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Replacement HandleBar sweep Angle - 2014 dl1000

611 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Carphunter
For a while, I've known something about the stock bar angle doesn't match my hands. Has anyone seen a good vid or site with diagrams to show how to match bar angle/sweep to match your hands? In the past I've taken other bikes and just kind of winged it... but that had more to do with getting more height on the bars.

on my 2014, i don't think i want to screw with height too much as i don't want to have to replace the brake lines to get them up higher. (I may go looking to find what the max rise (bars plus risers) i could do without brake line changing, though).

i wanna start out with maybe what rise i can get out bars, but also...and maybe more importantly finding a sweep angle i like.

any recommendations?
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I don't know about any on-line tools to do this. I would recommend going to a good m/c parts store like Cycle Gear or others you may have locally. They will typically have many bar styles and you can see which fits your hands/wrist angles best. Each bar style will tell you what the rise and sweep angle is. You can then match that to a street bike bar with the rise you need.
I initially thought I wanted higher bars to help with some back and shoulder tension and pain. But turns out a sweep change was what I really needed.

Before buying, I tried adjusting my hand position for less sweep on my old sweep-y bars and riding for stretches at a time to see how it felt. I pretty quickly found the relief I needed just by adjusting my grip on the bars, which confirmed less sweep would help. (Of course, keeping my grip askew relative to the old bars was not practical for ongoing riding.)

I ended up replacing my stock 2015 DL650 bars, after they bent in a nap, with Tusk T-10 ATV Sport Bend. Noticeably less sweep, turns out a little higher, too.

(Final step for me was to decrease reach for the bars, which I accomplished not with barbacks but by hacking up an old seat to move the seating position forward...part of another seat-related project to add a pillion rack and case.)
I feel your pain ....

I even moved my handlebar from the Wee to the V2 after I had finally found/ made one I liked. That was an aftermarket one, steel, and I had bent it to my liking.

Maybe what you should consider. Search for bars with less pull back (I assume that's also your issue). Try it. If its not right just bend it until you like it. Will not work for very stiff aluminum bars. I securely clamped mine onto a sturdy cast iron table saw table and used a pipe over the ends to shape it.
An old thread that may be worth looking at, Handlebar Configuration data (Width, Height, & Pull Back).
Whether any of these are still available and if available whether it will fit on your model, that I have not looked into.
This site may give you some ideas what to look for in a replacement bar:

thanks for all the comments, i'll have to do some reading
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