Hey guys,

I just installed my pro taper se bars and also my zeta handguards and now my front brake cable is rubbing my handguard mounts pretty badly under compression. It already tore some parts of the shield/sleeve.

How can I fix this problem without rerouting the cable? I've done some research and it appears others have just wrapped it in electric tape. I'm worried it will just tear through the electric tape. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys.

 

I let the gap between my handlebar and Acerbis bark busters basically function as my upper brake cable guide. You're saying "Zeta handguards"...do those have bark busters incorporated with them or just plastic handguards? Anyway, one sure fire way to address this is to obtain another hose guide like the one mounted to the lower triple clamp bolt. Mount the second one on the upper triple clamp bolt. Or at least use something similar on the upper triple clamp bolt to achieve the same thing. My '06 brake hose was long enough to do this, and I'm assuming yours is too. I now run one of Bill Blue's steel braided hoses, but they're coated with a protective plastic sheath that you need to protect somewhat also, so the same rules of proper routing still apply.

 

I got this idea from someone else on here, or maybe it was on advrider, can't remember:

Flip the top brake hose guide around so it guides the hose in towards the middle of the bars more. You'll need to bend it a little to make it work, but on my bike it got me clear of the handguard mounts (I'm using the Tusk guards) and gave me an extra inch or so of loop above the bars, which made me a lot more comfortable; a few times, I noticed that the hose was getting tugged a little too tight for my taste when the forks were extended. The little bit of abrasion you can see on the hose is from before I moved the guide.

 

+1, that's what I did.

 

Had a similar issue with Zeta hand guards and Zeta bars. Found that simply dropping the top cable guide down so that the top hole of the guide was bolted onto the lower bolt of the fork tube holder allowed the brake cable to clear sufficiently on fork compression and rebound. The bottom hole of the cable guide is unused and hangs below the holder but this also allows the cable guide to be angled to better direct the cable. I covered the brake line in flexible plastic electric split tubing and electrical taped over this - still working well after quite a few rides. I have rerouted my clutch cable further inboard so not sure if this has helped in my case.

 

please let me know if you find a handguard that fits...i tried and couple moto shops tried...couldn't get one to fit on my pro taper se bars...the cross bar was the main problem...

 

Yes they have the titanium "bark busters" and I will be trying all three of these suggestions. One of them is bound to work, heck they sound like they all will work. I'll try the easiest one first

Thanks for all the help guys.

ahnh666- I have the pro taper se bars in the kx low bend and the zeta armor handguards fit perfectly. All the se bars have the the same width (800 mm) so I assume they will work with all bends. However, I brought my handguards to the dealer and eyeballed if the clamps would clear the crossbar just to make sure. They zetas cleared the kx low and cr mid. Unfortunately, that's all I tried. Have any of your crossbar clamps been moved while installing that custom crossbar?

 

the crossbar was custom bent for the steering damper and the position of the clamps have changed very slightly...the shops tried to install handguards that attach to the fork tube bolts, but even that was unsuccessful...they really wanted to sell me a handguard, but they couldn't get one the fit without something getting in the way...

 

I believe if the crossbar clamps are moved inward more than maybe 1/2" - 3/4" the handguard clamps will not be able to clamp to the bars.

 

I tried 3-4 different models before finding a fit w/ Moose Racing guards.