Once I was given an opportunity to witness a spectacular event called “BULL FIGHT”. I watched some movies that showed how, what and where that traditional event happens. Having those scenes in my mind, I did not stop myself from booking a ticket to Spain (known for bull fights). The day I got into the stadium, I along with the crowd had filled the air with excitement. The crowd stood on their feet and brought the house down with the blow of a loud buzzer. A gate opened and a big bull carrying a man came out of the stands. My eyes became so stubborn to the sight that it locked itself on the bull. The way it was jumping, hopping and dancing made me sweat thinking what that athlete might be going through. That man fell off the bull which made him survive only up to 6 seconds. The reason why he lasted only for 6 seconds was because of the aggressive movements of the bull. One other reason was also due to the absence of any holding grip on the bull. This is when I realized the importance of handles.

 A performance bike is superior in looks, handling and acceleration. But could you ever bring a bike in motion without a handle? NOPE. This is why handle becomes the only part which transfers a rider’s effort to the bike. Handle is a mechanical linkage which helps to steers the bike. Also all the controls, accelerator and brake together are located on the handlebar. The two main reasons are road condition and engine that produce vibrations in a bike. Actually, the vibrations travel from the bike to the rider through the handlebar. A vibrating handlebar makes the riders arm numb and also affects stability to much extent. This is where bar end weights come in.

Bar end weights or weight balancers isolate the handlebar and absorb most of the vibrations. It is made of premium quality stainless steel metal. It is a fortified material to improve life and is secured from corrosion. It is also used to enhance overall look of the bike. Even a small change in the aesthetics could give a bike quite a different and eye locking look. Some aftermarket bar end weights have integrated rear view mirrors to serve dual purpose by fitting just a single part. This is something that any bike with no fairing at all could be fitted with, basically a naked street bike. Full or semi-fairing bike has mounting provided on the fairing itself. The design of such a mirror is unique and due to the dual purpose it is known as bar end mirrors. Simply it has a usual bar or weight with different designs of arm leading to a mirror. I have one pair on my 2004 BAJAJ PULSAR 150 dts-i.

This grants a better rear view visibility that usually gets interrupted to some by riders arm. Bar end mirrors are fixed to the end of the handle making the position of the mirrors away from the centre region that usually blocks the vision or occupies a large area in the mirror. Design and shape makes it a desirable and stuck out aftermarket part. The two main drawbacks of a bar end mirror are--

1)    When a less trained rider is riding a bike with such mirrors then the chances increase that the location of the mirrors leaning out of the bike geometry may get stuck in any other vehicle adjacent to it in traffic.

2)    The mirrors become totally useless while the bike is taking a turn. The handle on corners has its face towards the direction of the turn moving the mirrors along with it. A rider requires mirrors when he changes a lane or when taking a turn in high density traffic areas.

Let me bring in some aggression to the topic by changing the direction to MotoGP which is the ultimate pinnacle of biking. MotoGP bikes are fast, quick, costly and more over very dangerous. It is not only the way all the riders race but also the machines which help them reach that level. Setting tunnel vision to clutch lever guard, a basic question of why it is so necessary rises. The answer of why lies in what it actually is. A lever guard is a safety part that looks like a guard of a motorcycle and is there to keep the whole arm(brake or clutch lever, accelerator or non-accelerator side, left or right arm) region isolated. It basically looks like a bar end weight with an extended lever handcrafted from high grade aluminium and is climaxed by an anodized tip which is curved inside ensuring no harm from the danger end of the handle. The material used in making one gives it durability, high strength and protects it from corrosion. There is a high risk of a close call when a rider might just bump into the other when all racers go against each other. The handle of one bike might clash with the other one in a side to side battle and could jam each other making the riders to fall and cause serious causalities. This also could initiate accidental front braking to cause a sudden stoppie ultimately making the rider to fell off the bike. This happens because the tight spot on either side of the handle is prone to make objects jam into it. A lever guard is installed on both side of the handle to protect the arm and this region to avoid the bike from landing into such situations. Looking at the effectiveness of the guard, it was made a mandatory safety part in 2011 by International Motorcycling Federation(FIM) that should be present in each and every bike if the team wants to participate in the season. But it is not like this situation would not be faced on streets. The same may happen in a slip lane situation where a bike is often boxed by the adjacent vehicles. The presence of vehicles close to the bike makes the situation similar enough like what is faced on a race track. I am going to install one in my bike too. I would recommend you also to go for it and if you agree with then please go mention that in the comment section below.......thank You!! 

   

  by AutoVogue