Peachy's Place: How to change handlebars on a motorcycle

In this video I show you how to change the handlebars on your motorcycle. I had to put the original bars back on after realising that my BikeIt bars didn't fit my bike. Always try before you buy.
This video has been edited down to half its original length after the original video was deleted by mistake.
If you found this video helpful, then please take a look at some of my other videos. New subscribers are always welcomed and comments are necessary as they help me improve my channel to make it better for my viewers.
So please leave any questions, comments or suggestions in the comments box.
Thanks for watching.
Chris
Music:
The music used in this video is available under creative commons license and is available from freemusicarchiv...
The first track in the video is "I used to be a cop" by Drive By Truckers and is a regular feature in many of my videos.
No money is being made from this video.

[@Motorideto]

7 years later still helping people, like me. Thanks for the video. Made it super simple. I was nervous I had to undo cables and such.

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks Garrett, Im glad it helped. Always use a camera when taking things apart, that way you'll always know how to put everything back exactly as it was.

[@mistflip69]

8 years later for me

[@gammash]

9 years later still helping people, like me. Thanks

[@Totone56]

Thanks a lot for this, changed my handlebars in 1h thanks to you ! Gonna recommend this.

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks for leaving the comment. I love hearing my videos have helped someone find their confidence to do these jobs.

[@gudtok5306]

Thanks Mr. Peachy. I need to replace my mom's electric bike handlebar to ease her riding and saw your guide. This is very helpfull.

[@DarthPeachy]

Glad to help

[@HamBone123456789ten]

I've used hairspray on bicycle grips. it helps with getting the grip on and once it's on, it dries and bonds nicely.

[@DarthPeachy]

Hairspray works great for new grips. But if you are keeping the original grips and just changing the bars there's no need for it as the existing glue is more than sticky enough ;) Thanks for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@LunaticPred94]

Was gonna take my bike to the garage to get this done but really that looks very simple so I'll keep my money and do it myself. Cheers for the help

[@DarthPeachy]

That is the whole point of these videos. I'm no mechanic, not by a long shot but its been years since I last paid anyone to do anything to my bike. The end result is I get to know the bike better and save a few coins in the process. Good luck, let me know how it goes - Chris.

[@LunaticPred94]

Yea I looked it up to hopefully save myself some money and learn a few things to work myself around my bike. I don't get paid till Friday so will be a little while before I fix it but I'll update ya

[@DarthPeachy]

LunaticPred94 Excellent, look forward to hearing how it goes :)

[@meltedMatt1]

Great video, very well explained. Cheers for the upload 👍

[@djinncat]

Thanks, this is going to make changing my handlebars a lot better.

[@DarthPeachy]

It's not a difficult job mate and can be very satisfying. Take your time and always take photos so if you make a mistake you can put things back the way they were. Thanks for watching - Chris

[@oldbiker242]

Really helpful - thank you - especially removing the clutch side grip and dealing with the standard locator pins when there are no location holes - cheers

[@DarthPeachy]

glad it helped

[@Louis-qj4tb]

This guy is incredible. Thank you so much

[@VadimNYC]

Glad I came across your video - thank you! I have to replace my bars but wanna keep my grips next week and your video is super hlpful!

[@DarthPeachy]

Glad it helped, little jobs like this can be scary if you havent attempted them before. Just dont rush it and all will be well :)

[@paulbudford]

Your videos are getting better. You can see your more confident behind the camera the more you do these vids :)

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks Paul. In this case it's because I had already done the job a few times, in most of my videos I am trying stuff out for the first time. I do my research, watch a few videos from different sources, have a look at a couple of forums and then go do it. And you are right my confidence does show when I do the video. Thanks for your support mate.

[@GTsGarage]

excellent instructable video fella. Thanks for the upload.

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Chris.

[@iangibson663]

Excellent video now I feel confident to do it myself...

[@DarthPeachy]

Nothing to lose by trying, just take your time and take photos before you take anythign apart. That way if you get stuck you can always put it back exactly as it was and try again. Thanksa for watchign and good luck with it, let me know how it goes :)

[@Stevestevesmotorbikegellvear]

Good video Chris sorry to hear about your accident hope you are back on the road soon

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks Steve.. me too mate, I'm more upset about the bike than anything else but will be riding Mrs Peachy's bike for a while once I've recovered.

[@KJ7JHN]

Your video was filmed well. In the future i recommend leaving out the self doubt and criticism of your tools. You have tools and got the job done right? Enough said. So in a manor ofvspeaking your tools are a god send.

[@DarthPeachy]

I appreciate your perspective thanks

[@kylespence3014]

Thanks for the video this was a great help

[@DarthPeachy]

Glad to hear it :) Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@karlfonner7589]

That was funny. Thank you for your insight.

[@newro682]

Nice video Peachy. Very helpful. Thanks.

[@DarthPeachy]

Bill Mullins Glad to hear it helped mate.

[@dascalescuvladut445]

Nice video, love the accent :D Thanks for the video, thumbs up!

[@robertinoEVIL]

its ok to do it by miself? what could go wrong? thx for your patience

[@DarthPeachy]

Yeah its not difficult. Just take your time, take pictures and if you make a mistake put everything back as it was.

