothing is under control

TriCub
Expert participant
Expert participant
Posts: 273
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 11:38 am
Bike: Triumph
Club: Wester districs trials club

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby TriCub » Sat Jul 30, 2011 9:56 pm

Looks like they would suit someone with a bad back! Or a very tall person.



PA
2IC
2IC
Posts: 472
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2003 9:55 am
Bike: Beta EVO
Club: AJS Moto Trial Club of SA Inc.
Location: South Australia

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby PA » Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:37 pm

TriCub wrote:Looks like they would suit someone with a bad back! Or a very tall person.

Or a cow in Scotland.
scotland_highland_cows.jpg



Mark K
Expert participant
Expert participant
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 4:14 am
Bike: TY175, OSSA MAR
Club: WDTC
Location: Brisbane

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby Mark K » Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:07 pm

Its hard to tell from the picture, but maybe the bars are fine,
and the rest of the bike is really really small. :shock: #-o

(mine looks really small under me)



David Lahey
Champion
Champion
Posts: 4062
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 7:01 pm
Bike: Many Twinshocks
Club: CQTC Inc, RTC Inc
Location: Gladstone, Queensland

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby David Lahey » Tue Aug 02, 2011 6:46 pm

Since that photo was taken, I have fitted a set of bars that are a bit lower (but still look like scottish cattle horns thanks PA) and they feel great on that standard-frame TY175. It has the standard position footpegs and 6" renthals feel too low for me at 175cm tall so I'm very happy with the new bars.
The idea of getting those old-school height bars is to fit them to my 1968 M49 Sherpa T which has a terribly hunched-over riding position with the standard position footpegs and 6" Renthals. I have looked at lots of photos taken in the late 1960s of Sammy Miller riding the same model M49 as mine, and he uses bars of a similar height to the ones I now have on that TY175, and I think he is about the same height as me.
The bars in the photo are a bit too high for me on that TY175. I could ride it OK but got sore arms very quickly. I think they would definitely suit a tall rider on a TY175. I'll leave one of the new sets of bars on that TY175 until Mark Casswell (extremely tall test rider) has had a test ride. I will take photos of the test ride and post them up.


relax, nothing is under control

billy
C grade participant
C grade participant
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 9:22 pm
Bike: muchos motos

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby billy » Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:21 pm

Mark K wrote:Its hard to tell from the picture, but maybe the bars are fine,
and the rest of the bike is really really small. :shock: #-o


It's about the law of relativity! :idea:
Does that mean a trials rider with short legs has less dabs :?:


Old trials riders never die ......... their rocks just get smaller.

Mark K
Expert participant
Expert participant
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 4:14 am
Bike: TY175, OSSA MAR
Club: WDTC
Location: Brisbane

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby Mark K » Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:12 am

Now you have me thinking David............

Perhaps if I got some of those Scottish Cattle Horn Bars
and then maybe lowered my footpegs by about 18 inches
I could probably stand much more comfortably, but then
it may improve comfort, but I doubt it would improve skill

billy wrote:It's about the law of relativity! :idea:
Does that mean a trials rider with short legs has less dabs :?:

I can choose my friends but I can't choose my relativities
I have no idea if a rider with short legs has less dabs, but I reckon if his legs are that short then any awkward dabs could certainly cause more pain and discomfort.

Who am I trying to fool, Billy? If you Google "long legged frequent dabber" you'll probably find a picture of me.



David Lahey
Champion
Champion
Posts: 4062
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 7:01 pm
Bike: Many Twinshocks
Club: CQTC Inc, RTC Inc
Location: Gladstone, Queensland

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby David Lahey » Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:18 pm

Mark K you can try them out at Conondale if you want. I think you would like them


relax, nothing is under control

Mark K
Expert participant
Expert participant
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 4:14 am
Bike: TY175, OSSA MAR
Club: WDTC
Location: Brisbane

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby Mark K » Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:56 pm

OK so this time I’ll be a bit more serious.

A few years back when I first got the little TY I ride now, it came with a pair of old Renthal handlebars. I hadn’t had it very long when one day I steered the front wheel into a hole which I didn’t see because of some long grass. Normally it would have bounced out the other side and just given me a bit of an uncomfortable moment, but on this particular occasion I found myself tumbling awkwardly to the ground still with the left half of the handlebars in my hand. It had broken off pretty much flush against the clamp that holds it to the steering head. Apparently thirty something year old duralium gets somewhat brittle.

It was straight after that I purchased the much more modern Jitsie bars that I use now. They were called high rise, and compared to what is on so many of the modern bikes I guess they are, but they are still only about six inch. On the plus side they have that brace bar which I believe helps reduce the strain at the point where those old ones broke.

Now I said all of that so I can say this…….

Those bars in the photo appear to have a lot of length which would put significant strain on the point I described earlier where mine failed. How would they cope with a rider well on the wrong side of 120kg particularly at those moments where a lot of weight is momentarily thrown onto the bars?

Do they bend or break more easily than the shorter versions?

Also did you have to change any of your cables?

And finally, yes, I’d be very interested to have a try at Conondale.



David Lahey
Champion
Champion
Posts: 4062
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 7:01 pm
Bike: Many Twinshocks
Club: CQTC Inc, RTC Inc
Location: Gladstone, Queensland

Re: Handlebar follies

Postby David Lahey » Sun Aug 07, 2011 8:32 pm

Mark I had a similar incident last year when a set of 1970s unbraced tubular alloy bars (but not renthals) snapped while jumping a small log.
When I have decided which of the two sets of new bars are going on the M49 for Conondale, I will be fitting a cross-brace.
Some background on those new bars:
They are made from thicker wall tubing than 1970s Renthal alloy bars
They weigh about 1/3 more than unbraced 1970s Renthals
They are made from alloy tubing that is used for suspension and steering elements on racing cars
The tubing was heated at the bends to assist bending
There is no guarantee how they will behave over time and with use
The person who made them for me has been using a set made from the same tubing since about 2004, weighs about 85kg and has crashed quite a few times with them (unbraced)
I am very happy that I finally found someone willing to make me some alloy trials bars with a bigger rise than the highest available Renthals, Jitsies and AFAMs
After my incident last year I would recommend using a brace on any aluminium alloy handlebars (to reduce the bending moment).


relax, nothing is under control


Return to “Twinshock & Classic Trials”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests