2 part question about handlebars & brakes

[Sparkster]

I'm wanting to change handlebars (1980 GS850G) to get rid of those nasty curved beasts on there. A friend of mine gave me his stock bars from a Vstrom. They'll fit but I'm concerned about changing the grips.
I read a couple of threads on here about this but didn't see an answer to my specific question which is what to worry about when cutting off the right grip. I see that it's got some kind of white plastic assembly under it. Is this part of the grip or part of the throttle?

(edit: will these work or do I need more parts than just this for the grips: http://www.bikebandit.com/product/A4775324 They're cheap and I'm on a shoestring budget)

My next question is this: My brake fluid is really low- it was like that when I bought it recently. I haven't opened it yet but from out here it looks rather scaly. Is it difficult to clean and how many hours would it take a mechanical noob to change the brake lines? Is the low brake fluid indicative of lack of maintenance or more so of a leak and where/what do I look for to find a brake fluid leak?
Thanks for your indulgance and a shout out to BassCliff for his fine pictotorial that helped me change my oil and filter.

[TheCafeKid]

The white thing under the grip is the throttle tube. You need to keep that. The grip, however can be cut off carefully and you wont damage the tube. Pay attention to your new grips, as usually one will have a smaller hole than the other, and the smaller one goes on the NON throttle side.

On your brake fluid. Scale and low levels are indicitive of both poor upkeep and/or leaks. Best bet, is to replace the lines with stainless steel lines, (various lengths available at www.z1enterprises.com, or if you feel ambitious, see Nessim's thread about making your own, both ways are relatively inexpensive, easy, and the upgrade is remarkable) clean the master cylinder and rebuild it (rebuild kits are also available at Z1) and clean your caliper. Its pretty simple, and if you have ANY mechanical, or for that matter, common sense, you'll have no problems. I would suggest picking up a manual for your bike, and BassCliff may even have one available for free on his site, that will give you a step by step of the process.

BUT here's a rough run down of the parts you'll need (assuming you're doing front and back)

New lines all around (measure your old, add an inch for each banjo fitting, and order the respective stainless lines, new banjo fittings, crush washers and banjo bolts{you can use your old bolts and washers if they look ok and dont leak now})
Caliper rebuild kits (these include the seals and dust covers)
Master cylinder rebuild kits
you'll need alot of new brake fluid, some ultra fine steel wool to clean your piston cups, and perhaps your master cylinders. something to soak all these parts in, and a can of brake parts cleaner. I would examine your pads and rotors while you have the system apart as well, check rotors for warp and heavy grooving, and pads for scorching, pitting or all around wore-out-edness.
You WILL need some circlip (snap ring) pliers as well.

[Mark M]

I'm wanting to change handlebars (1980 GS850G) to get rid of those nasty curved beasts on there. A friend of mine gave me his stock bars from a Vstrom. They'll fit but I'm concerned about changing the grips.
I read a couple of threads on here about this but didn't see an answer to my specific question which is what to worry about when cutting off the right grip. I see that it's got some kind of white plastic assembly under it. Is this part of the grip or part of the throttle?

(edit: will these work or do I need more parts than just this for the grips: http://www.bikebandit.com/product/A4775324 They're cheap and I'm on a shoestring budget)

My next question is this: My brake fluid is really low- it was like that when I bought it recently. I haven't opened it yet but from out here it looks rather scaly. Is it difficult to clean and how many hours would it take a mechanical noob to change the brake lines? Is the low brake fluid indicative of lack of maintenance or more so of a leak and where/what do I look for to find a brake fluid leak?
Thanks for your indulgance and a shout out to BassCliff for his fine pictotorial that helped me change my oil and filter.

1) The white plastic is the throttle sleeve, the grip is stuck to it and the sleeve rotates around the handlebar. The only thing to be careful of when cutting off the old grip is to not carve up the plastic sleeve. Use a sharp knife or razor blade and gentle pressure to cut open the grip. It is OK to scratch the sleeve up, but don't cut halfway through it, the plastic is not that thick.

