robtharalson

Hello all!
Well, at long last I've got all my supplier's ducks if not in a row, at least all headed in the same general direction. I just received the handle sections and am thoroughly inspecting them. Once this process is finished there will be 15 handlebar assemblies available, probably by February 12th. Let me know if you are interested and I'll put you on the list.


For the time being I'll be bootstrapping, so there will be a short delay between lots. Don't worry -- I will fill all orders, but patience will be appreciated.

Here's what you'll get:

My bars are made completely of 304 stainless steel, 6061-T6 aluminum, and 18-8 stainless steel bolts. While they can corrode (stainless is very corrosion resistant, but will rust a small amount given sufficient provocation), it is laughably easy to maintain -- a quick wipe with WD40 every couple of months is sufficient.

While I'm scaring up reliable suppliers for powder coating / anodizing / surface treating locally the shipped finish is Au natural: tumbled with an abrasive medium in a machine similar to a rock polisher. The handle tubes are filled with a stiff binary foam to help damp vibration without adding too much weight.

Included are four plastic tube caps, the throttle shim, and more or less comprehensive instructions for adjusting.

The throttle housing shim is a little innovation I came up with -- and learned how to "injection" mold polypropylene at home -- that holds the throttle housing firmly to the bar without grinding the locating pin out, enabling positioning to suit your needs before drilling the bar. I'm considering selling them separately to those of you who for some strange reason don't want to buy my bars just to get the shim. Cheapskates.

About payment: for the time being I can receive payment through Pay Pal, or by check in the mail.

I'm working up a web site which will be able to use practically any sort of payment, but the aforementioned will do for now. The default shipping is USPS for a box 16" x 6" x 6" and weighing 4 pounds = $14.14, and a probable delivery time of two days. If you want it faster use the package dimensions and weight to calculate shipping charges with a shipper you prefer and add it to the purchase price of $150.00.

Link to PayPal

Once payment is made I'll send you a serial number.

Contact me by:
Snail mail:
Thar Engineering
Rob Tharalson
1180 Hilltop road Unit D
Santa Maria, CA 93455

Phone / fax -- (805) 287-9550
Toll free -- (877) 852-1575
robthar@tharengineering.com

Thank you for your attention, and any questions or feedback you may have will be responded to and appreciated.

Links to threads chronicling the genesis of the lanesplitter adjustable handlebars:

Handlebars on the cheap
Handlebar lunatic fringe
Thar Engineering Multi-Position Bars (Rob Tharalson's Bars)

Rob

Ripper

Nice job on the bars, if I end up keeping my 9'er I'll have to get a set off ya!

brian

Those are very interesting.... I'd be tempted but I just picked up a new project. I may get a set and use my protapers I have on the 9 on the project. Hmmmmm, let me ponder. Sweet looking bars no doubt, I wonder if you could split the bar I n half and use a rotary damper? Dirty thoughts are going on, real dirty

TexasTraffic

Can we get some images of the bars installed?

These are interesting.... Spirited riding with the stock bars is not optimal.

peoples1234

I like this! Thinking...

Bigdaa

Nice welds.

adamjayp

FROM THIS THREAD




Although these are clearly not the same bars on second look. Must have been a prototype.

robtharalson

Here are representative pictures of 22 1/2" to the ends of the grips, and 28", about as wide as they'll go.



Despite the impression that the instruments are obscured in the 22 1/2" configuration, they are still quite visible. You will, however, need a different clutch cable and some sort of brake line adapter or a custom set from G&J with right angle banjo fittings at the master cylinder end. If you already have G&J lines they can change the ends to suit for very little money, and a quite fast turnaround.

Mine, If I ever make a set for myself that is, will be right down to the welds and the clamp stubs shortened. There is considerable height adjustment possible, but the stubs will have to be cut for the lowest positions. Once cut, there will be about an inch of height adjustment possible.

Notice they are considerably different from the Beta test bars in Thar Engineering Multi-Position Bars (Rob Tharalson's Bars)
Those were built specifically for as much height adjustment range as possible, but everyone who has tried them likes them very low, and has said that once they are right they're perfect for practically all riding. If you look closely you'll notice the clamps are the same as the Rev.2 bars.

Rob

AllanB

Interesting.

In some ways they remind me of the old Laverda Jota multi adjustable bars that use micro teeth and offer total adjustability from full clip-ons to a upright bar (rotate 360 for either option).

