Removing Controls and Handlebar (long)

[tmcafe]

Hello everybody,

 

Weather is a bit milder, day a bit longer, and I got a little time to work on my bike again (maybe you remember: while parked at the curb, a van backed into it and bike fell over the sidestand--in the meantime I did get a check from the drivers insurance). Other than lots of cosmetic bits and broken brake pedal, the handlebar and clamps were bent. I already got the most important parts from Moto Int. including some said to be hard to find.

 

Now to the handlebar, clamps, and my mechanical ineptitude (combined with being stubborn and still wanting to understand and get things done): mirrors and Moto I. bar ends already removed, and I did my homework here and in the manuals, but still have some basic questions. For ease of explaining, here's a view:

1. How do I remove the throttle cables and grip? I don't actually want to remove the cables, just detach them from the twist grip. I'm thinking of loosening the cable by removing (or pushing open) the engine end of the cables, then removing the nipples from the handlebar twist grip. Also, there are the 2 nuts that attach the metal cable guides to the bottom half of the cables' grip housing. Do they need to be removed/loosened? Pics:

 

2. Starter/kill switch housing removal-tips?

 

3. Brake M/C removal-tips?

 

4. Is the LH eft grip glued to the handlebar? If so, can it be loosened with some heat?

 

5. LH light switch removal-tips? Pic:

 

6. LH (Clutch) M/C removal-tips?

 

7. Handlebar clamps removal/reinstall: do I need to remove upper triple clamp to access any parts from underneath (see diagram above)?

 

Even a few tips or do's and dont's can be very helpful, be it only to avoid any moments.

 

Thanks in advance!!

[richard100t]

Surely those are just bolt covers on your handlebar clamps. They should pop off with a flat blade exposing the bolts. The handgrips are on there tight but if you slide an awl or small screwdriver between the grip & the bar then spray some Right Guard or whatever brand deodorant the grip will slide right off. I know it sounds a little funny to use deodorant, but its a common houshold item that will rinse clean with a little soapy water.

I cant help you with the cables, but someone will..

[fotoguzzi]

NICE PICS! I have not had one apart but most of the guzzi handebars have a hole in them and a locator pin on the switch housing, thus you don't want to twist the thing to pull off. best to separate the halves of the switch. the hardware isn't to robust in the housing so be delicate.

in pic two see the rubber covers over the cables ? pull them back and loosen the cable there and you can get slack enough to get the cable end out of the holder.

you have arrows to all the screws that you do need to remove to split each unit in half and pull away from the bar.

try it and check back, don't forget- it's plastic not steel your working with.

[doug m]

hey richard; loosen the cable adjusters under the rubber sleeve(spray with silicon lube to get sleeves moving easier), and also there should be an adjuster for the cables by the engine that you can loosen abit so you will have enough slack on the cables to slide out the cable ends from the throttle assembly. take note of the amount of play before you loosen anything for reassembly. then remove the two nuts under the throttle assembly and it will slide right off the bar(with cables disconnected). the left grip is friction fit...if you have a compressor, try and get the nozzle under the grip, and pull off at the same time.hope this helps a bit. I just put some rizzoma grips on my nero last weekend, and they are sweet! the switch and bars should come apart by loosening any screws and bolts.

[profWacko]

...if you have a compressor, try and get the nozzle under the grip, and pull off at the same time.hope this helps a bit. I just put some rizzoma grips on my nero last weekend, and they are sweet! the switch and bars should come apart by loosening any screws and bolts.

 

The air is definitely the way to go.

 

I use a needle attachment that is used to inflate footballs (round or oblate spheroid, your choice).

 

Slips right under the grip, inflates it a little, and off it comes.

 

As far as screws numbered 2 in your last picture, try not to remove those, as there is a tiny little metal ball under there that activates the clutch or brake light switch, depending whether it's left or right. That little ball can be a bear to find once it has escaped. Do NOT ask me how I know this.

 

The screws numbered 2 in the picture of the throttle side are the ones that you will take out to remove the grip assembly.

 

The handlebar clamps should just unbolt from the top triple tree without having to remove it.

 

Good luck on your quest.

 

-Jack

[tmcafe]

Thanks everybody for the tips so far! I've already removed all the stuff on the RH side, and partly on the LH side.

 

Now to the tricky part: I have no clue how to remove the fast idle lever. There are no screws on the light switch side. (see pic) It seems to be attached to the clutch M/C assy where that black plastic pin is. It also seems to have a cover that snaps into 2 slots in the case, but not sure if I can remove it. So far I've removed the rear half of the M/C/mirror assy, but the damn "choke" cover is still there, and I don't want to break anything while trying to pry it open. Tips?

 

 

Throttle cables were easy to remove once I loosened one of them enough to pull out the nipple from its slot in the twist grip. However, the rubber sleeves on the metal/plastic throttle cable casing are really tight, silicone spray and all, as if they're not meant to be peeled out. The screw/locknut adjustment inside seemed to have some sticky stuff on it. The 2 nuts on the bottom of the twist grip case just tighten the metal tubes on the cables in the best position. I may be wrong but the only way to loosen either cable seems to try to get to the screw-and-locknut assy underneath the rubber sleeves. I tried to hold the throttle open at the engine end on both sides but it didn't seem to help loosen the grip ends enough. The on/off engine switch was easy to remove, and as mentioned, it has a small pin that goes in a hole in the handlebar. There are also a couple punch marks aft on the bar where the switch is supposed to go. Happy I didn't have to remove/loosen any other fasteners or zip ties, except for the ones numbered 1 and 2 in the RH underside pic. I taped everthing together to the fairing to hold it in place instead of letting all the controls hanging.

 

On the LH side removing the grip was a breeze. No air (don't have compressed anyway), just two puffs of Ru-Glyde (I've had it around since I did tires/tubes a couple times for the other bike) at both ends was enough to work that slimy stuff under the grip, which was removed with no effort. Next was the light switch--again it has a pin that goes in one of the 2 holes on the bar (why 2--perhaps for other bikes' controls?). I can't really tell if the bar is bent (I'll replace it anyway), only the clamps are totally out of whack: maybe they were designed to take the brunt of impact in a fall and get destroyed while protecting more important components such as top triple, steering stem, even handlebar? It appears that the clamps won't be hard to remove.

 

Any suggestions about the "choke" assembly?

 

Thanks again!

[Paul Minnaert]

the choke is mounted on the clutch lever, Just loosen the clutch scews, and slide the thing of the bar.

[tmcafe]

the choke is mounted on the clutch lever, Just loosen the clutch scews, and slide the thing of the bar.

Thanks! I actually removed the top halves of the clamps and the bar so I could position the bar to to slide out the "choke"--the Cafe/Ballabio h-bar is very wide and the cables won't reach that far. Actually I noticed that what looked like two rivets on the "choke" cover were (logically) 2mm Allen flat head sunk screws. My bad--or I could blame it on the darkness inside the garage. Anyway, I removed everything, including the clamp bottoms and bolt assemblies. In the images you can tell the damage. However, although I'll replace all parts, some of them look fine, including the handlebar itself, even all clamps and RH bolt assembly. The LH clamp assy was worse, so much that the bolt could not be pulled out of the bushing, and I had to tap out the whole assembly from top triple. Pics:

"Choke" case.

 

Handlebar and clamps misaligned

 

RH clamp bolt assy (this one looks okay)

 

LH clamp bolt assy (whacked)

 

I think the rubber in the clamp assembly fortunately helped avoid worse damage.

 

Now how is the new bar supposed to be positioned? There are punch marks for transverse placement, but as far as rotation, not sure. Any idea?

 

Thanks again!!