Easy to straighten bent handlebar?

[Lord Percy]

Bike stolen, bike recovered, various bits of minor damage including very slightly bent right handlebar.

I'm wondering if it might be possible to bend it back, or will I just warp it? (similar to how you can reshape a paperclip but you'll never get it back to its true paperclip shape!).

A new replacement is only gonna be about 25 quid, but still I'd rather not buy it. So any info or experience with bent handlebars, please feel free to share!

[CaNsA]

When i binned out my 125 on the grass, I was pissing about and it was fucking awesome, the bar bent.

I got a a mate to hold the bike while i used a cut down bit of scaffold pole over the bar end to bend it back into shape.

[Kris]

I bent back the handlebars on my old Bandit with a short (1m) length of scaffold tube. It was actually very easy to do - although took a few tweaks to get into the correct place. Do it gradually, in stages.

I tried the 'proper' tool from my local bike shop which they use for motocross but it didn't work anywhere near as well.

I was left with a tiny crease but used the bike for 1000s of miles afterwards with no bother.
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[Fizzer Thou]

If the bars are steel,once bent there will be a weak spot at the place of the crease.The likelihood of a minor spill then causing the bars to shear off is then quite high.

If the bars are aluminium they are more easily bent back into shape.

I would say that £20-odd is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[J.M.]

If it's only very slightly bent... does it affect getting full steering lock on left or right.

If yes then I would try and fix it. I'd bend them back to shape if they're only bent a small amount. If bending gives a crease or hairline crack then replace. I had to replace the bars on my bike because they just bent too much.

If they don't affect the steering lock and you can do full steeringlock without trapping your hands on the tank then it's still MOT worthy and I'd just leave it at that.
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[map]

[J.M.]

[Fizzer Thou]

[barrkel]

[Rogerborg]

[Lord Percy]

Turns out nothing is bent, and actually the alignment of the front wheel/forks was just a bit funny, and a bit of gentle forcing has seen it back into being straight again. Fuck knows what these bastard thieves did to it. The back end wheel arch has taken a knock as well, along with the rear light being broken. I mean how the fuck do you bash the BACK of a bike during a joyride for less than 2 hours? It's not like it goes in reverse!

[Pete.]

[Lord Percy]

[Pete.]

Leave bars clamped in headstock instead of using vice. Make a square from cardboard. Draw some lines on cardboard and put behind bar clamps across top yoke as a guide to measure off.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Teflon-Mike]

Ever put a shoe on one foot & a trainer on the other? Or tried walking around with one shoe on, looking for the other?
You know the sort of imbalanced, one leg is longer than the other 'hobble'?
Well, straightening bars, and trials riding I have bent more than my fair share, and resorted to scaffold pole straightening, but ALWAYS had that imbalanced hobble 'sensation' afterwards, no matter how close to true they have been.
Bars on the 750 were straightened, at some point, tell was slight ovaling near the bar clamp; went as far as taking them off and putting straight edge on them and the grip was barely 1/4" 'out' at the end, yet I had been getting wrist ache after a longer ride. Ditched them for after-market replacements in the end.
Just 'iritates', but maybe I'm just sensitive to it.

BUT, one of those things, that can just feel SO much more 'wrong' than it is.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Lord Percy]

Not seen some input from you for a while, Mr Teflon!

This case is actually closed now because I realised the bars aren't bent. It's just the front forks had done something funny so the whole thing was slightly crooked to one side.

Problem's sorted now I think

[Pete.]

[Lord Percy]

[J.M.]