Attached Images

Picture 2.jpg (24.1 KB, 68 views)

robtharalson

While I was cutting my Italian motorcycle teeth on Laverdas I worked with the Brevattato adjustable bars quite a bit, including using a set myself for racing, and there are some of the geometries (in general concept) in my design. One telling point was there was very little variation in grip angle and pullback for a particular model, and when extending the data to include the seat / footpeg / grip angle and pullback relationships across the entire Laverda line it fell into a relatively narrow range. This is built into my bars.

Rob

Nemo

These look marvelous, Rob. Any idea yet what new clutch cable length will be needed, or how to communicate to G&J which replacement fittings would be appropriate for their existing brake lines?

robtharalson

Heidi, and everyone else:
The clutch cable I am using at the moment is the original with the steel tube at the lever end carefully straightened out, but for those of you who want to keep it intact a good alternative is Motion Pro #02-0293: Motion Pro - Cable, black vinyl, clutch I think it's for a late '90s Honda Nighthawk 750.

If you want the stainless lines modified you can call G & J at (909) 986 6534 and tell them that you need 90 degree banjo fittings with stainless ferrules installed at the master cylinder end. I recommend you lay a couple turns of masking tape over the fittings you want replaced with a tag saying "REPLACE THIS". They work on such a huge variety of custom lines and won't necessarily remember the setup for the 919. Better safe than sorry. And remember to get 3 new copper washers from them as well (though you can anneal the ones in use at the moment and reuse them). I just called them and they said "No problem." Great bunch there! Oh, and don't worry if the angle of the fittings is wrong when you get them back -- just grip the crimp ferrule with a pair of pliers and turn the fitting to whatever angle you need. The fittings are made with this in mind.

Both of these are only really necessary if you want to run the grip end measurement less than 25" or so, depending on height and pullback. I would suggest you fit the bars up with the stock components and see if they will work at the width and height you want.

Rob

snowytgr1

Here are some pics of the new bars. I am not sure if this is where they will stay but they are comfortable just sitting on bike. I will know about the bar setup after I get to ride it.

snowytgr1

here are some more pictures. Sorry they are big I forgot to resize them. Pay no attention to the mess. The bars look like they block the view of the gages in the pics but they do not block the view at all.

hornet919

those are quite possibly the ugliest bars i have ever seen on a sportbike/standard. sorry.

hornet919

sorry if i offended you, rob. no offense meant. im sure they are extremely functional, just not very visually pleasing imo. they do look alot better on snowy's bike mounted that way as opposed to adams

bloaker

Wow! Nice response!

Not gonna derail the thread... so I will stop there.
Hopefully you never need anything from Rob in the future.

hornet919

lol this is awesome. so im not allowed to voice my opinion?? if had plenty of negative feedback from plenty of forums on projects etc. . that i did. and ya know what? i dont mind it. it helps me make my next project that much better.

Bigdaa

The one's you refer to are early proto's. I know that and I don't even own a 919. I do agree that the early protos are ugly. It's all in the product evolution....

robtharalson

First, everyone get your feathers down! I'm not offended by your comment at all. In fact, thank you for your honesty.
It was an expression of opinion, and freedom of speech is one of the most important rights we enjoy. That the opinion doesn't agree with mine is irrelevant. I have always preferred a machine aesthetic -- function before form -- and frankly it shows in practically everything I do. That it won't please everyone is a given. One thing I would like, however, is specifics: what makes them "quite possibly the ugliest bars i have ever seen on a sportbike/standard."? Why? Would tricky plastic covers and ground down welds do it, or is it a fundamental styling problem that would require a complete redesign?

This opinion must be shared by others who are too polite to say it but speak with their checkbooks instead (Actually not speak, if you know what I mean.) Not one order since I posted their availability. Of course, it has been only eleven days since I posted, and as they say "Rome wasn't built in a day." Ah well, such is life.

One thing's sure: I picked the economically wrong time to start a business!

Peace on!

