Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi Guys,

New here this is my first post and I am also new to owning a Kawasaki so thought I had better join a discussion forum

I have a 2006 Kawasaki zx-6r and would love to know where to buy some stealth bar ends, I want them roughly around 10mm long.

also question on this, would it make my handlebars vibrate any more? as its not the best sitting on 110 already.

Thanks guys and gals

Welcome to KSRC, Personally I would stick with OEM they are weighted & thats for a reason, they are tried & tested.
I you bike is vibrating at 110 check tyres, wheel & Steering Head bearings etc as well.

I'd suggest just taking your bar ends off altogether. Can't get much stealthier than that!

Thanks guys,

its going in for a major service on Wednesday and I'm getting everything done so hopefully it will have a little less vibration after that.

haha aardvark I like your thinking, the dick who owned it before me dropped it rolling down his driveway so has scraped the left fairings slightly and grazed the factory weighted bar ends hence the comment.

however could you please explain to me why the bar ends are weighted, you seem to be adoment that it is a good thing however I am unsure why. stability?

Thank you

The extra weight stabilises the bars in theory, the factory add a specific weight to suit the bike hence why its not a good look whacking some blingy alloy ones that
offer nothing but a boost in appearance in return for your outlay, I don't know how it works but they would not bother unless it was beneficial, if the new ones were the same weight
then it should be ok. Ask the same question to the shop where you are taking the bike & see if they can shed some light

robracer wrote:The extra weight stabilises the bars in theory, the factory add a specific weight to suit the bike hence why its not a good look whacking some blingy alloy ones that
offer nothing but a boost in appearance in return for your outlay, I don't know how it works but they would not bother unless it was beneficial, if the new ones were the same weight
then it should be ok. Ask the same question to the shop where you are taking the bike & see if they can shed some light

Sounds good I will ask them and get back to you if they have another theory

I see you have a zx6r also, do you enjoy the ride? any tips or upgrades you could offer?

Tripp wrote:I see you have a zx6r also, do you enjoy the ride? any tips or upgrades you could offer?

Any ride is enjoyed! mate I dont care if its a ZX10 or a Husky 2 stroke 250

The 650's are good, they are fast enough to get you into trouble & out of trouble so yeah I give em the thumbs up.

Tripp wrote:......however could you please explain to me why the bar ends are weighted......

its about harmonic vibrations. At certain rpm's, your handlebars will vibrate to a specific frequency which is related to engine capacity/design etc. Every motor has certain rpm ranges where the vibrations (or harmonics) - will resonate within certain frame parts.

Because your handlebars are long and skinny (compared to other parts on the bike) - they are more susceptible to harmonics than other areas. So - weighted bar ends are used to remove the harmonic vibrations you would otherwise feel in your hands. These vibrations are worse at some rpm levels than others. The added weight right out at the end of the bar, acts like a big damper. It effectively stops the bars from vibrating at most rpm's.....not all. You can still get numb hands from riding the bike for a lot of hours even with bar-ends fitted.

If you want to see how much of a difference it makes - take your bar-end weights out for a couple of days and do a decent ride. You will soon find that your hands will get so tired and sore you won't actually have any feeling when you pull the brake or clutch levers.....

Back in the old days - old-school bikes never had bar-end weights - we just used to accept that you couldn't ride without getting numb fingers. One of the early solutions to this - was to fit massive foam grips to the bars !! These things were fuckin terrible.....really thick so you had very little actual 'feel' through the bars, they also had a very short life expectancy if your bike was parked out in the sun for a few days.......I remember fitting some bar-end weights to the old Black Pearl many years ago - the difference was amazing.

Gosling1 wrote:

Tripp wrote:......however could you please explain to me why the bar ends are weighted......

its about harmonic vibrations. At certain rpm's, your handlebars will vibrate to a specific frequency which is related to engine capacity/design etc. Every motor has certain rpm ranges where the vibrations (or harmonics) - will resonate within certain frame parts.

Because your handlebars are long and skinny (compared to other parts on the bike) - they are more susceptible to harmonics than other areas. So - weighted bar ends are used to remove the harmonic vibrations you would otherwise feel in your hands. These vibrations are worse at some rpm levels than others. The added weight right out at the end of the bar, acts like a big damper. It effectively stops the bars from vibrating at most rpm's.....not all. You can still get numb hands from riding the bike for a lot of hours even with bar-ends fitted.

If you want to see how much of a difference it makes - take your bar-end weights out for a couple of days and do a decent ride. You will soon find that your hands will get so tired and sore you won't actually have any feeling when you pull the brake or clutch levers.....

Back in the old days - old-school bikes never had bar-end weights - we just used to accept that you couldn't ride without getting numb fingers. One of the early solutions to this - was to fit massive foam grips to the bars !! These things were fuckin terrible.....really thick so you had very little actual 'feel' through the bars, they also had a very short life expectancy if your bike was parked out in the sun for a few days.......I remember fitting some bar-end weights to the old Black Pearl many years ago - the difference was amazing.

Hey mate,

Thank you for the detailed explanation that was much appreciated!

okay so it looks like I'm going to have to get some weighted bar ends, I might get some extra weighted bar ends to eliminate as much shock as possible, though I don't like the look of how far they hand out, I may get a short pair for around town riding as I really don't ride any further than 10kms at a time in the city otherwise I will put the weighted bar ends on if I have to do a trip up to Brisbane or any were too far down a highway.

Cheers

I have ridden that model zx6 at the track and never had that bad a vibration in the bars. Like has been said look into other possible causes first.

I think this is what you are talking about? link: http://cjmoto.com/-strse-1512/Rizoma-Ba ... Detail.bok
I have just ordered the 50Gram ones for my ZX10R with anodised red and black

a bit of useless info
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaCggwGz3ZQ

Just found this american product which is supposed to stop bar vibration completely, although does not have a Kawasaki listed product....possible that another jap handlebar/clip on spec would fit??

link:
http://www.vibranator.com/default.asp

KEL10R wrote:I think this is what you are talking about? link: http://cjmoto.com/-strse-1512/Rizoma-Ba ... Detail.bok
I have just ordered the 50Gram ones for my ZX10R with anodised red and black

Hey mate that was perfect, Do they fit the Kawasaki's perfectly? like the one's you ordered are now fitted? and do they feel nice?

Thanks

KEL10R wrote:Just found this american product which is supposed to stop bar vibration completely, although does not have a Kawasaki listed product....possible that another jap handlebar/clip on spec would fit??

link:
http://www.vibranator.com/default.asp

wow - with a name like Vibranator - I just had to have a look !!

it is amazing what advertising agencies can do with simple harmonics.....

Advertising Executive who has spent far too much time with a Vibranator in his arse wrote:........the rider experiences vibration which scientists have named Tonic Vibration Reflex.....

really ? Tonic Vibration Reflex ?? well fuck me dead you can't argue - its SCIENCE bitches !!