I personally like the cobra bars, Got mc enterprises for my Suzuki when I had it and the cobra bars for my shadow and the cobra bars looked much more sturdy to me, Cobra didn't make bars for the Suzuki I had.

Dauntae

 

Had some scrapes and other uh..incidents with the MC's over the years no probs no cracks.. good bars

 

I don't believe cobra makes em for the vlx., May try to have these welded

 

Had the the highway bars on my 919 welded crack possibly due to vibration or cold factory weld. I also added some rubber washers to cut down on bike frame to highway bar vibration. Saw the ole 919 at a local dealer after selling it years ago...still had the highway bars connected with the same setup.
I was also happy the owners after me kept it looking nice!!

 

I took the highway bars off of mine for a different reason, they kept getting in my way. With a size 15 shoe, I could not negotiate my footing with them on.

 

I took the highway bars off of mine for a different reason, they kept getting in my way. With a size 15 shoe, I could not negotiate my footing with them on.

Have you thought about taking up skiing?

John.

 

Haven't started the removal yet, will in a few minutes,,this involves removing the horn, 3 pieces of the neck cover(brittle plastic tabs), and 5 bolts,,,I found my late fathers metric/sae socket set, and it included the sockets required, so tools aren't the issue I thought they'd be.
After removal, off to the welder via my brother (his town, his contacts)

 

doesn't seem like those should crack. I've dropped my bike twice, both times at very slow speeds while learning, but the highway bars held firm. Mine just mount to the frame at the top and to the pegs at the bottom. Not even sure what brand but they seem to be pretty good.

 

This is the 2nd set that has cracked,,some other member wanted my 1st damaged bar, can't remember his name, but was in tx...I shipped them out, but never heard back from this member,,no "I got em", or "thanks" or squat..

anyway the welder has the bars, I'll get them back around 6pm tonight. I'll have to see what he can do,,of course after the removal he says it would have suited him to have seen them mounted,,,,I provided him my sig pic, hope it will help him.

 

This is the 2nd set that has cracked,,some other member wanted my 1st damaged bar, can't remember his name, but was in tx...I shipped them out, but never heard back from this member,,no "I got em", or "thanks" or squat..

anyway the welder has the bars, I'll get them back around 6pm tonight. I'll have to see what he can do,,of course after the removal he says it would have suited him to have seen them mounted,,,,I provided him my sig pic, hope it will help him.

I think it depends on the design whether they crack or split or not..your bars have done exactly what they were designed to do..If the bars are stronger than the frame they may bend or crack the frame, upon impact, where they join, it's much easier to replace the bars than the frame.

John.

 

Cobra's on mine

I just put Cobra's on my VT1100. will keep watch for stress cracks.

 

I just put Cobra's on my VT1100. will keep watch for stress cracks.

My crack was caused by me scraping a "sloped curb", it just took time for the crack to manifest itself as to being noticeable. I doubt that they would have ever failed without them being scraped like I described. I knew something was going on with them from the shaking(vibs) that normal riding produced. I think the crack started between the bars and the frame of the bike and weren't visible until the crack went around the bar.

Btw, still waiting on the welder,,weld is done, lacks clean up, he says they are as strong structurally as when I got them new. We'll see.

 

I've been patiently waiting for my engine guards to be repaired by the welder since about noon on thursday. I got them back 7pm ish tonight and can understand the time it took. 1st is the welder works two jobs, mine was a side job,,and most importantly is/was my mistake in thinking that my bars were in the hands of a welder. They have been repaired by an Artist. Seriously I cannot for the life of me see the repair other than the paint used to cover the repair. "Lance" the artist assured me that the bars are structurally sound and should be like new. I am really amazed at this guys talent. On the side, I found out he is the grandson of some folks I've known for over 30 years. Small world

 

What? A post like this without pictures of the repair?

 

My new phone's camera sucks and I'm 146 miles from home, I'll post a pic of the bars re mounted when I get home.

I think it depends on the design whether they crack or split or not..your bars have done exactly what they were designed to do..If the bars are stronger than the frame they may bend or crack the frame, upon impact, where they join, it's much easier to replace the bars than the frame.

John.

dead on.

I've had the Cobra bars on my VT1100C2 for three years. No cracks or problems. But they have not been crashed, either. I am really hoping they will be unscuffed when I sell the bike.

I have a tendency to corner hard, also I believe that my vlx is a bit lower than the vt1100's, so it's doubtful that you'll experience any problems.

 

I have a tendency to corner hard, also I believe that my vlx is a bit lower than the vt1100's, so it's doubtful that you'll experience any problems.[/QUOTE]

You corner hard....NOT you cannot turn with a CT:wink: It is impossible:mrgreen:
Glad it is going to work out for you! When you get home if you are concerned with the paint you could look into powder coating them, they would look factory and one color.
Side note on scraping them....Cobra Fatty's on the VTX 1300r are very very prone to scraping, Ask Canyon, his are scratched up a little from it!
Coop

 

The repaired crack is just above my finger,,to the right of the mount just seen.



The guy really did a good job.