whats the best way to bend a handle

Clamp it in a vise, heat up the area your want bent until its cherry red, then bend it by sliding a piece of pipe over the other part of the handle to use as a cheater bar.

The heat will blue the chrome, but if you're careful it should be below the shift boot anyway. You can always put a wet rag over the part you don't want to heat up.

Xs 2 with this advice! To retain the heat treating, dip the still hot part in hot cooking oil to quench it. Otherwise, you may find that hard shifting starts to bend it there.