Garage Finds | 909 Handlebars
Share
Presented by Backyard Design
Who remembers these bad boys? In the mid-1990s, FMF Racing President Don Emler and former 250 World Champion Danny LaPorte launched a brand of motorcycle handlebars, grips, and control parts as a fun side project. As far as handlebars go, 909 offered these 7/8″ bars, as well as an oversized version that was private-labeled by Easton, the same brand that made the original Pro Taper handlebar back then. Both bars were of excellent quality, and I remember running the 909 oversized bar almost exclusively on my MXRacer Magazine test bikes because I loved their bend, feel, and appearance.
909 also produced some pretty great grips, which featured the 909 logo in the palm area and made of softer-durometer rubber. They were slim in feel and had great vibration dampening qualities. Aftermarket replacement levers were next, and for the most part, 909 was doing great! Ultimately, however, 909 was put to rest when some changes in the marketplace changed the demand for aftermarket handlebars…
“909 was a side company that my dad and Danny LaPorte started to offer control items for dirt bikes,” says Donnie Emler Jr. “The name for the brand stemmed from the area code in which all of the teams and racers were based in the SoCal hotbed of motocross, We ended up shutting 909 down so that we could better focus on FMF and our core products. Also at this time, Renthal began to supply manufacturers with aluminum handlebars and this drove the demand for aftermarket handlebars down. We had fun, made great products, but ultimately wanted to focus on FMF Racing.”
Backyard Design Graphic Kit of the Week
Custom Graphic Kits Starting At $179.99
Backyard Design was founded in 2010 by two privateer Supercross racers: Jared Hicks from Alabama and Philipp Klakow from Germany. What started off as a project to fund their Supercross racing efforts has now grown into a worldwide graphics manufacturer, with dual headquarters in the United States and Germany. Backyard Design is known for being one of the first custom graphics makers to have a completely interactive website, where customers can design their own kits with a few clicks on a computer mouse.
Josh Hansen is known well as one of the most naturally talented and stylish riders on two wheels, and he just had his personal graphics kit redesigned by Jared Hicks and the crew at Backyard Design. In contrast to his original LVN100 kit that was only red and white, the new kit incorporates more color and flair. This kit is available as is, or you can customize it with your own number and sponsor logos.
Backyard Design can create something completely custom for you, or you can choose from a wide selection of graphic design starting points before adding logos and numbers. Every single experience we’ve had with Backyard Design has been a home run from the design process, to the easy installation, to the durability of the graphic itself. If you’re in the market for a new graphic kit, you’d be a fool not to check out BackyardDesignUSA.com
