[230forme2]

Hi all. I too am a newbie, not a newbie to the world, only to the dirt bike scene. I pretty much left four wheelers to ride on two wheels to try and follow my kids. I am having a blast on my 230. I do have a question though.

I am already looking to upgrade my bars to Renthals but I am confused as to all of the different bends and such. Could anyone please offer their knowledge on the different bends and if there is a special bend that they like and why? Is there also a bar that other 230 owners particularly like on their own bike? I have enjoyed reading your site and hope to feel welcomed here.

[Asmith]

Welcome to the site!!

We had a CRF 230 that we put Renthals on. They were the takeoffs from the CRF 250X.

The Renthals that the Honda factory uses are the Renthal 971 alloy 7/8" bars. Nice comfy bend and will bolt on with no other modifications.

[krisrtch]

i have a 07' 230 and just put on a renthal handle bar the jimmy button enduro/mx bend took me a moto or two to get use to them. That and I had them to far forward. but I am very happy with them. The weight differance is also a plus. Pic I believe is in my garage.

[GhostX]

I have had all Renthals on my previous ATV's, but for my 230F I bought the TAG metals bars, CR 125 bend. I was confused about all the different bends too, because its hard in the shop to put a set of bars in your hands, make engine noises, and get a real idea of how they work.

Check my garage too, but I really like the TAG's, very comfortable, stylish, and about $20 less.

[230forme2]

Thanks for the input everyone. So far it appears as if it is more of a personal preference thing. The bars look really good on each of your bikes.

trd4jt....I can't help but laugh because that is what I kind of did yesterday at the Honda shop. I held a bunch of different bars in my hands too, I did, however, leave the engine sounds out. Maybe that was part of my problem. Any way, I walked out just as confused as when I walked in there. I was looking at the Tag Metals in the X5 series and saw that they have CR low, CR high and CR double high. Are any of these the ones you have?

~............The CRF's only store has some good looking Renthal 971 bars. Those may also be an option.

Krisrtch.....I think there are a few of the Jimmy Button bend bars on Ebay now.

Maybe I should just buy several different bars and change from time to time like people do with outfits? Do you think that would work?? Just kidding.

[GhostX]

The 06 230F is my first dirt bike, so I went for a bend that was pretty close to stock, since stock seemed to work well (it just didn't have the "cool" factor that TAG/Renthals do! ) so I just put the TAGs up to a new 230 on the dealers floor and went from there.

As I recall, the CR 125 bend that I bought was a little more "swept back" and I figured that was more comfortable. Also, grips make a big difference too, I went with the TAG half waffles, in you guessed it, Honda Red.

Do a search of CRF's for grip installation and you should find several posts to help with that too, I used the old hair spray method.

[redaddiction]

I have the Tag X5 in CR High bend on my 230. I also added a riser to the mount. Makes all the difference in the world! I found mine in an ebay store for $49.00 with free shipping. Can't beat that!