Next time after you drill the oblong holes, use a large washer and cut it about 1/8" bigger around the edges of the hole. . Weld it on, paint the welds ,and you are all set. It will never happen again. This is why when I watch any bike building show, and see them drilling holes for wires in the frame, I think of the poor sap that buysthe bike.Any serious riding and it will develop cracks in the frame..Mark....

 

Wild1's site specifically states to not use the stock 2 piece clamp, they claim it is a poor design that doesn't support the bar in the middle. They recommend the 56170-83TA clamp, mine cost about 17 or 18 bucks. Here is their how-to page for their bars. http://www.wild1inc.com/rktechtips.html Hope this helps.


Jeff

 

I went by the dealer yesterday and picked up a new set of bars, installed them last night. Left the wiring outside this time. I checked a few things during teardown. The bolts that come in to the risers from the bottom were loose. Took a full turn on both of them to get to the proper torque spec. I'm sure that contributed to the loose feeling in the bars as much as anything. Did it contribute to the falure I had? Don't know. The clamps were tight and had the proper torque.

If I rode mainly solo I may have considered ( but not long )another method to run the wiring back inside again, it really cleans things up. But as often as I ride with my wife there's no way I'd go that way again, knowing what I do now.

My main goal when I changed bars originally was to get a set that were comfortable, I didn't necessarily want or need a set of 1.25" bars. The internal wiring to me was just a plus. As I said earlier, from the info I had gathered on this forum I thought this was a fairly common modification. Was I trying to save a buck? I guess we all try to when we can. I saw a picture on this forum of a UC on a table lift inside a garage larger than my house having the Fullsac conversion installed. Was this guy cutting corners or being thrifty? The impression I got was if the owner can afford a UC, a table lift and a pretty good sized garage, he can afford to buy whatever he wants. And in this case, he doesn't want to spend $700 on a set of Rineharts to achieve his goal. I guess that's why H-D makes more than one model motorcycle, we don't all want the same thing.

I'll chalk this up to a lesson learned the hard way, seems to be the way I do most of my learning. I hope others will also learn from my screw-up and not do the same. With all I've gained and learned from this forum it's my way of trying to give a little something back.

 

Id say you didn't learn the hardest way you could have. Glad it turned out well.

 

I'm just glad it turned out okay for ya. Glad you're here to tell us about it.

 

What Gunrunner said, as long as no one was hurt.

 

This should NEVER be done with stock 1" bars!

I know of two people that have had the exact same thing happen.

 

Neckball... glad you were taking care of your bike... that is a benefit of wax'n and clean'n a bike... it gives us a chance to check stuff and know our bikes... glad your are safe there bro...