[@AlysiaIsAwesome1]

i really appreciate your video! it was great! but what about the wiring inside of the bars? i am concerned about wiring it back wrong...

[@DarthPeachy]

Helpful tip for you: Always have your phone handy to take pictures. Always take pictures as you take things apart so you can be sure they go back the same way ;) In this case though there is no need for concern.. most bikes dont have wiring inside the bars and everything is clamped to them. It is one of the easiest and most satisfying jobs you can do. Good luck and have fun.

[@AlysiaIsAwesome1]

@@DarthPeachy mine is a bit... Ghetto... 😅 I got it for super good price but he tried to make it "post apocalyptic" aka shitty 🤣🤣🤣 but it's my first bike and I wanted something to learn on so when I get a nicer one, I know what to look for... So he had the headlights wired through the handlebar ... I took pics and got it done! Thank you again for the video 😁💜

[@HugoGSamuraiHg]

Once again Nicely done Thumbs up

[@DarthPeachy]

Thanks Samurai

[@jakewillsten1965]

Just so everybody knows, your supposed to drill where that screw is that he filed down. It keeps your throttle from twisting. I don't know why you'd file it...

[@DarthPeachy]

Don't believe in drilling into handle bars. I filled the screw down so that it clamps the handle bar in the same way as the clamp that holds your bars in place. Its perfectly safe and a better solution than drilling into your handle bars.

[@SkeggyCruiser]

Nice video again Chris done the usual hope your keeping well, don't keep me up so late next time bro, lol, RSM8.

[@DarthPeachy]

What you mean? I was waiting for you to leave so I could take me meds lol Cheers Skeggy, really appreciate it Bro.

[@giantj28]

Is that the Drive-By Truckers playing in the background?!!

[@DarthPeachy]

Yes it is. Song is called "I used to be a cop."

[@giantj28]

Nice! I live in Alabama, my buddy Matt plays bass for them. I thought that was a nice surprise to hear coming from the UK. Great video! Thanks.

[@DarthPeachy]

jwcobra What an unexpected comment. Tell Matt I said thanks for the great music.

[@Raven7608jhg]

Amazing thanks for the insight

[@martinzvara]

Thanks a lot Peachy!!!

[@DarthPeachy]

+Martin Zvara Happy to help, I was really nervous the first time I did this. But as with anything its amazingly easy when you know how, its all just a matter of confidence :)

[@martinzvara]

And I tell you one of my old bicycle tricks for putting rubber grips on. Just put a little bit of liquid soap inside the grip. If it goes to easy and moves wipe of the handle bar with paper cloth and do again until you find a nice balance. Because unlike lubricant soap makes the rubber stick to the bar even more once it dries ;)

[@OJdutch]

Might be a bit late for a question, but does filing down the pins really keep the gas lever and clutch in place?

[@DarthPeachy]

It depends on your bars. I try to avoid it if i can, but if you need the clearance sometimes its your only option.

[@OJdutch]

@@DarthPeachy thanks for responding mate, I’ll figure something out. But I’d rather not drill into new handlebars.

[@DarthPeachy]

@@OJdutch yeah i wouldnt, always try to avoid it if i can. Good luck mate

[@watchaustralia8945]

i changed my yamaha vstar 250 handlebar and now it doesn't move on 1st gear. do i need to change all cables like throttle, breaks and clutch?

[@DarthPeachy]

Sorry for delay answering you, been busy this week. You'll probably find that the bars are wider than your stock ones and its causing the clutch cable to stretch effectively pulling the clutch in. See if you can play with the cable to give yourself some slack and that should sort the problem.

[@johnnycactus0]

getting grips off you can use a squirt of brake cleaner- a quick squirt under the grip and a wiggle and they are free, plus it evaporates very quickly- use the same process to slide them on...after market grips don't always fit as easily as stockers. i personally don't like screw drivers- to much paint work around...but just my preferred choice of course and each to their own!!! good vid mate. (just to add to the haters- i'm a bar driller too!!! shock horror!!!!!- but all my bars are lsl and they stress test the bars with holes drilled)...;-)

[@DarthPeachy]

lol cheers for that mate. You know what you sir are a bar changing veteran, I can argue with your logic but your experience wins hands down :)

[@johnnycactus0]

ha ha- me??? change bars??? never!!!

[@DarthPeachy]

lol hey just cos you take em off an put your clip ons back on.. dont matter you still do it more regular than most ;) The bars on my Bandit have a rather custom look to em now...

[@johnnycactus0]

the first step is admitting you have a problem.......hello...i'm ian and i'm a bar-aholic.....

[@DarthPeachy]

lol its better than sniffing glue mate... that reminds me its time for another trip to the stationers...

[@niyazicamcoglu9702]

Hi, firstly thank you for sharing this video, it was helpful. I'm planning to change my bent handlebar with a new stock handlebar on mt 07 but can you tell me how to align a new handlebar as factory defaults ??Thanks !

