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[T bone]

 Hello all!

    Handlebars suddenly snapped in two!..I managed to get it to a friends, and upon removal of the fairing outer, I discovered that the bars had fractured right in the middle, where the wires from the hand controls feed through, the weakest point on the bars...as that is where they are drilled for the wires to feed.

   Has anyone ever experienced this?..is this a recall issue that I am not aware of?...is there any way of welding these bars safely? I would imagine that tacking it is only a temporary fix...and that the wires need to be pulled through the bars at any rate...as they would not withstand the heat from a "full weld"...if that indeed is a safe and reliable remedy in the first place..Bike is an '06 CVO Ultra...30k miles.

Help is much appreciated!

regards; Larry

[Fired00d]

Have you ever trailered/transported your bike and used the handlebars to tie down/secure it?

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[ultrafxr]

Have you ever trailered/transported your bike and used the handlebars to tie down/secure it?

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

Yeah, Gary, that's what I immediately thought about also.  I try to never trailer my bikes - much prefer to ride them!  But when I do I never use the handlebar but put a soft tie around the fork just above the brake caliper and use that as a tie down point.  Never had any problem doing that.

I know when I changed my oem bars to WO 575s it was recommended to put the solid 1-piece clamp on the bars vs the oem u-clamps since the 1-piece would give more support in the center where the weakest point is.  Don't know about the newer bikes but imo the moco should use the 1-piece clamp on all the CVOs.

[T bone]

no gentlemen, I ride the bike everywhere and have never trailered it. Besides, I cannot imagine the very center of the bars failing even with tie downs on the bars....I can envision the "bend" at the bottom being stressed by that method...but the center?...there is no pressure in that spot...with two handlebar clamps, three inches apart holding the bars down.

Baffling, to say the least!...spoke to a few of my bud's who have been riding for 30 plus years...no one has ever heard of failure of a handlebar in this area....All I can point to...is vibration?

Should Harely recognize something like this?...it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, to me.

[naitram]

make the best of the situation and put on a set of bars that fit you better.....

[mud man]

yup what he said

[Fired00d]

The center of those bars are a weak spot and I've heard of them breaking before. As for a tech bulletin or recall I haven't heard of one. You could try contacting your dealer or MoCo customer service but like was mentioned in previous posts fix them with better quality bars and some that may fit you better and don't look back.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Twolanerider]

Tbone, on bars with two piece clamps that is the failure point.  Even though not a common failure that is the spot where its most likely to happen.  Can be brought on by stressing the bars by tie down from bars and pulling tight.  But have seen bars break in the middle before on bikes that had never been trailered.  Can think of two have seen this happen too in a lifetime's riding.  Maybe a third but it was a bike that had been trailered some and I always suspected had been tied down hard at the bars.

You can make it a bit stronger by putting a one piece clamp over the top of the bars when you go back together with it.  Worn out handlebar bushings can also lead to extra/excessive vibration on the bars that might make worse some small crack or manufacturing imperfection.  So it's worth checking closely or just replacing the bushings while you're in there. 

Glad this didn't happen going down the road.  Each hand and the front wheel all with the sudden ability to go entirely different directions from each other is high on the pucker factor inducement scale.

[T bone]

thanks to all for your comments!

best regards;

Larry

[Cvostu]

The 575 bars seem to be much heavier and more sturdy, especially in the middle where the wires pass through. I almost could not believe how light and crappy the stock handle bars are.   Like something off a cheap bicycle.  I went for the one piece clamp from HD and it is so much better. That's a much better way to go. Not a fun feeeling riding around knowing that your bars are cracked. 

[skreminegul07]

I recall an issue a few years back with Dynas breaking bars.

[T bone]

Two questions:

   Can anyone provide me with a part number for the 575 bars?...A local dealer near Toronto seems to have no idea what these are..has not ever heard of "575" bars.

2) the screws with the shorter heads that hold down the bar clamps...is this the cause of the CD skip....

Is it also the cause of the Harmon Kardon stereo's sound cutting out...or alternatively, speakers working only on one side? (due to stereo mount hitting the heads on the bolt?).....I read somewhere that the circuit board can develop hairline fractures..which cause the sound to cut out or only operate on one side when the stereo warms up....as is the case with mine...been cutting in and out for about a month now.

Help please!...and thank you!

[JCZ]

Back in the 70s and 80s it wasn't uncommon to hear about broken handlebars and they nearly always broke right in the middle.  I was riding my Heritage back in 86 and it happened to me.  That's when I learned to use the one piece riser cap.......it helps to keep the bars from flexing in the center.

[grc]

Two questions:

   Can anyone provide me with a part number for the 575 bars?...A local dealer near Toronto seems to have no idea what these are..has not ever heard of "575" bars.

2) the screws with the shorter heads that hold down the bar clamps...is this the cause of the CD skip....
Is it also the cause of the Harmon Kardon stereo's sound cutting out...or alternatively, speakers working only on one side? (due to stereo mount hitting the heads on the bolt?).....I read somewhere that the circuit board can develop hairline fractures..which cause the sound to cut out or only operate on one side when the stereo warms up....as is the case with mine...been cutting in and out for about a month now.

Help please!...and thank you!

There is a bulletin out from H-D about the bolts contacting the radio chassis on the H-K radios which can lead to CD skipping (and probably other vibration induced problems as well).  I don't have a copy of that one (I think it was a Tech Tip ?), perhaps someone else can dig it out and post it for you.

There is a widespread issue with H-K radio's in general concerning circuit board cracks due to design issues (probably related to a home stereo company trying to make a radio for a motorcycle at a cheap price).  Iron Cross has a fix that isn't necessarily cheap, but they guarantee it unlike H-D and H-K.  Check them out, they are a member on this site.


Jerry

[T bone]

Thanks Jerry...you wouldn't happen to know who makes the 575 bars...and what part number they are?....the harley dealer up here...has never heard of them, surprisingly!

many thanks,

Larry