Cutting off ends of handlebars?

Has anyone had any experience cutting off an inch or 2 off the end of their handle bars? I am considering buying some Rox risers, but concerned the cables will not stretch the extra distance. One way to make up the distance would be to cut some of the end of the handlebars off. Anyone done this. Is the steering still OK or does it make it too difficult off road?

The narrower the bar the quicker the turn and less stable at speed. Wide bars give a slower turn response but more stability. I would be careful how much I cut off as it can feel twitchy.

Also, bars tend to taper toward the triple so you have to be sure there is enough sized bar to accommodate the controls.

Something to try would be to slide everything in as if you cut them and ride it a few times to see how it handles.

I bought some high rise wrenthals, that were also wider than the stock bars. I cut the ends off to make them same width as stock bars. Cables fitted fine with a couple of tweaks to the routing.


Geoff.

I usually end-up cutting my bars off about 1/2" - 3/4" depending.

It allows my wrists to stay aligned with my forearms and my elbows more at a 90 degree angle.

The result ( for me at least) is less fatigue/arm pump.

Yes.. Leverage is less, but my arm/shoulder strength is good.

I ran mini bars, Yamaha Mini bend from ProTaper only 28" wide, when my bike was an R for quite some time, loved them. Barely noticed the leverage difference, but found it much nicer on road particularly at highway speeds as I wasn't as spread out and open to the wind. I'd go back to narrow bars in a heartbeat, and might just if I ever bend my stock bars again.

I cut my Renthals from 31.5" to 29". Steering input with the wider bars was too vague for me on the road, and it felt like I was gonna clip my hands on trees on tighter single track.

Really like the narrow bars.

My enduro competition bikes always got a narrower bend bar, then cut down to 28". Bark busters added, of course. This was done for tree clearance. One machine is a Maico 500 (2 stroke). No handling problems, even at triple digit speeds. Handling is derived from steering geometry and suspension settings. If you rely on leverage, you are fighting the bike.

If your concern is comfort, shoot for a width that is most comfortable for you. Sit at a desk and rest your arms in front of you, where they naturally want to lay. Have someone measure that comfortable distance from outside to outside of your (closed) hands. That would be the ideal overall width for comfort. Height is not a factor, because this width remains constant as you rotate your shoulders up and down.

To trim your bars, slide your controls inward to where they feel comforable, and tighten them down. Measure the excess bar on both sides, then choose the shorter of the two "excess" dimensions. Cut the amount of that shorter dimension equally from both sides, then reinstall the throttle tube and left grip. A hack saw, sawzall, or large tubing cutter will work to cut the bars. Tubing cutters probably won't work well on aluminum bars.

Doing it this way will eliminate the possibility of not having enough bar to reinstall your controls.

Reserector wrote:

My enduro competition bikes always got a narrower bend bar, then cut down to 28". Bark busters added, of course. This was done for tree clearance. One machine is a Maico 500 (2 stroke). No handling problems, even at triple digit speeds.

You must be one hell of an enduro rider !

mrgeoff wrote:

I bought some high rise wrenthals, that were also wider than the stock bars. I cut the ends off to make them same width as stock bars. Cables fitted fine with a couple of tweaks to the routing.


Geoff.

Could you tell us about the tweak? Do you have any pictures?

X-Racer wrote:

Reserector wrote:

My enduro competition bikes always got a narrower bend bar, then cut down to 28". Bark busters added, of course. This was done for tree clearance. One machine is a Maico 500 (2 stroke). No handling problems, even at triple digit speeds.

You must be one hell of an enduro rider !

After a checkpoint, you can safely go 2.8 miles before there can be another checkpoint (not counting an observation check). If the checkpoint is right before a gravel road section, it's on like Donkey Kong! Air it out, then rest and drink water until you are back on your minute.

If the speed average is 24, and I am only a few minutes behind, and I hit 120 for a mile or two, I can pretty much take a nap at 2.8.

Now, back to bar cutting .........