[@DarthPeachy]

Most handle bars (that ive seen) come with notches in the middle that shows you where they need to go in the clamp. As long as that is lined up right you should have no problems. Consider the length and thickness of your new handlebars though because they arent all the same and you may find like what happened here, the bars i wanted to put on were actually too long for my cables so I ended up puttign the originals back on. Good luck!

[@niyazicamcoglu9702]

@@DarthPeachy Thanks a lot !

[@anuerinn]

the grip screws on my cbf125 are different and kind of jam, tried but cant unscrew them any idea how to take them out

[@DarthPeachy]

Haven't had any experience with the cbf 125 but they are extremely popular bikes. If you look on a cbf forum you'll get a better answer than I can offer. Best of luck

[@1wannabee1]

Hiya, I want to change my bars on mt old super magna. Thing is, the bars where they are clamped down are 1" but at the ends they are 7/8ths. Is this standard for all bikes or only on Honda's. Reason I ask? is cuz I want to put new grips on and not sure about if the old diameter of the housing on the switches will fit a 1" bar? Any info would be grateful. Cheers mate.

[@DarthPeachy]

Bar sizes vary from bar to bar and bike to bike. You can get different sized clamps and grips to fit. You can also make narrow bars fit tightly with bigger clamps by using some kind of interim between the bar and the clamp (if that makes any sense). Best advice I can offer based on my own experience though is always try before you buy. Take your measurements and check that what you are buying will fit first. Hope that helps, good luck.

[@1wannabee1]

@@DarthPeachy Thanks for that mate. I wanted to go for 1" new bars but looks like I'd need to bloody change all the switches etc,so it looks like I'm gonna have to go for 22mm and pack it out around the clamps to make it up to 1". Cheers anyways. Tc now

[@infniteloop2031]

Great video mate, thanks. I am thinking of doing the same myself, I am a complete newbie. The thing that holds me back is not having a torque wrench. Don't you need one, especially for the middle part when you put the new ones on? I am worried that it won't hold well or I might tight it too much and do some damage.

[@stgeorge6947]

Infinite Loop spanner will work

[@XeroSHWANG]

I cant see the main bolts holding on my bars ... they are there but dont have a visible head or allen socket

[@DarthPeachy]

They are probably covered. Look for 4 caps in centre of your bar and gently prise them off with a small flat screw driver.

[@XeroSHWANG]

@@DarthPeachy i think they might be under the tripple tree or something i have a cruiser ... the top of the bolts are rounded so assumed they came from underneath but i couldnt find a head anywhere ... another inspection today i really wanna see flat bars on my bike

[@XeroSHWANG]

@@DarthPeachy yep they had covers ... thankyou ... they were glued on and Hella old had to break them to get off but they are off

[@DarthPeachy]

@@XeroSHWANG glad to hear it happy to help 😎

[@chriswilliams9832]

Can you choose a louder road to film on next tome please 😂. . Great video but the background noise 😢😮

[@DarthPeachy]

@@chriswilliams9832 I know exactly what you mean. Unfortunately space is at a premium where I live and garages are hard to come by so we do the best with what we can. Cheers for watching - Chris

[@MrOkiparker]

Screwdriver under grip and a nice shot of WD ...

[@DarthPeachy]

yep 😎

[@erdemadsanl5292]

Thanks for your time Colin Farrell !!!

[@rejinmv3723]

How to change pulsur 220 handile bar please send video or photos

[@kermitlikesbacon]

When you take grips off put flat head up the grip spray bit off lube down slide off

[@rherman210]

thanks

[@xsvrrx]

use an air comprsser to remove the bar grips they just pop off

[@DarthPeachy]

yeah works great if you have an air compressor

[@XeroSHWANG]

Dishsoap will make removing grip easier

[@XeroSHWANG]

Or degreaser or chain lube or wd40 ... all these things will loosen the grips stickyness

[@djinncat]

Don't put wd40 on rubber parts.

[@ivosantos2521]

👍

[@josefbiro3791]

you know if you warm up the handbars is much easyer

[@ivanjulian2532]

Sadly, no instructions on how to drill holes in the right spot when the new handlebars don't have the required alignment holes = which is not uncommon.

[@DarthPeachy]

Thats because I dont drill holes in my handle bars and I wont recommend it. Sorry you didnt find what you were looking for but thanks for watching.

[@Jandejongjong]

That was easy

[@samslenderman]

I don't care about your wrench and socket brand preference! Lol just want to see how to change the bars, no need for detailed exposition and narrative about tool brand quality Lol

[@DarthPeachy]

Fair point, thanks for your feedback.

[@stgeorge6947]

u a tradesman of some sort?

[@DarthPeachy]

No, not a tradesman. I work in an office. I'm just a guy with some basic tools passing on what Ive learned for the benefit of others.

[@stgeorge6947]

Darth Peachy oh cool. u used proper terms for some things that's the only reason why I ask. thanks bro

[@DarthPeachy]

If only. If I was I'd have my own garage and wouldn't be working out in the street on a limited budget. Cheers.

[@giedrenikols7100]

Gibraltar belongs to Spain!!!

[@tramlink8544]

hasnt for hundreds of years and wont ever again!