Rob

hornet919

lol well thanks for not being as cranky as the person who sent me a PM and the person who just came out and said it here in this thread. i think its the fact that they are so unique looking. im not a huge fan of square bars, just doesnt flow for me. no, trick plastic covers wont do anything for me. and like i said, the one dudes bike who has the U pointed towards the front definately looks awkward. pointing down looks much better. i never meant to offend you, it was supposed to be constructive criticism. sorry if it came out the wrong way. they look just really, really odd on the bike to me. either way, i commend your fab skills and the fact you have the nuts to build a niche product to a small group of people. i like unique products, like the billet brake line holder i got off a member on her (ripper i think??). its parts like that which set bikes apart.

bloaker

and not that my opinion is a big deal... but this last post was constructive.
Not the other two.


And Rob.... excellent reponse to it.

justintyme73

Rob, Your bars and the adjustability in them far outweigh and asthetic compromises in my opinion. In fact the second finished set of bars pictured I think look extremely cool, industrial art almost in nature.

I hope you are looking and finding applications outside the 919 community, that will be needed for your product to truly take off, again my opinion. I would guess they physically bolt on to anybike that uses a same size handlebar(7/8?) with appropriate center to center distance on the handlbar clamps eh??

Hmmm, I'm going to think this over, I may want to try a set on my Buell ULY, I would like the adjustability as the stock bars are high and comfy, but I wouldnt mind being able to rotate them lower when riding the canyons for a sportier position.

TheDarkness

I put some Renthals on my GSF 1250, but I'm considering a set of these...

They are unique, and I like them!

robtharalson

Thank you.
I'm also going to market them to SV 650 riders, especially but not exclusively to racers, and through a cycle accessory chain I've dealt with for over 30 years. What I have to be careful of is if it takes off I may not be able to keep up. That's me -- the incurable optimist.If I remember correctly the Ulysses has an unusual handlebar clamp arrangement, oddly angled and quite wide, so if you are even vaguely interested I'm willing to work with you to get a proper fit. Measurements and a couple pictures of the upper triple clamp would be a big help, along with your probable height / width needs. Here's a quick take on it, with bent rather than welded bars.

Of course the center section would be wider than in the picture. The right side is a more or less typical touring position while the left is dropped and rotated forward for a more sporty stance. My tubing supplier can produce prototype runs pretty quickly, so lead time would be comparatively short. The welded bars will work just as well, but the overall look will be different.

Even if you don't buy a set I'd still appreciate the pictures and measurements for my archives.
Happy to sell you a set. As with justintyme73, I'll need measurements and pictures to plan cable / brake line / clearances to suit your height and width requirements. I want to make this as close to a "bolt it on and go" proposition as possible. Fortunately the instruments won't be in the way, so there is little problem with low and narrow, which I recommend everyone who buys my bars at least try.

Rob

rickard919

I think the bent bars look much better. The welded is definately different, just not for me. How much for a set?

jay313

I get it that not everyone will like the look, but check out Suburban Machinery type 2 bars (which sell quite well) and you'll see that Rob's bars are not too far "out there" to be popular in terms of design.

Don't be discouraged by the lack of orders, Rob. The 919 community isn't large to begin with, and the number of riders contemplating new bars at any one time is going to be a small percentage of that total. If I hadn't put new bars on just this summer, I would be writing a check right now. I'll probably be in the mood for a change in a year or so, and you'll hear from me eventually.

You definitely need to post up on SVrider.com. There are a lot more SV's around, which gives you a bigger market. I also think you should be posting on just about every forum that caters to sport/standard bikes with bars, such as FZ-6, FZ-1, Ninja 500, ER6-N, Bandit, Gladius, etc. Just walk into a few dealerships with a measuring tape and notebook and get after it. Or take a set of your bars with you and hold it up against the bars you want to check for fit. You gotta cast a wide net with a niche product like this.

HondaJim

If you want a large audience post up on Streetfighters.com. Brash group, some great machines, some junk. The difficulty would be the many different brand and styles of bikes those guys fighter out.

jay313

Yeah, but with guys like that, you can give them measurements and they can figure out if it will work or not.

mantelhonda

Hi Rob, I will be ordering a set of these bars in a week or two, I just paid for a couple of track days which has put a little dent in budget if you know what I mean. I can not believe I missed this thread I've been waiting to get one of these bars since the group ride we did a year or so ago. By the way how the heck are you, hope every thing is well.

robtharalson

Excellent!
I'm in the process of putting yours, and a few more, together. PM sent.

Doing well and as busy as all git out.

Rob

robertob

I love that you have the balls to come up with your own design and sell it,and I truly hope you do well. BUT, I'm in the "ugly" camp, and it's not due to the finish. I totally 'get' the machine aesthetic and I'm a big fan of stuff like Wrenchmokees bikes and Bratstyle, etc.

