Bending your own handlebars

[ultimax]

Hi,

I'm thinking of installing a set of t-bars to my Virago 125 (a 250 with a smaller engine) but haven't been able to find any which fit. The risers + drag bar option's also rather pricey.

So I was wondering if it would be possible to bend/weld my own bars? How hard would doing so be? I googled "making your own handlebars" or somehting and came across a BMX site which basically said it was hard work and almost impossible to get right in a home workshop. I'm not sure if that's BS for handlebars look fairly simple to me. But of course, I could be wrong

What do you guys think? I'll probably get a shop to bend the bars for me, but do the welding myself. Unfortunately, I've only got very basic experience with a stick welder.

thanks!

[BuzZz]

It isn't hard to bend them up. It is very hard to make them straight and symetrical. Factoring in tubing bender time and material cost, it might be cheaper to buy them.(definately straighter)

I see lots of home made parts on streetfighter and custom sights, but never any home made bars. I also noticed that OCC and Billy Lane type bikes featured in major magazines never have symetrical bars if you take a good look at the pics.(Take a good look at any OCC bike..... ain't nothing straight on them. Probably due to holding a part onto another part, closing thier eyes and saying,"OK tack it")

[old-n-slow]

Buzz could be right about the OCC handlebar symmetry, I honestly can't say. ON the other hand I disagree with the assessment that it is very difficult to get them straight and symmetrical. It may be tough for a novice however a skilled tradesperson with proper bending equipment should have no problem. In another life, I did plenty of tubing bending. Even with rudimentary equipment it is easily possible to produce a product that the eye cannot detect the lack of symmetry. Mostly it's a simple case of being able to use a tape measure and a protractor. People don't pack measuring equipment to check other peoples workmanship as a rule. Interestingly enough, there are times when you cannot build something by measuring that will appear straight due to the relationship of nearby objects so you have to resort to following the influence of the nearby items.

Oops I think I got carried away. I'm sure that's more then what you wanted to know.

[ultimax]

Hi guys,

thanks for your replies!

I'll probably have the bar bent by a professional pipe bender. But I'll try to weld the risers on myself. Do you think that'll be possible with a SMAW (stick) welding machine? Will I be able to polish the joint?

thanks!