Have old bar end shifters which don't seem to fit in the new handlebars I retrieved the Shimano bar end shifters from some old handlebars and now I want to fit the shifters to new bars.

However strangely  I can't fit the shifters in the new bars. See the following photo:



I don't understand why this happens: I have loosened the stick of the  bar end shifter enough so the the clamps can "fall" to the centre.  Here a photo to illustrate this:

?  

Some more details:


The new bars should have the same inner diameter than the old bars.
Even more important; The  shifters don't seem to fit back into the old bars either.


Do I overlook something? Do I do something wrong? Or are the shifters just broken?

Update 2 days later

I have payed around with the shifters - and noticed that apparently the area of the handlebars which is on the inside wide enough differs between the old and the new bar:

I found this out by using the screw with the cone head which goes through the clamps of the shifter: With an allen key I held the srew as far into the hanldebars as possible.

In the old handlebars I can fit the whole screw in:



However in the new handlebars only approx 2/3 of the screw fit in:



It explains why I cannot fit the whole shifter in the new bar even with grease and lots of wiggling!

Not sure what to make it tough: I can think of two explanations for the difference:


Either it is a manufacturer fault. (The new bar is from the same manufacturer as the old one and both are designed for bar-ends.) 
Or newer Shimano bar-ends have a shorter stick part than older versions of Shimano shifters have.


Any ideas? (Particularly abot explanation 2.)
I think your picture shows that the expander wedges are riding up on the ridged part of the shifter pod, which keeps them from being able to get small like they're supposed to, hence not fitting the bar they just came out of. You need to twist them around so they're not riding up. Also at the very least grease inside the bar, but ideally grease the threads and every surface of the expander wedges.