Rupp Triple/ Handlebar clamp setup?

[86waterpumper]

Recently I bought a old Rupp roadster? Anyway it is the rupp with the 12" wheels. I have dealt with dirtbikes and gokarts before but this is my first experience with a Rupp. I assume my handlebar clamp setup is stock, as I have seen other pics on here of Rupp/ Speedway bikes. For all purposes, the handlebar clamp looks to me about like a pipe clamp? This clamp is very thin and round and bent in a u-shape with nuts that snug up against the bottom of the triple. The triple itself is very thin also, and even though I added washers, I cannot get anywhere near enough clamping action to hold these bars at all. This bike has a briggs animal installed...so I need the dang bar to sit still :laugh: Now maybe the knurling on the bar is worn off, from years of use, but even so I fail to see how anyone can get this meager setup to work to any acceptable measure. I certainly don't want to hack something and jbweld it, does anyone have any ideas that are non permanent?

 

[Ding Ding]

I know exactly what you need as I had the same issue with my Speedway handlebars. The handlebars that came on my bike were damaged from the U bolts being tightened to much(they probably could never get them tight enough!). I ended up getting nice original pair of handlebars to replace the damaged ones and I did not want to put on the dumb U bolt clamps that came on the Speedway and possibly damage my new bars, I wanted to improve the clamping in some way. I ended up getting 1971+ Rupp handlebar clamps. They come with the radius-insert that goes between the U bolt and the bars and applies a much better clamping force on the bars. On the Speedway, the hole centers on the triple trees needed to be opened up to allow for the larger Rupp style U bolts. But they work great and look very close to stock! Very strong clamping force now.

Damaged handlebars from crappy clamps:

The 1971+ Rupp clamps with inserts

I bought mine from Jim, Owner of BlackWidowMotorsports. I don't know if he has any left but it's worth inquiring. Otherwise they are available on Ebay.

 

[capguncowboy]

You can get the bars that Jim has at BlackWidow for the 1970 -- they're actually the 71 bars, with the welded on u-bolts like they used on the 70 models. They won't be adjustable though.

 

[86waterpumper]

Those clamps with the insert look like a much better design! This was obviously a problem rupp ran into and tried to correct. I see the repro clamps they are selling on the site though do not include the inserts. I will contact Jim and see if he has any left. Thanks. Does anyone have a pic of the 1970 type bars installed on a bike? I am 6'-1" and so I wanted the bars tilted forward some. Whether that option would work or not would depend on what position it put the bars into. The weld would fix them flopping around, but losing the adjustability does sort of stink.

 

[Ding Ding]

I would definitely get the clamps with inserts over a set of fixed handlebars. I'm 6'3" and need every inch of clearance I can get for my knees, on all of my bikes.

I know the insert clamps are not listed on his site, however, after getting enough parts from Jim I realized he has many parts that are not listed on his site. Just have to ask! (he lives 15 minutes away from me and I've made many parts runs to his compound) :smile:

 

[capguncowboy]

Those clamps with the insert look like a much better design! This was obviously a problem rupp ran into and tried to correct. I see the repro clamps they are selling on the site though do not include the inserts. I will contact Jim and see if he has any left. Thanks. Does anyone have a pic of the 1970 type bars installed on a bike? I am 6'-1" and so I wanted the bars tilted forward some. Whether that option would work or not would depend on what position it put the bars into. The weld would fix them flopping around, but losing the adjustability does sort of stink.

I'm 6'5" and didn't have any issues with my knees clearing on my 70 Roadster.

a pic of the 70 bars installed on a 70 bike. You can see how far forward they lean

A video of my riding my bike (skip to the end)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4hhbTEzNHk

 

[86waterpumper]

Nice! Thanks for the pic of the bars. Looks like it puts the bars into just about the exact position I have been riding with these in. They look pretty much completely vertical? So maybe that is a option after all. I think at this point I probably need to take the bars completely loose, and see if I am dealing with a cut in situation like Ding Ding had. The bad part is, people have torqued these things down so hard over the years, that there is some damage to the underside of my triples where the nuts have bitten in. Without washers, the nut will just sink into the triple too far for a socket to get any grip and tighten them much :no: Just a bad design really all the way around with the skinny ubolts at least.

 

[capguncowboy]

Here's the link for the 71 bars with the welded on U-bolts from BW

#15429 HANDLEBAR 1970

 

[Ding Ding]

I should mention that much of my 6'3" is in my legs. If you have long "dancers legs" this is something to consider.

p.s. the clamps/inserts will be much cheaper than new bars, plus the repro bars are 1" shorter than the originals. Like I said, I need that extra inch!

 

[Ding Ding]

AND, if your handlebars are grooved from the U bolts you can still use them....with the inserts as their grip range is wider than the U bolt and will hide any damage beneath. Speedway handlebars actually come brand new with slight grooves in the handlebars, however, most of the ones I've seen are offset to one side so if you utilize the grooves your bars will be slightly off center when mounted. My new Speedway bars are now perfectly centered because the new Rupp clamps with inserts don't need that groove, and the groove is covered by the width of the clamp insert.

 

[86waterpumper]

Well this sucks...Jim emailed me back he has no clamps. On ebay at least now, none are available, except a auction that shows one. One doesn't do me much good and even for that one the auction is 50 bucks...Seems that someone needs to be repopping these? I may end up having to weld my current bars to the ubolts I already have. I don't really want to spend 70 bucks and then a shipping fee for brand new bars. This bike is just a rider, it will not be rebuilt or made into some mint restoration. I will keep searching ebay for awhile, but I also don't see the point in going on a long goose chase for this and taking the bike out of use for something this small.

