Apology for Sissy Bar post and a little DIY on how to make them...

Tim

Administrator
Staff member
Founder
Lifetime Supporting Member
Calendar Participant
Troop Supporter
Supporting Member
What does your lawyer say about waivers?

LOL...nice one Tim but I think th eonly way he would avoid getting sued on that one is if he sold it without the bolt mount holes drilled or tapped. Even then I would still be worried.
 

boomer4444

Active Member
To each his own but I think we are missing an important point here, I consider mark a friend and this in no way is an attack on his engineering skills, or him personally! but seriously guys, do you want to buy a sissy bar made by someone in there garage and spare time with the r&d being " I drove my van over it and it held up fine" remember you could be putting your life or your passenger at risk , I personaly put a bag and everything I can fit into it mounted to that bar in excess of 75#, then add in your wife leaning back on it all day and there is a lot of force being applied to mounting bolts of the bar all day, I am trusting BIG DOG did the research that the ends of the bar wont crack,, bend break etc and fall out, anytime you drill and tap the end of a bar you weaken it and risk cracking or breakage, loosing your entire load or the bar possably hitting your tire or getting wrapped up in your rim at god only knows what speed or putting other riders behind you at risk,I tried making my own years ago using the same process and the bolts kept sheering off from the constant vibration and leverage point, causing the bar to start to vibrate loose, both times my wife heard the snap of the bolt and told me to pull over something wasnt right! and these were grade 8 bolts.I would like to think when big dog was producing the bars that there was some kind of quality control and research and development with the rear loading bar, the top load bar could be a differant animal altogether, , now this is just my opinion, keep it safe!
 
Last edited:

Marky-Marc

Well-Known Member
To each his own but I think we are missing an important point here, I consider mark a friend and this in no way is an attack on his engineering skills, or him personally! but seriously guys, do you want to buy a sissy bar made by someone in there garage and spare time with the r&d being " I drove my van over it and it held up fine" remember you could be putting your life or your passenger at risk , I personaly put a bag and everything I can fit into it mounted to that bar in excess of 75#, then add in your wife leaning back on it all day and there is a lot of force being applied to mounting bolts of the bar all day, I am trusting BIG DOG did the research that the ends of the bar wont crack,, bend break etc and fall out, anytime you drill and tap the end of a bar you weaken it and risk cracking or breakage, loosing your entire load or the bar possably hitting your tire or getting wrapped up in your rim at god only knows what speed or putting other riders behind you at risk,I tried making my own years ago using the same process and the bolts kept sheering off from the constant vibration and leverage point, causing the bar to start to vibrate loose, both times my wife heard the snap of the bolt and told me to pull over something wasnt right! and these were grade 8 bolts.I would like to think when big dog was producing the bars that there was some kind of quality control and research and development with the rear loading bar, the top load bar could be a differant animal altogether, , now this is just my opinion, keep it safe!
Absolutely agree Jason....no worries....see you soon.....

BTW, the OEM ones break too....lol...hahahaha
 

FrankBDPS

Well-Known Member
I have been reading this thread and trying to figure out what is wrong with this system. On one end we have a true American who wants to bend up some sissy bars out of solid bar stock and sell a few to make a few extra bucks. But he can't do it because he is afraid of being sued for product liability. I get that part.

Now on the other hand is a big Chinese company called Matazu. They build accessories for jap bikes. Here is the piece of shit they sent me for a Honda night hawk. It is made from .75 inch od tubing with a wall thickness of .051. That's a long way from a solid bar. Plus their welds look like they were made by a three year old. Not to mention that it dosent fit the bike

Which bar would you rather have you're passenger leaning back on?

image.jpeg image.jpeg
 

Th3InfamousI

Administrator
Staff member
I have been reading this thread and trying to figure out what is wrong with this system. On one end we have a true American who wants to bend up some sissy bars out of solid bar stock and sell a few to make a few extra bucks. But he can't do it because he is afraid of being sued for product liability. I get that part.

Now on the other hand is a big Chinese company called Matazu. They build accessories for jap bikes. Here is the piece of shit they sent me for a Honda night hawk. It is made from .75 inch od tubing with a wall thickness of .051. That's a long way from a solid bar. Plus their welds look like they were made by a three year old. Not to mention that it dosent fit the bike

Which bar would you rather have you're passenger leaning back on?

View attachment 31204 View attachment 31203
Are those really the welds?

Wow

For the record I'd trust your bars Mark. And you driving over it with a van works for me hell that's probably more R&D then BD did. Like was said before looking a shear strength of the material is probably all that was done.

Bolts failing or falling out isn't a problem with the bar it's the bolts.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk
 

BWG56

Guru
Google the shear strength of a .750 304 stainless steel rod and it will probably she'd some light on his sissy bar breaking. I had the bolts in my bdm stock sissy bar break from vibration but the bar never came out. I would worry a lot more about the frame breaking than his bars failing. That's just my opinion.
My BDM bar is not SS, its chrome plated cold rolled, and I'm positive if one mounting bolt broke, there is no way it would come out or fall off the bike. The luggage rack mounting on one side has to be loosened to even pull the bar out of the holes.
 
I am sure no one here is questioning Marc's abilities at all.
Manufacturers carry enormous amounts of manufacturer liability insurance to cover their asses.
So when the inevitable law suit hits them they just go on pumping shit out.
i.e. Big Dog Motorcycles when they were in business.

99.9999999999% would probably never have an issue but then there is always that .000000000001% that don't give a shit about anyone or anything but themselves and then, as a small business, your fucked.

Plenty out there saying fuck'em all I don't give a shit but do you want to be the one guy who didn't say that and take that chance.
If your single with no kids and don't give a shit probably.
But if you've worked hard your whole life and don't want some piece of shit taking it all you better be careful.

And yes, I speak from experience.
 

FrankBDPS

Well-Known Member
After 34 years in the excavating business I was lucky enough to never be sued. Knock on wood. My best day in business was my last day. I have guys come to my shop weekly wanting me to work on their bikes. I direct them to the two nearby shops that do that for a living.
 
Top