Hitchcocks Forum

Some times you really do have to laugh. I had been searching for some skull ended handlebar grips to fit on my Electra X (ish.)

I found some made out of brass on an Indian webpage of a company that seems to stock anything from horse shoes to jumbo jet parts.

They arrived today. The sleeve on the left hand grip was made out of plastic one inch OD seven eighths ID plastic drain pipe. (Fitted no problem after fettling it a bit and using coconut grease as a fitting lubricant.
The right hand side had a one inch cast bore, that also fitted, I just has to remove some taggy bits on the end of the sleeve left behind after I had removed the old grip. I also used coconut oil as a fitting lubricant.

The brass grips are significantly thinner than the "rubber" ones which means the clutch should release more.
However I will have to modify the throttle rocker I normally use on the right hand grip by gluing a bit of tractor rear wheel inner tube to the inside to it.

(An old tractor tyre rear wheel inner tube is handy if your local tyre services has one in it's scrap bin.)

Yes, but if it works, then it works!



Sounds like the que for a photo!

I have yet to do a road test, due to the "inclement" weather. The wind speed locally has been over what is safe for riding a motor cycle for some days now, plus it is "persisting" down with rain.

I don't know what I find most amazing. Your ingenuity or the fact you have quantities of 'Coconut Grease' to hand!!

Lee B, I would not be without small tub of coconut grease, (actually it is called coconut oil, that looks like grease but is an oil at blood heat.)
It is a very benign substance, that can be used on dry skin, it also useful when fitting rubber O rings and grommets, tap washers and similar, and can be used on gaskets especially petrol tank to fuel tap gaskets.
It is also handy to help with fitting things like handle bar grips, foot rest rubbers and similar.
It is also only about a £1 for a small tub.

That song was by The Sweet wasn't it?

Poppa rumbo, rumbo
Hey Papasmurf coconut
Papasmurf, hey Papasmurf

Scalyback this would be more accurate:-

A bit of tractor rear wheel inner tube glued to the throttle rocker seems to have worked. (I had some suitable glue left over from another project, gluing a deer's skull and antlers to a Swedish tank driver's helmet.)