How to install handlebars on a Ducati Scrambler

In stock form the Ducati Scrambler is a comfortable bike to ride. It positions the rider upright allowing them to watch for traffic, dodge potholes and high fiving other riders. Most of this is because of their high rise handlebars, while practical they do look a bit 70's Frisco chopper.

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So the decision was made to swap out the bars to lower the rise and give it a more tracker feel. While I was at it the customer also wanted a pair of Rizoma bar end mirrors installed and a pair of Super tiny LED Indicators.

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To install a pair of bars yourself you'll need:

• A set of handlebars - We used the tracker bars I have in stock, I love these bars and they are a good mix of rise and width and allow you to cut to suit.
• Masking tape to help position the control locaters.
• Steel Centre Punch.
• Vice to hold the bars.
• Drill and bits

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1. Remove the old bars

Remove the controls and grips from the old bars, the controls have little locator pins so make sure you loosen them enough to slide them off. Once you've done that undo the bar clamps and remove the old bars.

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2. Layout your controls

Grab your new bars and place them in bar mounts, make sure your bars are aligned and positioned how you want them as we'll be marking the positions of the control in this stem. It's not a big deal if you decide to push the bars forward a little or vice versa but ideally, you want the controls to be in their final position as we'll be drilling the bars for the control locators in the next step.

Grab your controls and loosely position them on the bars, make sure your throttle and left-hand grip are equal distance from the end of the bars.
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Grab your new bars and place them in bar mounts, make sure your bars are aligned and positioned how you want them as we'll be marking the positions of the control in this stem. It's not a big deal if you decide to push the bars forward a little or vice versa but ideally, you want the controls to be in their final position as we'll be drilling the bars for the control locators in the next step.

Grab your controls and loosely position them on the bars, make sure your throttle and left-hand grip are equal distance from the end of the bars.

If you're installing bar end mirrors or ends allow for a couple of millimetres from the end this will allow for the throttle to easily move between the controls and the bar ends.

Once you’re happy with the positioning of your controls, grab your masking tape and mark the location of the controls. Slide them slightly to the side and then put down some more masking tape under where the locating pins will be sitting.

Slide the controls back over the tape and slightly press down on the controls to mark the locating pins on the tape. If you find it too hard to see you can try marking the pins with a sharpie and then repeating.

Once you’ve got the pins laid out you’re ready to drill the bars.

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3. Drilling the bars

‍Place the bars into a vice or you could even keep them clamped in the bar mounts although not recommended. Grab your centre punch and mark the holes to be drilled.
Drill a small pilot hole for each locator, again check the locations just to make sure.
Continue to drill to the required size of each locator, I can’t remember the exact size off the top of my head.
Once you’ve done that you’re ready to put things back together

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4. Reassembly

Install the new bars and then slide the controls back on. Locate the controls with their corresponding locators and tighten them up.
Now finally install the grips and throttle body make sure everything works as it should.
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If you’re installing bar end mirrors install the bar ends and make sure there’s enough clearance from the throttle body to the bar end.

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Tighten everything up and you’re good to go!

Swapping out the handlebars on your stock Ducati Scrambler is a fairly straightforward task. All you need is a bit of patience and a few basic tools.

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Also check out the guide on Installing a Ducati Scrambler Tail Tidy

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