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Handle bar suggestions 80 GS850L

  • Thread starter Thread starter jdvorchak
  • Start date Start date
J

jdvorchak

Guest
I got my 850L running pretty good but those handle bars have got to go. I have a Vetter fairing on it and I want to keep the fairing FYI.

Here is what I don't like. The wrist angle is too acute. I would like them a little more "out" angle so I don't feel like my elbows are jabbing my ribs or my wrists are angled so much. Want a more natural hand position.

Way too much pull back for my taste. I'm 5'9" but they still are too close.

Rise seems ok but shorter a bit wouldn't hurt.

I know I can get after market bars and know how to measure them for the riding position I want. But before I do that are there any suggestions as to model (Suzuki or other metric) that you guys like?




 
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These are my 650G's bars...you might like them
http://www.cmsnl.com/suzuki-gs650g-1982-z-usa-e03_model34271/partslist/BLCK0032.html#results

I am behind a Vetter Quicksilver fairing. I can't say I LIKE those bars above because I am 6-1" and the Quicksilver (even with the tallest windscreen possible) still puts the wind onto the helmet...but you are a little shorter. Still, I hear you per wrist angle. These above are not exactly right either .
PS I have just swapped em for the same shape but a straighter wrist angle and an inch less rise...which are way better behind the fairing per height but I feel more weight on wrists too. Bar changes behind a fairing usually make me notice this...The 850 is a fairly long bike? so you may find the same weight-shift as I do when as you reach ahead for different bars.Tipping the bars back a bit can help. It's a hard one to get right. Building up Your L seat might be something to put in the mix.
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I've got the oem bars on my bike and want something a tad lower...but I'm 6'3". Nothing like being a sail in the wind or worse when behind a semi trailer and geting all the buffeting.
The euro super bike bars have nice looking specs....shop around and see what looks right to you.{..and yeah, those oem L bars look uncomfortable to me}
 
@jdvorchak----You might find those buckhorns improved by tipping them down a bit.... to relieve your ape-hanger feeling.........ie: lining them up with the forks or tipping back a bit is fine...makes for an easy tiller feeling like a sailboat and easy to control.

I have those same bars on another bike-a Honda gl500 behind a full-sized windjammer..It takes me awhile to get used to them after riding the Suzukis but after a hundred miles, I like 'em fine.
It's tricky to make recommends- some people like to look through the windscreen but I need to see over it and seeing as your eyelevel is probably an inch or so lower than mine, changing the handlebars means cutting the windscreen down too. I dion't fret about this- I know where there's a ton of used windjammers so I can slap on a spare if I screw up, but you might not be so lucky...
 
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Gorminrider said:
@jdvorchak----You might find those buckhorns improved by tipping them down a bit.... to relieve your ape-hanger feeling.........ie: lining them up with the forks or tipping back a bit is fine...makes for an easy tiller feeling like a sailboat and easy to control.

I have those same bars on another bike-a Honda gl500 behind a full-sized windjammer..It takes me awhile to get used to them after riding the Suzukis but after a hundred miles, I like 'em fine.
It's tricky to make recommends- some people like to look through the windscreen but I need to see over it and seeing as your eyelevel is probably an inch or so lower than mine, changing the handlebars means cutting the windscreen down too. I dion't fret about this- I know where there's a ton of used windjammers so I can slap on a spare if I screw up, but you might not be so lucky...
Click to expand...

My son said to me just yesterday "Dad if you pull these back a little they might not be so bad!"
I'm about to take if for the first test ride. About 2 blocks to the local gas station. I'll comment later. They feel slightly bent. Maybe from a PO dropping it. But I can tweak that out with a long hunk of square tubing I use for just such occasions.
 
Forgot to mention that I also have some old used bars I've taken off of previous bikes. Found one in good shape from a CB900F I think. 9.5 inch pull back and 7 inch rise. Much smaller so I may not like them either. May lean me too far forward.

As for windscreen? I'm used to looking through one. Last two bikes I had the windscreen was about 4 inches above my eye level. Great for wind but they suck in the rain...
 
