With our new Roll Design Steering stem in place, we found that our stock bend handlebars did not match up well. We were able to get them bolted on with quite a bit of cable rerouting and the cables at their limit. But they just did NOT work. They were not comfortable at that height. We turned to Tag metals for some help. We picked out some new Tag T2 handlebars with the CR high bend anodized blue. The T2 bar features Tag's double-butted inner wall design that is lightweight yet very strong. The bar is 1 1/8" diameter in the mid section then it tapers out to the standard 7/8" diameter for the controls and grips. The bar is forged from aircraft quality 7049 T-6 aluminum, polished, and hard anodized with your choice of colors. The grip and clamp area is knurled to prevent slippage.
While the bars don't look that much different sitting on the garage floor, the dimensions are quite different. The stock Raptor bend has a total width of 785 mm Vs a width of 795 mm for the CR HI bend. The Raptor bend bar has a rise of 105 mm Vs only 95 mm for the CR HI bend. The other big difference is in the sweep of the bar, the Raptor bend has a sweep of 100 mm while the sweep is only 62 mm on the CR HI bend. To mount the new bars we also needed some new Roll Design fat bar mounts for our stem, and since our grips were getting pretty worn, we also picked up some new Scott grips.
Installation Installation is pretty simple. Just unbolt your controls on each side and let them hang. If you want to save the grips you can usually do that if you have a compressor and a nozzle for it, so that you can blow compressed air into the end of the grip while you remove it. Unbolt the clamps. In our case we then needed to unbolt the Roll Design clamps from the stem and replace them with the Fat Bar clamps. Now install your new Tag handlebars and center them on the clamps. Adjust the handlebars to your liking then tighten down the clamps. Now reinstall your controls and your grips. We found that our cables now fit much better and were not stretched so tight when turning lock to lock. The 10 mm difference in rise made a big difference. If you have handguards on your quad you may need to get different mounting clamps for the inside where it attachs to the bars. We had forgotten to order some for our Cyrca guards, so left them off until new mounting clamps arrive.
Summary We were instantly in love with the new Tag T2 bars. They make a huge difference and are a perfect fit with the taller Roll Design stem. We were very surprised at how much more comfortable these bars were. (Is that why so many Pro's run these bars with this bend?) The Tag T2 bars are available for around $85 bucks street price. If you don't have an aftermarket stem, Tag Metals now makes ATV kits that allow you to mount the T2 bar on your stock steering stem. For the Raptor you can even get a kit that incorporates the key and lights. That would have been very nice but would not work with our Roll Design Stem and plans for a GPR steering stabilizer.
We
give the Tag T2 bars two big thumbs up!
TAG Metals America
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OffRoadDotCom
| Enewsletters
Stay on Top of All the Action: |