remove grips?

[Gary - K7GLD]

Grips on my '83 1100LTD are foam rubber, and pretty ratty - got new ones, but a couple of test yanks on the old ones, and they won't budge - looking at the new ones, they SEEM to simply slip on, but the old ones sure are on solid - am I going to have to carefully cut them off - or is there an easier way?

[MFolks]

Depends if the previous owner glued the grips on. I've had luck using WD-40, if possible, stick the red straw under the grip and give it a blast of two of the lubricant. It should be easy to come off(just remember to clean the WD-40 off the handlebar real good, hate to have the grips come off while riding).

If the WD won't work,a sharp knife/X-acto knife or a single edged razor blade should be able to cut the old grip off.Just don't go too deep as some throttles are Nylon and can be damaged.

[sheldonbourgeoi]

I just removed a foam set of grips from my GPz last month. Mine were glued on so I carefully used an exacto knife to remove them, being very careful with the throttle side. I then made sure everything was clean with rubbing alcohol. I then wet the bars and the inside of the grips with the same alcohol and the new grips slid right on. When they dry, which is quickly, they are stuck on pretty good.

I picked up some cement for them when I got the grips, but had a hell of a time trying to get the throttle side to go on as the glue kept gumming up.

I've also used hairspray in the past to slip on new grips and it worked pretty decent as well.

I should have got another set of foam grips as the comfort was exceptional. The new Pro-Grip gels I put on are nice, but the inside of my hand between my thumb and index finger gets sore after a long ride and it never did with the foam Grab-On's.

[klx678]

We usually used an air gun to "balloon" them up and slide them off, then reversing the process to put new ones on. You stick the nozzle end down in by the switch or throttle cable housing, kind of working it in to channel air under the grip. When the grip starts to balloon up, twist and slide it off. You can do a similar kind of trick to slide the new ones on unless they're those hard chrome type things.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Well, these grips seem a bit different than others I've had in the past - sorta hard rubber to the inside that isn't likely to release with air pressure, nor likely to get any lubricant between them and the bars either - might have to carefully cut them loose, and the new ones look to be made the same way on the inside. I just wanted to make sure I don't screw something up if I go the cutting-off route.