I've heard of stuffing animals, but HANDLEBARS?

[buickyouth]

When I took my handlebars off to give em a good shine all over and under, one end was sealed. The other end I pulled out what looked like old dried grass and dirt. Needless to say I was mostly confused by the whole idea.
I thought I remembered hearing something about people doing that to dampen vibrations in the handlebars but I'd never seen it actually done.
Does anyone else do this and or heard of it?
Should I just leave it all in or try to clean it out?

[pgg]

Best way to kill vibes is to hammer a 3 inch chunk of lead into each bar end.

[fredintoon]

Bar-end weights

Accessory stores sell fancy chrome-plated bar-end weights but grass & dirt stuffed down there sounds more like the bike fell over a time or two. Not that the XS11 vibrates badly enough to warrant handlebar dampening but the XS650 is another story. Being of a frugal mindset I didn't reckon on paying for chrome goodies so did my own. Find someone who reloads shotshells & scrounge two 12Ga wads & cupful of lead shot. Shove a wad down the bar (they coincidentally fit just nice) to just around the first bend. Mix a slurry of lead shot & 2-part cold-setting urethane & pour it in there flush with the end. (or leave room for a bar-end mirror if you wish) Let the urethane set up then do the other end of the bar.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[nashville_bill]

I used expanding bolts that are about 5/8" in diameter(before expanding) and 5" long. I think they are used to anchor something in concrete. They have a bolt that is expanded on one end and runs the length with a nut on the other end. When you tighten the nut, it pulls the bolt through the outside piece and pushes the metal covering out to grab the handle bar. Each of the devices weighs about 1/4 or 1/3 pound. I think I used duct tape to wrap the device so it would grab the steel of the handle bar.