ISO grip installation on Vaquero

[Old Bear]

OK, I got my mod kit in from Ray, figured I would get a little done this evening, prep out the left side. Yes, the chromed plastic cap is left-hand threads-but it's still plastic! It got torn up taking it off. Oh well, stock grips where never going back on. The air hose trick worked great! Ran a screwdriver around the inside of the rubber grip, then stuck the air hose in, hit the air release and easily slid the grip off. So far so good!
-BUT-
I check the length of the inside of the ISO grip and the threads are going to keep the grip from going on far enough. No sweat, supposed to just be a threaded plug with a couple of spot welds. Pop the welds, take the plug out, good to go. Humm, this is nearly welded all the way around, so much for a spot weld. File, file, file,file some more, nothing is moving. OK, now I'm getting annoyed, time to get this over with. Out comes the disc grinder. After more than five minutes of grinding (yes, I covered the tank), I can finally move it. A few more minutes of twisting with Vise Grips, and out pops an eight-inch (or longer) piece of solid round stock! OMG!
So here is my question to those that know more than I (that is most of you, by the way). Do I need to put the rod back in flush and re-weld it? Does it serve some other purpose? Balance, vibration dampening, etc? Or do I just finish installation with it out and look forward to better mileage from the weight reduction?

[smokey]

Originally Posted by Old Bear

OK, I got my mod kit in from Ray, figured I would get a little done this evening, prep out the left side. Yes, the chromed plastic cap is left-hand threads-but it's still plastic! It got torn up taking it off. Oh well, stock grips where never going back on. The air hose trick worked great! Ran a screwdriver around the inside of the rubber grip, then stuck the air hose in, hit the air release and easily slid the grip off. So far so good!
-BUT-
I check the length of the inside of the ISO grip and the threads are going to keep the grip from going on far enough. No sweat, supposed to just be a threaded plug with a couple of spot welds. Pop the welds, take the plug out, good to go. Humm, this is nearly welded all the way around, so much for a spot weld. File, file, file,file some more, nothing is moving. OK, now I'm getting annoyed, time to get this over with. Out comes the disc grinder. After more than five minutes of grinding (yes, I covered the tank), I can finally move it. A few more minutes of twisting with Vise Grips, and out pops an eight-inch (or longer) piece of solid round stock! OMG!
So here is my question to those that know more than I (that is most of you, by the way). Do I need to put the rod back in flush and re-weld it? Does it serve some other purpose? Balance, vibration dampening, etc? Or do I just finish installation with it out and look forward to better mileage from the weight reduction?

I would guess that if it is that long, it probably contributes to damping the vibration. It would probably also make the steering easier with all that weight at the end of the bars. I would have just used a dremel to cut the threaded part off, leaving the weld intact. I found the Avons and ISO for the Voyager were actually longer than stock and no cutting or grinding was needed.

[toy4bob]

Hmmm, I just slid the grip on as it came, no problems at all. I think I remember looking at it thinking looked too long, but it actually wasn't.

[landman]

Originally Posted by toy4bob

Hmmm, I just slid the grip on as it came, no problems at all. I think I remember looking at it thinking looked too long, but it actually wasn't.

same here,the rod helps with vibration dampening.

[Old Bear]

I'm just gonna flip it and weld it back in, about an inch farther in. That will give plenty of room. Nice having tools!

[Old Bear]

All done! Went out on the required test drive, certainly improves throttle response. I like the feel of the grips, but gonna take some time to get used to the feel. Wasn't planned this way, but my baby is getting her own character now!

[fammdw]

Same thing here Smokey. I slid the left Iso on my Voyager all the way up to the control housing without doing anything to the stock threaded handlebar. I would have thought the Vaquero would be exactly the same as the Voyager.

Originally Posted by smokey

I would guess that if it is that long, it probably contributes to damping the vibration. It would probably also make the steering easier with all that weight at the end of the bars. I would have just used a dremel to cut the threaded part off, leaving the weld intact. I found the Avons and ISO for the Voyager were actually longer than stock and no cutting or grinding was needed.

[fammdw]

OB:

Are those Kuryakyn bar-end weights on your bike? I've never seen those before. What is the part number for them?

Originally Posted by Old Bear

All done! Went out on the required test drive, certainly improves throttle response. I like the feel of the grips, but gonna take some time to get used to the feel. Wasn't planned this way, but my baby is getting her own character now!

[Old Bear]

Originally Posted by fammdw

OB:

Are those Kuryakyn bar-end weights on your bike? I've never seen those before. What is the part number for them?

6238 for a pair of chrome, 6339 for black gloss. I went with the chrome to highlight all of the black. Personally, I don't like the look of a completely blacked out bike.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/2777/Grip-End-Weights

[mbell09]

OB where did you get those mirrors those look cool

[smokey]

Originally Posted by mbell09

OB where did you get those mirrors those look cool

http://www.kuryakyn.com/products/424...n-hand-mirrors

I have the chrome ones on mine, they are actually pretty vibration free compared to a lot of aftermarket mirrors.

[Old Bear]

They are Kuryakyns, but I lucked out and found these on eBay $40 off due to some very minor cosmetic nicks in the black finish. This is a working bike anyway, so it will have it's share of nicks soon enough!