GZ250 'throttle cap tightener bolt'

[Water Warrior 2]

It is also possible to blow the parts out from the other side using compressed air.

[TXtwowheeler]

Thanks guys for all the input. I actually tried the coat hanger before posting the original question. With no brighter ideas surfacing, I took to the coat hanger plan again with renewed determination. I got the rubber plug out, but the nut is still in there. It's all the way down to the middle of the bar. I'm thinking I'll just get a new nut and let the original rattle in there. I can't hear it with the engine running. I have to give Suzuki the thumbs down for their design in this particular case. I love my GZ, but with so many of us having the same problem, it seems a design flaw. I have to scratch my head. Especially, having the nut on the back side of a rubber plug, where it will most certainly fall off and get lost if the thing rattles loose.....

Anyway, I may try to get it out with a magnet before I go and buy another nut. You can bet I'll glue the nut to the back side of the plug, AND use loctite when I put it back together.

[patrick_777]

This isn't just a Suzuki design. A lot of other manufacturers use the same method for their bar ends. Kawa actually uses red loctite in theirs, so you literally can't get it out without destroying it in the process.

[mr. softie]

My bike was missing the bar end weights when I got it. My local bike shop had some nice heavy chrome ones for $8/pair. :roll:

[Badbob]

I've used a small long lag bolt to get the rubber part out. Once that is out you can dump the nut out of the bars.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by TXtwowheeler

Anyway, I may try to get it out with a magnet before I go and buy another nut. You can bet I'll glue the nut to the back side of the plug, AND use loctite when I put it back together.

The magnet will probably work.....as would laying the bike on it's side momentarily.....with help from another person.

Anything you put on the nut or threads that makes the nut tighter will lessen the likelyhood of it coming loose.......even if you WANT it to at some later time. IOW, you won't be able to get it loose even if you want to. Probably NOT a good idea.

[alantf]

Nut rattling around inside the bars? Just a thought, but how about the cylinders of expanding foam you use for D.I.Y. around the house. Do you think it would be possible to shove the long tube that's fitted to the cannister, down the tube & give a short blast. When it sets it should stop the nut rattling. I've never tried it as I managed to get the bits out with a wire coat hanger, but I suppose that it should work.

[alanmcorcoran]

I debated weighing in here as I am neither mechanically inclined, nor do I know anything at all about the in's and outs of the Suzuki front end, but, what the hey...

Is the handlebar removable without cutting it in half? If so, remove the bars from the bike and all of the attachments, then use centrifugal force to dislodge the prodigal nut (swing it like a bat or a tennis racket) and move it back towards the end. If your alternative is cutting and replacing the bars, this seems like it won't take any longer and may eliminate the need to buy new bars.

[TXtwowheeler]

With a coat hanger I managed to get the rubber part out, but the nut remains. I never hear it. I could replace it for a few cents. It's on my list. I don't have an able-bodied friend handy to help me turn the bike over and shake it out. (I know, it's sad but true.)

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by TXtwowheeler

With a coat hanger I managed to get the rubber part out, but the nut remains.

A flexible magnetic "pickup" would probably work. I think I'd be tempted to leave it alone.