Shop that can put knurling on handle bars in Bay Area, CA? : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

petrock · 09-15-2006, 04:31 AM

So I've got a set of handlebars that I want to put on my bike, but they don't have any knurling on them (the checkerd pattern on the bars to help prevent the bars from slipping in the riser clamp). I did some googling and found descriptions of a hand tool that will do what I want (pipe cutter type tool), but no place that actually sells them in the minimum diameter I need (1 inch). At this point, I figure that it might be easier to find a local place that can do it for me. So does anyone know of a shop in the Bay Area (CA) that can put knurling marks on a set of bars for me? Thanks...

hijackak · 09-15-2006, 05:37 AM

Go buy a Dremel tool for $30 and do it yourself... over the years you will get your $30 worth.

petrock · 09-15-2006, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hijackak

Go buy a Dremel tool for $30 and do it yourself... over the years you will get your $30 worth.

A dremel will only cut grooves in the metal, thats not what you want. It won't help/do anything. The point in kurling is to raise the metal up a bit to allow the risers to grip properly, otherwise they slip (especially since my bars are ape hangers).

hijackak · 09-15-2006, 04:34 PM

The point is to create surface area tension. All you have to do is mask off the bars outside of the riser clamp area and burr/knurl the surface. You will have no issues with slipping... mechanics have been doing this for years.

FatBobRob · 09-15-2006, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hijackak

The point is to create surface area tension. All you have to do is mask off the bars outside of the riser clamp area and burr/knurl the surface. You will have no issues with slipping... mechanics have been doing this for years.

i remember learning how to knurl on 1 inch bar stock in h.s. i don't know how you could put your bars in a lathe? then again thatwas 1970 using an engine lathe from the late 50's.

hijackak · 09-15-2006, 10:08 PM

Two different processes for two different points in the engineering cycle... you are talking about knurl cutting, the original poster was talking about knurl rolling.

Knurl cutting is done on a lathe, knurl rolling is done with a wrench that accepts knurling wheels. Since we are talking about handlebars here... it would be pretty hard to turn them in a lathe... so a knurling wrench can be used to roll the knurled pattern using diamond cut wheels.

All I was saying is that the knurl pattern can be duplicated easily with a Dremel... plus you have a tool that you can use in the future. A knurling wrench is an expensive tool for a one shot job...

route66paul · 09-15-2006, 11:29 PM

I would think that you do the knurls and then bend the bars.

Ken R · 10-15-2006, 01:55 AM

Seems like knurling them after fabrication would weaken the bars right at the place where there's most stress and torque.

Instead, if I REALLY wanted to this those bars, I'd try Red Loctite or even JB Weld to see if they would do the trick. Of course, your risers might be history if it didn't work; but risers aren't that expensive.

Just my thoughts . . . for whatever they're worth.

Ken