Howdy, bike brother. Mine came with the factory-installed L-style bars and they didn't even get one ride. I swapped them out for G-style bars but still felt that those were too high. I was too upright and at speed, the wind pushed me back and I felt like I was hanging onto the bars for dear life instead of piloting the bike. With a fairing, you might not have the same issue, though.

The ones I have now (pic attached) are standard-style bars but have a lower rise and the G bars. I don't know what they're from, but they are perfect for this bike. Others have and recommended Daytona-style bars (from BikeMaster, I think?).

If you get Daytona (or similar) bars, you'll want a shorter clutch cable too. The GS1000S clutch cable is a perfect fit.

I also swapped out my mirrors for ones with longer stems. After installing the current bars, all I could see was my arms no matter how I adjusted them.

20130505_204748.jpg
 
Thank you for the suggestion. I pulled them back a little so they are more like buckhorns than apes and I do have a vetter fairing. I like bars on yours.. good looking bike. I've heard of the Daytona bars but don't remember the measurements or style so I'll look it up.
 
You will see recommendations for "Daytona" or "Superbike" bars, but they usually come from owners that do not have any kind of windshield on the bike. Those bars are great for those bikes, but behind a Vetter, something a bit more upright works great. In general, I would suggest anything BUT Suzuki "L" bars. More specifically, stock "E" or "G" bars should work quite well. I have ridden several larger Suzukis (750-1100) with full fairings and stock bars, and found them very comfortable.
 
How easy was it to Mount the Windjammer? I have one laying in my garage attic, collecting dust. But I'm thinking about mounting it up now!
 
Mine came with it already mounted so I can't help there. But it looks like you remove your headlight, front turn sigsnals and mounting ears. The frame for the Vetter bolts/clamps onto the motorcycle frame and then mount the fairing on the Vetter frame. Looks like 4 bolts. Plug it in and looks like that's about it.
 
On some bikes, you don't need to remove the headlight mounting ears, which makes the job a lot easier. I have seen two ways to remove the mounting ears: 1. remove the fork tubes, which involves removing the front wheel and fender, and 2. remove the top triple clamp, which usually involves messing around with the instrument panel. Pick your poison.

Other than that, jdvorchak pretty much has it nailed, however the "plug it in" part is just a little bit more involved. There is a harness that comes with the Vetter that plugs into the various wires at the front of the bike (in the headlight bucket). Once they are all connected properly, you can mount the fairing and "plug it in".

Before you go through all the trouble, inspect the bottom of the fairing around the mounting holes VERY CAREFULLY for any cracks or weak spots. Since all that weight is trying to bounce around and being retained stationary (hopefully) by those few spots, you need to make sure they are in good shape.
 
Handlebars are a funny thing. I'm 5'9 and have a corbin seat that may be a little lower than the stock seat. I messed with about 5 different sets on my GS1100E from drag bars to stock, and when I adjusted them so everything felt right setting on it, by wrists would hurt (or go numb) or back would hurt after a few miles of riding. About the most comfortable ones I found were the stock ones and the "Daytona" bend with about an inch cut off the ends of the bars. After all that, I swapped to the gs1150 forks and the "clip on" style bars that came with them. They felt too low and narrow setting on the bike, but as soon as I get up to speed they are super comfortable and I can ride for hours. I'm 48 now, but back when I was in my 20s and 30's, I coulda probably used a bent broomstick and rode for hours without a problem... ah the joys of getting older. lol
Like your son said, and some of the other posters noted, maybe just play with the position of them a little.
 
Thank you for that. I did pull them back quit a bit but the weather has been so bad I've not ridden it to test. I did repair a bent foot peg mount yesterday but wind and temp kept me from riding. I could ride it around the block but that's not a test. Supposed to be nice later this week and just a couple of little touch up things to do and I'll give her a real ride. I'm lucky in that within a couple of miles of my house I have city roads, country roads and an interstate. So in about 5 minutes I am able to get all riding conditions.

One thing I have learned is that for the first couple of rides, on a new to me bike, I won't ride it any further than I am willing to push it home!..:D
 
Honda ST1100 bars sit me quite comfortably behind the Vetter on the GS850. They needed a 3/4" riser to make them just right (easily attained by use of a pair of old clamp half-shells as spacers and longer bolts).
 
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