Trying to get the right grips

[Dmwelch]

Hey guys I have the stock handle bars on my 1980 XS400 and I'm trying to find the correct handle bar grips that go over it, I ordered 7/8 size handlebars from eBay and they just came in and the throttle grip won't go over the throttle housing (I believe thats what it's called) the white plastic part the twists that's on the handle bars.

Do I need a different size or something special? Or am I just doing it wrong?

 

[Greasey Fingers]

Yeah 7/8 is correct, one grip should be slightly wider than the other that is the one to put on the throttle side. Maybe you were trying to get the smaller one on the throttle by mistake?

 

[Dmwelch]

Nope I tried the wider one on it and it's a no go, I'll look at it again tomorrow and see about it

 

[Unkle Crusty]

Does the throttle housing fit the new bars? You say you got new bars. What happened to the grip that was on there before? Sometimes they are a snug fit. If you plug the other end of the bar, and blow air into the hole in the grip, they can blow up a little, and vibrate on, and off.
Red neck way is to slug the end of the grip with a large rubber mallet.

Unkle Crusty*

 

[levdir]

I spent literally three hours wiggling and stretching my new grips onto my bars, they were extremely snug. They'll never come loose by accident but it was a fight to get them on. They didn't look like they were big enough but they stretched a little.

 

[Requiem]

I've heared of people using a hairdrayer to warm up the new grips, making them more flexible and easier to stretch when putting them on their bars

 

[LuckyEight]

put the throttle grip into warm (hot?) water...

 

[LuckyEight]

Also there is one old trick to make it easy: to use some kind of soap like a lubricant...but I'm not sure if this will work with this throttle sleeve

 

[Dmwelch]

Thanks guys for the tips, going to try it out tonight and report back with what happened

 

[motoTrooper]

Just file them down. They are a pain in the butt to deal with and the plastic nubs are not relevant to the operation of the throttle. I did and all is well and good!

 

[Dmwelch]

Ok I filed down the nubs on the throttle and was able to squeeze them on, check out the photo sorry when upload them via iPhone they flip

Thanks for the help but one other question: what controls the springyness or how fast the throttle snaps back? Mine seems laggy and I was wondering if that's a spring I can change?

 

[drewpy]

I use hair spray, it lubes then sets afterwards

 

[xschris]

Ok I filed down the nubs on the throttle and was able to squeeze them on, check out the photo sorry when upload them via iPhone they flip

Thanks for the help but one other question: what controls the springyness or how fast the throttle snaps back? Mine seems laggy and I was wondering if that's a spring I can change?

The spring come from and is on the carbs. Make sure the cable is routed with no kinks and the cable is lubed well.

 

[RichieB]

Use hair spray to get grips on. It act as a lubricant while you're putting it on then becomes tacky upon drying. Use to do this on my downhill mtn bike and it never failed.

 

[RichieB]

Didn't see your post drewpy lol.

 

[Dmwelch]

Sorry here is the photo, can;t beat 7.99 from Ebay, hopefully they'll hold up for a little bit!

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[xschris]

That will work. These are what the oem grips look like.

 

[drewpy]

Didn't see your post drewpy lol.

good advice twice never hurt