I made myself a set of handlebars (sort of)

[gryphon]

I just got tired of never being able to find just the right handlebars. I tried lots of sets that were narrower than I wanted or way too tall or didn 't pull back enough or weren't tall enough. So I bought 3 sets of stainless bars on ebay and went to work on them. To make 'em taller I cut 2 3" pieces from one set and grafted them into another set using a piece of solid stainless rod at each cut that extended at least 2 inches into the tubing at each end. I cut them in the middle between the risers and made 'em 2" wider there. I grafted the pullback from a set of buckhorn bars for the grips. I twisted everything the way I wanted and then had them stainless welded (I left an 1/8" gap between everything for welding purposes). Next I filed 'em and polished 'em with sandpaper and steelwool. Now I hsve a set that fit me perfectly and you can't tell they were ever welded. Since they're stainless they don't need to be rechromed or anything. Not a big deal or anything but, after years of wanting 'em I finaly have a set that fits both me and the bike. And, it was pretty easy (and cheap).

[oldhippie765]

wow those look really great! o hell wait a minute i ain't seeen no pic . my bad ? get a pic!!!! what the hell!!!!

[gryphon]

Tried to but it's too dark in my shop right now to get anything good enough to really see. The bars just kinda blend in to the background. If it stops raining for a few minutes tomorrow I'll get a good shot (or 2).

[76shuvlinoff]

 Can't wait to see what you came up with!

[monty101]

Yeah I did about the same thing. I have buckhorn bars on my 77 and when I would get back on my rigid I would freak. They have pullback t bars that are 25 inches wide. I had some old ape hangers and I chopped off 2, 3 1/2 inch pieces off and hammered a 7/8 steel rod in each one and hammered that rod into the end of each bar. the grips cover up where the joint is and you can't tell they have 7 inches added. They are great now and when I ride the t-bars are just about the same width as the other scooter's buckhorn bars. I had always wondered why other people freaked out after they took the t-bar scooter for a spin. After getting used to the buckhorns I freaked too.

[gryphon]

We're pretty close in tecnique. I went with stainless bars since the mods I was making were gonna show and I didn't want the expense of re-chroming. As luck would have it I just happened to have a couple of sets of stainless bars already so I picked up another set of Heritage bars on ebay. Apparantly the Heritage models came with stainless rather than chrome. The stainless welds were really easy to file and polish by hand using only crocus cloth and steel wool (well, maybe not the filing part). No big radical changes but just tweaking them a couple inches here and there. Much more comfortable. The bars are a little streaked in the pics but it's only smudges and not weld, file or sanding marks. Sorry I couldn't get the bike outside to do some before and after shots. I'll add those if it ever stops raining.

[randallwhitman]

Wow, gryph......you do some great stuff.  I would have to call Flanders to get the right bars (which I did).  Randy     

[Dawgtired]

Lookin real good gryph 
Dawg.

[Dresser]

Good looking bars. 

[neten-o]

Excellent bars..I think that for all round ,these bars with a little bit of 'lift' just cannot be beat..we used to call them 'cow horns 'over here...Rich..