2) If your brake fluid is low, that NEEDS to be addressed to prevent a crash. Before you change lines, flush the old fluid out and do a good bleed on them to see if that fixes much of your problems. What I do is pull the reservoir cap and use a clean rag or paper towel (CLEAN, the brake system must remain surgically clean to work well) to soak up the old fluid in the reservoir, then fill it with new fluid and start pumping it down the lines as per a usual bleeding session. Once you see clean fluid coming out of the bleeder nipples, you know the old stuff is gone. Then ride it and watch for leaks at the fittings on the hoses and all connection points. If there are leaks, then you need to deal with them.

3) Yes, those grips should be fine. They wouldn't be my first choice (I am no fan of the foam grips), but they should work with no issues. Any grips for 7/8" bars should work OK (ie - not Harley stuff, they use 1" bars), including off road grips and cruiser/touring bike stuff. There are as many choices as there are riders. I like Pro Grips for my street bikes, they are maybe $5 more than what you show and they are nice and gummy for good grip and comfort and I have yet to wear a set out. You will also need a glue to hold the grips on. I have always used hair spray and had no problems, but I don't know about the foam grips, mine have always been rubber of some sort. There is specific grip glue you can get, but I have never used it.


Mark

[rkubik]

part I - white plastic bit

That plastic part is the throttle tube, which is part of the throttle and stays on. It connects to the cable - the handgrip part you're changing slides onto it. The flange thing you see sticking up was to fit the original grips, which had a cupped part that slid over that, to keep the grip from sliding off. From the picture, those are replacement grips anyway, and do not slide over that part. Leaving it exposed is not a concern, except perhaps the looks of it.

The answer part is that yes, those grips are all you need - that and a can of WD40. Using the straw, squirt the WD40 under the old grip, wiggle and twist, squirt some more and off they will come eventually.

Be aware though with new grips, foam ones may soak up water in the rain. Solid rubber/plastic ones (which don't) are not very expensive either. If you really want to save $$$ plus get an Old Skool look, wrap cloth tape around it, like the old race bikes.

[Sparkster]

Wow thanks for the replies; very informative.
I have a healthy dose of common sense but not so much on the mechanicalosification side of things. I'll just work slowly, double checking my work as I go and I'll know if it worked when I get to that first stop sign:shock:.

Also I plan on using some all-purpose spray adhesive that I already have out there. I read someone on here speculating about the water-soluable properties of hair spray and I'd hate to have that be a problem. Especially if I go with the foam grips and they soak through.

edit
Well I found some rubber grips that are only a buck more so I think I'll do that.
Is there a certain size of the snap ring pliers I should look for? Harbor freight is pretty cheap and they have an outlet nearby in Mansfield. They seem to have a variety: http://search.harborfreight.com/cpis...word=snap+ring I've never even heard of snap ring pliers so my appologies if that sounds like a dumb question.

[hotspur]

One thing to careful of is the width of the Vstrom bars. The Vstrom bars will be a fair bit wider than the GS bars. Ensure before you ride it anyway that the cables etc aren't stretched or pulling when you move the handle bars. Nothing worse than going around a corner and the throttle goes WOT.

[Sparkster]

One thing to careful of is the width of the Vstrom bars. The Vstrom bars will be a fair bit wider than the GS bars. Ensure before you ride it anyway that the cables etc aren't stretched or pulling when you move the handle bars. Nothing worse than going around a corner and the throttle goes WOT.

They are a bit wider but significantly lower. Will this somewhat balance the issue out do you think? They are low enough that I was wondering if I may need shorter cables...

[hotspur]

No as long as everything is even, it will be fine. I have put a couple of different bars on my GS as well as other bikes. Being lower you will need to watch your tank at full lock. Cables will be fine, better too long than not enough, just tuck them away a bit. How much rise is in the bars that are presently on it? The rise is the length of the vertical bit. They might be off something different again. My original bars off my GS850G had about a 2 /12 inch rise.