 

[Ding Ding]

Bummer. I must have got his is last/only set.

Make wanted ad. in the classifieds for the Rupp handlebar inserts.

 

[86waterpumper]

I already did that. Hopefully I can find something or someone here has them. If not I will have to come up with some redneck engineering. If this was a show bike or restoration I would search however long it took. Since this has a animal motor stuffed in it, it isn't original anyway. If I come up with a fix for it, I will post. Thanks for the help.

 

[86waterpumper]

Well I thought I would update this thread in the hopes that it might help someone else? I found the clamp inserts that I needed at Vintage Rupp Fun Machine Snowmobile, Minibike, Mini-Cycle Parts so if anyone needs these they have them. For some reason one came that looked brand new, and the other one had some rust, but at six or seven bucks apiece I don't even care haha. I will hit it with some paint and hope that it fixes my issue. Thanks to those that helped out!

 

[Ding Ding]

Well I thought I would update this thread in the hopes that it might help someone else? I found the clamp inserts that I needed at Vintage Rupp Fun Machine Snowmobile, Minibike, Mini-Cycle Parts so if anyone needs these they have them. For some reason one came that looked brand new, and the other one had some rust, but at six or seven bucks apiece I don't even care haha. I will hit it with some paint and hope that it fixes my issue. Thanks to those that helped out!

Glad you ended up finding a pair of the inserts. I really think that is the ideal upgrade for the U-bolt clamps that didn't come with them.

Out of curiosity, how long did it take your parts to arrive after you placed the order? I only ask because I (and many many others) have had trouble in the past with getting parts in a timely manner through Rupp parts.com. In fact it was such a negative experience that I decided I wouldn't buy anything from there in the future. I shared my experience her on OldMiniBikes only to find the same negative experience happened to a lot of other people. Too bad really, there are many parts that I would like to buy from there if they were shipped quickly with no BS.

 

[86waterpumper]

Glad you ended up finding a pair of the inserts. I really think that is the ideal upgrade for the U-bolt clamps that didn't come with them.

Out of curiosity, how long did it take your parts to arrive after you placed the order? I only ask because I (and many many others) have had trouble in the past with getting parts in a timely manner through Rupp parts.com. In fact it was such a negative experience that I decided I wouldn't buy anything from there in the future. I shared my experience her on OldMiniBikes only to find the same negative experience happened to a lot of other people. Too bad really, there are many parts that I would like to buy from there if they were shipped quickly with no BS.

Wow! It really sucks to hear that so many have had problems. Maybe that is why nobody mentioned them in the first place on this thread? ut: Well I cannot speak for any experience but my own order obviously, and it was the first time I had shopped there but it was stellar service. I really could not ask for better as far as the speed goes. I placed the order on 9/11 (a friday afternoon). The order shipped out the same day...and was sent priority mail. I had the part at my house by 9/14. What really surprised me was that it went out that friday instead of being sent monday. Anyway I would not hesitate to order from them in the future. With that being said, I always use my credit card for purchases such as this. If a company screws up, I just make a claim and they refund the money.

 

[Ding Ding]

Wow! It really sucks to hear that so many have had problems. Maybe that is why nobody mentioned them in the first place on this thread? ut: Well I cannot speak for any experience but my own order obviously, and it was the first time I had shopped there but it was stellar service. I really could not ask for better as far as the speed goes. I placed the order on 9/11 (a friday afternoon). The order shipped out the same day...and was sent priority mail. I had the part at my house by 9/14. What really surprised me was that it went out that friday instead of being sent monday. Anyway I would not hesitate to order from them in the future. With that being said, I always use my credit card for purchases such as this. If a company screws up, I just make a claim and they refund the money.

Good to hear.

I made my one and only purchase through Paypal. Several weeks went by with no notice, no returning calls, nothing. I ended up making a claim through Paypal. Shortly after the claim was made I received a shipping notice. I went from happy and excited about my purchased to angry and disappointed.

Perhaps I will give them another chance at some point. They have bunch of Tecumseh parts I would like, but am hesitant considering my first purchase experience.

 

[86waterpumper]

Yeah you are right I see there is even has a tecumseh carb....which I need but 86 bucks! I have a old duck bird bike with a tecumseh motor missing the carb and that is what is keeping it out of service. I wonder if these are real oldschool style mechanical carbs, or the newer diaphram type>?? Anyway they do have a phone number listed. I think I would just call and voice my concerns about the last order, and let them know you don't need to wait a long time. Maybe someone else is managing things now, or maybe I just got lucky? There are not alot of options though when it comes to some of these parts nowdays that is for sure.

 

[Ding Ding]

Yeah you are right I see there is even has a tecumseh carb....which I need but 86 bucks! I have a old duck bird bike with a tecumseh motor missing the carb and that is what is keeping it out of service. I wonder if these are real oldschool style mechanical carbs, or the newer diaphram type>?? Anyway they do have a phone number listed. I think I would just call and voice my concerns about the last order, and let them know you don't need to wait a long time. Maybe someone else is managing things now, or maybe I just got lucky? There are not alot of options though when it comes to some of these parts nowdays that is for sure.

You can get Genuine Tecumseh Carbs from a number of places, and yes they are around $80+ bucks at all of them. The cheaper knock-off carbs work fine, and are mechanical just like the old ones. If for some reason it didn't work, you could buy 3 more to and still spend less than a Tecumseh.

On my first bout with Rupp parts, one of my issues is that nobody would ever answer the phone. I called multiple times each morning for multiple days. For the good of that business and the mini bike community I hope they have resolved their service issues.