handlebar replacement

[tmon58]

Gents, again I beseech the exhalted knowledge of ye ole xs & xj owners, what would be the best choice of replacement handlebars for my '82 xj 1100? currently they have the stockbars.

[JWSanders]

I like the feel of the '80 GL1100 bars I put on mine. They sit at around the same height as the original buckhorns, but aren't so brutal on the wrists.

Can be had on the cheap from Ebay....

MikesXS has a decent selection of shorter, cafe-style bars if you're into that, too.

[50gary]

What type of riding do you do the most? Short trips, commutes, long haul tours? That's a wide open question, do you use a fairing? I made some "Clubman style and mounted them uside down, works for me but ... For everyday medium short rides up toabout 200 miles I have always liked "Superbike" bars that are kind of Euro without being too low. Mike's XS amoung others sell them and they're cheap.
Cheers, 50gary

[Erik the Red]

I got a set of '78 or '79 Honda Goldwing GL1000 bars for $10 at a boneyard. Haven't done any long rides with them yet, but 3-4 hours in the saddle and my wrists were still okay. I'm happy with them.

[John]

Remember guys

He has an XJ. They had adjustable, two piece, clip on style bars. I don't know if they can be swapped with anything else without changing out the upper triple tree.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey John,

Yeah, I saw he had an XJ, so was also wondering about why he was wanting to change them? But, the XJ bars bolt into the upper TT's, and I think he would be able to get some other bar clamps that would fit into those holes to mount standard round bars!.
T.C.

[tmon58]

handle bars

well that was my other concern. how to mount them. There is nothing wrong with the current handle bars but I was just thinking about changing the appearence of the ole bike by a paint job, different mufflers, possibly changing the shocks from the current air shocks on the rear and maybe a new look with the bars.

[DiverRay]

I'm not positive, as I only have standard, but I think the special uses bolt on risers. If so, they may work and allow you to put "regular" bars on the bike.
Ray

[John]

The Specials have solid mount risers cast into the upper tree. It was the 750-850 Specials that had the rubber risers. I wonder if the offset of the trees would be the same between the two models?