Renthal 758's

[Gaz66]

I have just purchased a set of 758's - not to bling up the 'Thou, but to see if they will help in any way to the nirvana of comfort  :lol


I remember reading on here years ago, that you had to drill and tap the end of the handlebars to fit the bar weights, however, looking at the ends of the bars, there is no material to drill or tap into!


So, my question is - a). Am I looking at getting some nice new bar weights for the Rentals, or b). do I have to even bother?


T.I.A.

Hi.

Got 758's on my thou, virtually identical to EOM steel bars if you put em next to each other.
If you can get on with the OEM bars, save your money mate is my advice, the cost soon racks up doing a bar swap.

Renthals are quite a bit longer, I cut 1.5inch off both ends & mine are still a tad longer than OEM bars.
Renthal do other bars with more height rise & more sweep back than 758's.

Most bike shops don't stock bars on a display which is a bit stupid, Motorcross shop is your best bet if you've not bought any yet, they normally stock a good selection of Renthals as they were originally designed for off road use, take OEM bars with you to compare, you'l be able to suss out which bar shape is best for you then.

Yes 758's will defo need drilling out quite a bit prior to tapping if you intend using OEM threaded bar ends & it's a twat of a job in a vice, all too easy to ruin the bars in a vice, it's really difficult to grip bars & drill straight inside a tube in a vice, I used thick rubber hose slipped over the bars & lots of masking tape to avoid scratching the Renthals as I didn't have any vice jaw inserts for gripping piping, which you really need if you don't have a drill press, I'd advise using a drill press if available, pretty much get it bang on then, tapping is bit of a job too, I used an M14 drill bit cos I had one but you really need a decent 14.5mm drill bit which is correct drill for an M16 tap.
Tapping an M16 thread inside an M14 hole is a proper wrestle fest of a job & you risk breaking the tap inside the bars, I managed it but it was hard going & took ages.

From experience, I've found the OEM heavy steel bar end weights aren't that critical to damp any bar vibes, I've even tried some lightweight bling Carbon Fibre/alloy bar ends that expand inside the bar & I had hardly any vibes, OEM end weights scratch easy, rust & look a mess imho, R&G Stainless threaded on mine now, bit lighter than OEM weights & won't rust & not silly money either.

If I had to drill & tap Renthals again, I'd buy some cheapo handle bar clamps off Ebay as a sacrificial part to clamp tight in vice jaws.