Swapping bars

[Danny Crawdad]

The angle of the stock bars absolutely kills my wrists. I bought some bars from MikesXS, and want to go ahead and get them installed, but I have never replaced bars before. Theoretically it will be as simple as unbolting and removing the stock controls, and moving them to the new bars. However, I've read that I may have to drill holes for locating pegs on the controls?

Before I go tearing down my controls by flashlight, are there any "gotchas" to doing this? I have searched the forums, but didn't come up with much by way of "how to". That usually means I'm overthinking it and it's more simple than I am making it out to be, but then when I assume that I end up with an out of commission bike for weeks or more .

[skids]

No holes to drill. Make sure the grips are loosened before loosening the bars. Personally, I would remove the tank just in case. Another set of hands helps also. Break fluid kills paint. Be careful with the throttle keeper at the right grip. Easy to bend/break.

[fredintoon]

The angle of the stock bars absolutely kills my wrists. I bought some bars from MikesXS, and want to go ahead and get them installed, but I have never replaced bars before. Theoretically it will be as simple as unbolting and removing the stock controls, and moving them to the new bars. However, I've read that I may have to drill holes for locating pegs on the controls? - - -

Hi Danny,
whereja read that? Ive never seen a pegged in bar, ever. Either you mis-read the text or someone is feeding you horse manure.
It's a simple bolt off the old then bolt on the new operation.
But there's a few tricks that will help, especially if you are working outside in the dark holding a flashlight in your teeth.
Use a white plastic bucket to catch the fasteners & loose parts in.
Work in this sequence:-
Thread the mirrors off, remembering that the RH mirror has a LH thread.
Remove the leftside electrical switch and let it hang down on it's wire.
Shove a long skinny screwdriver in between the leftside grip and the bar and squirt WD40 in there so the grip twists off easy.
Loosen all the fasteners holding the levers and twistgrip on.
Remove the bar hold-down clamps.
Move the bar to the left so the twistgrip and brake lever can slide off with the hoses, wires and cables in place.
Move the bar to the right so the clutch lever can slide off ditto.
Now the bar should be free in your hand, dispose of it responsibly.
Install the new bar in the reverse order.
Give the leftside grip another squirt of WD40 to slide it on easy.
The grip will squirm for a while but it'll be firmly in place the next day

[RS Thornton]

agree there is no drilling

I swapped the bars on my main riders with ones from GL1100's. The have much better ergo's for me. I usually leave the tank on but I do cover it with an old quilt that I keep in the shop. The job can be done by one, but having a second makes it much easier.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

+1

+1 on that, except if you use dishsoap and a little water instead of WD40 it lets things slip the dries and holds in place without oil

Hi Danny,
whereja read that? Ive never seen a pegged in bar, ever. Either you mis-read the text or someone is feeding you horse manure.
It's a simple bolt off the old then bolt on the new operation.
But there's a few tricks that will help, especially if you are working outside in the dark holding a flashlight in your teeth.
Use a white plastic bucket to catch the fasteners & loose parts in.
Work in this sequence:-
Thread the mirrors off, remembering that the RH mirror has a LH thread.
Remove the leftside electrical switch and let it hang down on it's wire.
Shove a long skinny screwdriver in between the leftside grip and the bar and squirt WD40 in there so the grip twists off easy.
Loosen all the fasteners holding the levers and twistgrip on.
Remove the bar hold-down clamps.
Move the bar to the left so the twistgrip and brake lever can slide off with the hoses, wires and cables in place.
Move the bar to the right so the clutch lever can slide off ditto.
Now the bar should be free in your hand, dispose of it responsibly.
Install the new bar in the reverse order.
Give the leftside grip another squirt of WD40 to slide it on easy.
The grip will squirm for a while but it'll be firmly in place the next day

[Danny Crawdad]

Hi Danny,
whereja read that? Ive never seen a pegged in bar, ever. Either you mis-read the text or someone is feeding you horse manure.

Seems to be common on some bikes -- I was reading it here, and on a few other sites. Nothing XS specific, though.

Sounds like I might have a fun project for tonight! I appreciate all the tips from everyone, if I can get enough lighting, I might do a how-to thread for all the morons like me .

I need to replace the tank, too, because it's leaking at the petcock. I have a replacement tank that I'm going to transfer (rebuilt) petcocks onto, so if it's a good idea to remove the tank to avoid brake fluid spillage, I might as well go ahead and do that at the same time.

[DiverRay]

HONDA used a bar with holes both for wires AND locating pegs in the 60's, and I think Kawasaki did the same thing as well.
For the switch, follow the instructions already posted. The HARD part will be the old grips. You WILL need to replace them to make it easy. Putting on new grips the OLD SCHOOL WAY, get a spray can of cheap HAIR SPRAY! a little on the inside of the grips, they will slide on easily. Once it dries, they will NOT move. I keep a can in the mancave for that very thing!

[fredintoon]

Seems to be common on some bikes --

Hi Danny,
OK, I checked that link and it does say that:-

If there's room and you like the overall width of the bar, the next step is to drill holes for the locating pins on the switch clusters. You can simply file the pins off, but you run the risk of the clusters rotating around the bar.

Common? Not on any of the British and Japanese bikes I've ever worked on; must be a Harley thing.

[Danny Crawdad]

Common? Not on any of the British and Japanese bikes I've ever worked on; must be a Harley thing.

Fred -- your argument isn't with me (and honestly, don't really care as long as it is not required on my XS), but with some cursory googling, it does appear to be relatively common on Kawasakis and Hondas as well. Seems like a lot of people just file off the locating tabs on those bikes, though. In fact, the bike in the original link I posted is on a Honda Hornet.

I now know more about Kwak and Honda handlebars than I ever cared to know

[Danny Crawdad]

Also, noted on the grip removal -- I have new grips, and the old ones are pretty busted, so I'm not afraid to just destroy the things getting them off if I have to.

[crazy steve]

Common? Not on any of the British and Japanese bikes I've ever worked on; must be a Harley thing.

Not Harley; they use 'dimpled' bars (a pressed-in indent) for clearance for the control wires...

[Danny Crawdad]

Did this tonight (and indeed by flashlight ), and it was easy. I used dish soap and water in a spray bottle, and a dull butterknife to slip under the leftside grip -- worked well, and got the grip off without damaging. They are in good shape, so I'll save my spares for another day.

Fred, your instructions worked perfectly, and are the 100% best order to follow! Made things very easy.

Mounted the new set of superbike bars, and they are really comfortable. Neighbors wouldn't like my test-drive this late, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to road-test

Thanks again all!

[GaryF]

Hey Danny
How about a pic of that SH with the super bike bars please
I'm very curious

[Danny Crawdad]

You got it, I'll take some tomorrow. I think they look great, but it may look terrible to everyone else

[Danny Crawdad]

Tooks some quick pics anyway, since I do everything else to this bike in the dark. Ignore the dirtiness of... everything. It's spent the past 6 months behind my apartment (covered) and hasn't had a bath aside from when I ride through the rain







I'll try to take some better shots tomorrow.