Bar Conversion

I have arthritis bad as of a couple years ago. I went on a 3800 mile excursion on her last year and it was enough that I almost sold her........not that I didn't enjoy myself  :wink:  I came to my senses and decided to try and make the ergo's more palatable even though I'm the gimp not her. So I decided to give the LSL conversion a shot. I grew up on RD's, Triples, KZ's, GS's etc with superbike bars and am used to them even though I don't really like them......and they do look odd to me on a faired semi-modern bike but I just want to ride. So everyone knows what they look like/cost etc and there is no shortage of info from those that have used them.

  [image: lslsuperbikevfr80098-01.jpg]

I was looking for something on Webike Japan and discovered these by accident. Google found me nothing as far as anyone speaking English was concerned. [image: h1-hbk606a_1.jpg]

I like the look of these way better. If you study the design, where LSL is using the "risers" themselves to gain much of the pullback/heighth and use the flatter/straighter sbk bars, Hurricane is using the bars for the gains and the "risers" are much more neutral. The price shipped is around $100 less than the LSL and the bars are already drilled for the switchgear. I ordered a set today......I guess I am the guinea pig. If I don't like the bars I can just experiment with my own risers/bars till I get it right. They also have some other items of interest regarding this I will link to.

The kit........ http://japan.webike....ts/2076546.html

Bare clamps..... http://japan.webike....ts/2075578.html

Extended throttle cables if you need them.... http://japan.webike....ts/2074342.html

Extended starter cable... http://japan.webike....ts/2073560.html

Or, the complete Big kahuna  :goofy:  http://japan.webike....ts/2076745.html

So, we shall see what we see, usually takes a couple weeks to get parts from their store

$300  not  bad  and  I  like  the chrome bars  better .

I too grew up with KZs, GSs, RZs, etc.  I put superbike bars on EVERYTHING.  From Triumphs to Harleys to XS1100s to my beloved V65 Sabre.  In fact, when I told an old friend of mine that I was considering another Sabre, his first response was "You can put the superbike bars on at my house" 

Let us know how it turns out.

Love the LSL kit on mine. :beer:

Billiant find,hope it works out for you,could be tempted to go this route myself,

I agree that is a good find, please keep us posted. The kit certainly looks great with the chrome bar and I think the red end weights are very neat too.

I too have started suffering with wrist pain, especially the right side. I have some higher bars already ( a local equivalent of Helibars) that supposedly raise the bars by 30mm, back by 10mm and wider by 10mm, fitted by a PO. I also seem to be getting carpal tunnel syndrome. This getting older thing is a PITA (or wrist and knees).

Looks like a good set up. Let us know how it works, do you think you'll need to try a different windscreen?

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That kit looks sharp. I prefer a straighter handlebar for the increased leverage.

Leverage is the issue  :wink:   :smile:   Got the shipping verification last night. It was $223 total shipped with a 500 yen coupon I had. I believe they are uber polished aluminum and not chrome. As far as the screen goes I won't know till I ride her. I currently have an MRA speedscreen installed (basically a stock screen with a laminar lip) and will try that first. I have a PUIG double bubble and the stock screens as well and access to borrow a huge/ugly Givi touring screen to try if necessary. I think the Speedscreen will be fine based on nothing but hope. I am 5'10" with a 32 inch inseam and how the air hits me now I'm thinking will be better with the changes. I also got a great deal on a used set of Knight drop pegs so will fit those into the mix.  

Shiny gubbins from across the big water arrived today.  [image: 8583.jpg]

Static follow up......I'm doing several items of maintenance/farkling before I can do a ride report so this is based solely on the garage mock up for the moment.

Japan.webike was solid as always. Install would be 45 minutes tops if you were bare bones / not dealing with grip heaters, etc

The parts have a top notch finish/packaging. The police bike ape hanger kit I linked in the first post is the one you see on all the VFR police bikes so they aren't a fly by night affair.... a well respected and thought of company in that part of the world.

Once you install, you can see how well thought out the design was. The starter cable, brake/clutch lines are plenty good. The throttle cables would be long enough with minimal rerouting of things (I have a circumstance which I will get to shortly). The holes in the bars for the switchgear are perfectly located which makes things a snap to mount. 

The bars are bent/designed to rotate right up to the point of touching the fork legs when positioned properly. They very much mimic the angle of the clip ons, but with the a increase in height and decrease in distance from the rider. Sitting on the bike feels familiar yet more comfy for arthritic old me. I also tried out several sets of various superbike bends in the Hurricane mounts. All would work for a guy wanting to save and build his own by just purchasing the clamps, but, my body liked what they did here the best......perhaps upon riding I will feel different but I don't foresee this.

Now, every situation has its own circumstance. Mine, I have my tubes raised 2mm in the clamps and my right fork tube is 1mm longer than the left (this is why you always measure fork height between the outer fork tube top and bottom of the lower tree with the axle tightened, but that's another story). So, my bars are rotated back roughly 3mm from the intended position.....this also affects the distance the master cylinders can be rotated forward. Coming from the track / building racebikes I prefer a fairly low orientation of the levers as well. The simple fix here will be cutting the tangs off, rotating the lines a bit  and rotating more forward then its sorted. The risers mounted / come with the kit are HB0614A which they call a standard rise. They offer the HB0615 which is a 10mm rise above these. 

I considered that the 10mm extra rise would offer more height in which to rotate the bars forward, because of the angle the top clamp sits at it would also bring the bars closer to you, but, the masters along with it (bringing them closer to the tubes again) negating what would be the only reason (for me) to add them. So, I will correct the masters to my liking and reroute the throttle cables a bit and I should be golden. I'll follow up here after I ride her and with any other modifications I do in regards to the bar kit.

In a nutshell, its a solid kit and well designed. Plus, you can get the clamps/risers of choice and build your own. Either way saving money over other options.

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Bit of a thread hijack but on the same topic, has anyone fitted Gilles Tooling Vario bars? I have an option to buy a set second hand, wonder if there;s many changes needed to brake/clutch lines etc to fit them,prbably something similar to helibars.

I did a LSL bar conversion on my VFR and love it! I think you will enjoy it.