rusty handle bar under throttle :/

[Dannyrose1]

Hey guys! So my throttle felt a bit stiff upon return and almost gritty when twisted, so i had a little look took the bar ends off took the throttle housing off and wow a orange pitted rusty handle bar!! I realise i ride all year round and i keep it outside but covered so corrosion and rust is inevitable... So has anyone experienced this?

What i did was took 1000grit sandpaper and cleaned the whole area up cleaned it all up with wd40 greased it up and put it all back together smooth as silk now
I know it will rust again at one point i will check it when i next lube the throttle cables
May put a latex glove over the throttle when i put the bike away at night!

Stupud british weather been the wettest winter 200 odd years.... Screw you golf stream go home!

Peace!!!:rockon:

 

[Erci]

Yup, it's pretty much inevitable if your bar is steel and you ride / park in rain.

Light sanding it a good way to go.

Here's the thing though: rust shouldn't affect throttle operation. It's a "plastic on plastic" assembly. The plastic bit which sits on bar doesn't move. Shouldn't matter if there's rust under it, in terms of smoothness. You must've had some dirt/grit built up elsewhere.

 

[FinalImpact]

Not sure if I read that proper ^^; the FZ6 runs the throttle tube right on the bar. The light surface rust is near inevitable and usually goes unnoticed. But heavy rust flakes could indeed cause binding. I'd opt for silicone based product as it should resist the moisture better. Not sure it has any rust fighting capabilities tho.

 

[Erci]

My bad.. the plastic tube does indeed spin on the bar

I think my wife spiked my breakfast!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Now that you have it clean, IMO, get some Marine, waterproof grease (Yamaha marine makes some GREAT STUFF).

Put just enough to protect the bare steel.


BTW, I use that grease on my drive shaft on the outboard engine in salt water.

Its designed to protect bare steel in extreme salt water conditions. A regular sized tub is under $10.00 (US)

Regular wheel bearing grease does NOT come close to performing as well...I tried using it on the drive shaft (mid-section drive shaft / shaft bushing and within 6 months, that grease went away and started squeeking. The Yamaha stuff will easily last two years under extreme conditions... You can use it on other levers/joints as well.

 

[Dannyrose1]

Cheers guys for the heads up on the marine grease
I only had a bit of moly lube lying around seems to have done the job for now. Ill keep an eye on it, damn rain
I guess what i felt was bits of gritty rust rubbing around
The picture is after i gave it a light sanding btw
Very cool how there is two throttle cables!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Cheers guys for the heads up on the marine grease
I only had a bit of moly lube lying around seems to have done the job for now. Ill keep an eye on it, damn rain
I guess what i felt was bits of gritty rust rubbing around
The picture is after i gave it a light sanding btw
Very cool how there is two throttle cables!

One is a throttle return cable should the "Pull" cable get stuck open.

 

[Pujazuba]

I'm trying to improve my throttle stiffness as I've recently noticed my right hand is getting exhausted during a ride because I'm holding the grip tighter in order to achieve the same throttle input as before.

1. The throttle free-play is correct.
2. Cleaning/lubing the throttle grip is next on my list as sometimes I can hear a squeaking sound as I turn the throttle.
3. Checking that the throttle cables are not over-tight; I had not thought about before but will do asap.
4. Inspecting throttle body; I'll scan this part if the above don't bring improvements. But when I serviced and cleaned the air filter few months ago at least it was clean.

So what kinda task is the disassembly of the throttle grip. I noticed that the allen screw at the end of the bar is perhaps a 4.5mm? Don't have that size in my tools.
Also by disassembling the switch assembly I assume you get a shot at lubing the cables from the top?

 

[zixaq]

It's an easy thing to pull apart. There are two fittings in the bar weights, use the larger one (8mm I think).

It sounds like you need to lube the throttle cables. They can be a little fussy to get loose, but loosen up the adjusters as much as possible and you should manage.

 

[bricksrheavy]

Clean the inside of the throttle tube as well as the handlebar, even a seemingly small spec of dirt can cause issues.

Not sure about lubing it though, I assume dirt will stick easier on the lube - maybe someone with more experience will chime in?

 

[raja777m]

I used these for few thousand miles, before selling the bike:
Motorcycle Black 7/8" Handlebar Hand Grips For Honda Suzuki Yamaha Kawasaki
I really love them, only problem is, you can't add bar end weights. You need to trim some excess pipe, but, the diameter is big enough, you can use OEM bar ends on it (once removed excess bits on the sides).
They are really comfy.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I used these for few thousand miles, before selling the bike:
Motorcycle Black 7/8" Handlebar Hand Grips For Honda Suzuki Yamaha Kawasaki
I really love them, only problem is, you can't add bar end weights. You need to trim some excess pipe, but, the diameter is big enough, you can use OEM bar ends on it (once removed excess bits on the sides).
They are really comfy.
View attachment 68209

Cut the ends off!

Like Grip Puppies, remove bar ends, then slide em on!

 

[raja777m]

Cut the ends off!

Like Grip Puppies, remove bar ends, then slide em on!

The non rubber part is metal, so, we need more like a hack-saw or a rotary cutter, sand/file the edges and then put the bar ends, or just leave them as they are and use other types of fillers for the handlebars, to reduce vibrations(if they are still available).
One advantage with these are, they are pretty fat, compared to the thin ones on the OEM

 

[Pujazuba]

OK so today I managed to get the whole thing apart and do a decent cleaning job.
The metal part of the handlebar is in pretty grim shape. There was a very advanced level of rust and the metal had gone bumpy on the bottom part.
I lubed the cables from the top, cleaned the whole assembly, had to use sand paper on the handlebar to file rust off and smoothen it out. It's at least a lot better than before! Couldn't resist the urge of using a light amount of lube on the grip/bar. It slows down the advancing of rust.
Overall I'd say it rotates smoother. Nothing impressive, but from what I hear the throttle is tight on this bike so I'm happy so far.

That handlebar being so rusty in its underbelly really shows the importance of storing the bike away from the rain. Now I feel good about being bothered to keep the bike covered whenever I'm not riding it since it is constantly outside.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The throttle is NOT tight on these bikes.

Sounds like you did good, especially with the rust. You can get a used handlebar on the forum and many swap bars for different styles.

Is the thin, plastic washer, at the INSIDE EDGE of the throttle grip VISIBLE and NOT inside the housing? If not, it needs to be.

Lastly, did you happen to simply move the inner cable to check for any binding? It should move easily.

Pic of my clutch cable, about 23,000 miles, ALWAYS maintained. I noticed the "slight" binding initially. Cut it open once the new one arrived.

 

[Pujazuba]

^Every chance I get I check the throttle on other bikes and right now they seem to feel less smooth and more tight than my FZs so you are right, they are not tight! Given that they're maintained.
And yes I have paid special attention to the thin washer as well as the cable insert in the above picture ever since I first saw it! Looks like that could spell disaster!