I think my fundamental objection is from a design standpoint - all the wierd angles. There are no right angles between the various parts of the bars, in fact there are not even aesthetically pleasing 30-45 degree angles. Look at the suburban machinery bars for an example of an aesthetically pleasing combination of angles.

The raw welds and unfinished steel looks cool, but all you have to do to make it look better IMHO is make the two clamps have a larger angle and the bars have a 90 degree angle. Make sense?

Also, just nitpicking here, but the clamps are NOT graceful in design. You're attaching two round tubes at 90 degrees (well, it looks like about 80 degrees, but let's just say 90) and there is a square section in the middle that appears to serve no purpose other than styling. I understand it's probably an artifact of the manufacturing process but there has got to be an easier way to do it. Plus that extra little radius around the clamping diameter - again it looks like a styling feature rather than a functional feature. A simple sharp-radius tool leaving a step instead of the fillet would sure look a lot nicer and be just as non-functional.

Anyway, good luck and don't let my critiscism stand in your way - I thought i was the only one until I read the other comments and since you genuinely seem interested in peoples' opinions here it is...

robtharalson

Welcome to WT.
Thanks for the input.

Rob

jay313

So, you're thinking Rob should rotate the clamps to a 30 or 45 degree angle and attach the handlebar tubes at 90 degrees? That would pretty much copy the layout of the SM type 2 bar, as seen here:

Suzuki SV650 Handlebar

Personally, I would disagree with that layout. The point of Rob's bars is the adjustability factor, and with the clamps at 30 or 45 degrees, the bars would spread apart when raised in the clamps, and narrow when lowered in the clamps. Now it's not an aesthetic issue anymore, but one of functionality. It might be possible to have the uprights at 90 degrees to the clamps and increase the angle of the handlebar part to 30 or so (don't know what it currently is). At least in that scenario, the width of the bars would not change as they were raised or lowered.

Still, I think we have to keep in mind that a set of aesthetically pleasing angles might not result in a set of comfortable bars. I, for one, still think Rob has a pretty cool set-up here, and I still think it will sell once offered to a larger cross-section of the motorcycling community.

Nemo

Rob,
I greatly enjoy the sharp angles and the "Metropolis"-style look of the bars, and as someone who uses my bike for a variety of purposes I'd quite enjoy the functionality.

I'm stopped by my financial situation, as well as my reluctance to have the bike down while I send the brake lines to G&J. Hoping to try a set eventually.

mcromo44

As someone who has tried many bars over the years, and found that wanting a slight bit more "here" , a bit "more" there, and a tad less "over there" always seems to add up to there never being a perfect bar. Meanwhile, Rob has come up with serious range of adjustability. Perfection on a visually artistic basis is no substitute for the ultimate fit. But, I'm not quite ready to hand in my Renthals yet, which are "almosts".

AllanB

I'd buy the T-shirt!

I rotated my ultra-lows 'up' a matter of about 4mm recently as my gloved hands come pretty close to the tank on full lock where they were. I ended up moving them back as I found on the next couple of rides my wrists became sore.

The more adjustable they are the more potential for the perfect fit!

robtharalson

I LIKE IT!! Do you mind if I use a variation on this phrase in advertisements?

On another note, I've gotten responses on the difficulty of running widths less than the minimum for fitting the stock or aftermarket brake lines without modification. Well, I sat down and designed a banjo adapter that will solve this problem:

It will be supplied with a short banjo bolt and 5 copper washers. It's going to the CNC shop I'm working with for a quote on Monday. If there is sufficient demand I'll go to an aluminum extrusion business and get the basic profile done up, then it's just a case of cutting, drilling, tapping, and powder coating black.

This is fun!

Rob

mcromo44

Rob,

Feel free, in every sense of the word, to use my word craft as is, or as manipulated by yourself to better serve your needs.

McTavish McRomo

mcromo44

Speaking of "the T - shirt". My real last name has a clan motto of "Sans Peur", which means "without fear". Some sneaky type took our motto and THAT is how all this "No Fear" stuff came about !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nary a penny ever came our way, not that any of us actually care about that, but what really rots my socks is why didn't one of us come up with the idea of "No Fear" ?

Please have the intended smile and enjoy the rest of your day.