Show Me Your Handlebar Conversions And Trimmed Fairings

Hi all,

New member here.  Last weekend I picked up a very tidy '96 with only 56K on the clock.  In the last four days I have completely fallen in love with almost everything about it, except the neck-ache.  I've had back problems for a little while and the riding position is crippling me, literally.  I'm sat here with my left arm almost frozen with pain between my shoulderblades.  I really can't face selling the bike on so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and fit flat bars.  I've done this before on plenty of other sportbikes but only when I remove the fairings at the same time.

I've just sourced a cheap NTV650 top yoke with riser mounts, which I believe will fit - if not I'll sell it on and fit aftermarket risers into my stock yoke.  I'm probably going to go for a bar with similar dimensions to a standard Suzuki Bandit, so they shouldn't be too much wider than the stock bars, they'll just sit further back and higher up.  I'm pretty sure something is going to foul the fairing, so I'll probably have to trim it.  If anyone has done this before (I'm sure those who have the LSL conversion must have?) then I'd love to see some pics or get some advice.

I might have to swap out the brake master cylinder with the one from my CBR, as it's the one with the integral reservoir so needs less clearance on the fairing; sadly I don't have a spare clutch master cylinder as the CBR one is cable operated so I may have to go spending.

I'm thinking of using a Dremel to cut the fairing - I've used it for other plastics before with good smooth results.  Then smooth back the cut with abbrasive paper and finally polish it smooth before applying some paint.  The inner fairing closing panel (which goes from the back of the mirror to the back of the screen) can probably be cut in the same way and I can probably make a cap out of styrene sheet, which I use for other stuff and I like working with.  I'm not sure about cutting the screen though - I have a feeling the Dremel might burn the plastic more noticeably where it can't be painted over.

I'm aware that I might need longer cables - the bike already has stainless braided clutch and brake hoses which are a little longer than stock, but throttle and choke may be an issue and force me to strip the fairings and tank to get creative with routing.

I don't want to go crazy or junk the fairings, I already have a naked bike (CBR600F4i) and I bought the VFR because I fancied having the option of screen or no screen depending on what the weather's doing and where I'm going.

If anyone has any wise words of wisdom or can see a problem with me taking this route, your advice would be much appreciated.  And pics of how your finished bar installations have turned out would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance :)

WELCOME

and take a look at this post.

http://www.vfrdiscus.../?hl=handlebars

[image: IMG_9565.jpg]

I believe it was Fotomoto

5th gen bars are about a 1/2 in. (12 mm) higher AND farther back. Even with my short little T-rex arms it made a big difference in comfort.

Maybe look at Helibars???

WELCOME

and take a look at this post.

http://www.vfrdiscus.../?hl=handlebars

Thanks :)

I read that post beginning to end last night (and I think earlier this week).  Lots and lots of helpful info and that's where I gleaned the bit about the NTV top yoke.  I found one straight away on Ebay for pocket money (although I'll need to find some top clamps, I hope they're generic, not specific to that yoke!)  The post was great but there weren't many pics of trimmed fairings and my searches for "trim fairing" on Google aren't turning up anything useful.

I looked at Helibars and similar but don't really want to spent that sort of money.  I can get a set of regular bars for not much money at my local bike store, he also sells universal cable sets that can be cut to length which aren't too expensive, although I'm hoping I won't need them if I keep the adjustment relatively small.  With the right bars and different master cylinders I might not even need to trim the fairing, but we'll have to see.

Thanks all for your replies :)

while dougs set up looks good.. its better to flip the clamp and have plates welded in.  (while tightened to prevent warping ) the clamp is VERY thin. one wrong bump and youre screwed :beer:

while dougs set up looks good.. its better to flip the clamp and have plates welded in.  (while tightened to prevent warping ) the clamp is VERY thin. one wrong bump and youre screwed :beer:

Thanks for the warning.  If I can use the NTV650 top yoke then this negates that problem, but if I have to drill the yoke I'll be sure it's properly reinforced.  Hopefully a local shop can ally-weld in some plates for me, I can only weld steel (and not very well at that!)

while dougs set up looks good.. its better to flip the clamp and have plates welded in.  (while tightened to prevent warping ) the clamp is VERY thin. one wrong bump and youre screwed :beer:

Thanks for the warning.  If I can use the NTV650 top yoke then this negates that problem, but if I have to drill the yoke I'll be sure it's properly reinforced.  Hopefully a local shop can ally-weld in some plates for me, I can only weld steel (and not very well at that!)

i hate to say it. but you are incorrect about ntv top clamp. its just as thin as the vfr. and ditto for  just about every stock clamp that doesn't have built in  risers..

i hate to say it. but you are incorrect about ntv top clamp. its just as thin as the vfr. and ditto for  just about every stock clamp that doesn't have built in  risers..

I think he means the Euro NTV 650 WITH provisions for bar clamps. The Deauville.

Yes, both the NTV650 (1993-1997) and it's successor the NTV650V (or Deauville, 1998>) have risers built into the top yoke.

I think he means the Euro NTV 650 WITH provisions for bar clamps. The Deauville.

That's the one :fing02:

I have seen it written that it's a direct replacement for the 4th gen top yoke.  Who can say for sure?  I'll find out when it arrives.

I picked up some cheap street bars at the local store this weekend.  I also bagged myself a pair of ST1100 throttle cables off the bay of e for just 9 of the Queen's English pounds, as it looks like my throttle cables are going to be a tight fit.  Got all of next week off work so if everything arrives in time I'll be able to get it all swapped over and see if it helps my aching neck.

Pics and progress reports will follow (if it's a success), otherwise I will be hiding myself somewhere in shame at having ruined a perfectly good motorcycle.  Fairing trimming will come absolutely last after I'm totally sure the new handlebars are what I want.