installing clip ons for 2008 GS500F

[ecochrane29]

Hey guys,

I'm a newbie to both this forum and to bike mods.  I'm thinking of grabbing a set of vortex clip ons, but wanted to know what kind of work I am looking at to get them installed.  I've searched on the site but can't find much info for the 08 model.  has anyone done this?  have pics?  Please let me know if you can help me out.

Thanks!

[platinum_black]

u can buy aftermarket clipons for this bike which will sit below ur triple trees its a perfectly straight forward procedure and should take about 15 mins to transfer everything across but im not 100% sure which size you would buy but 37 is ringing a bell but im sure someone on here could confirm for you.

[gsJack]

Pic of GS-F with clip ons from Wiki:




http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Upgrades/Handlebars

[tt_four]

These won't give you any idea on whether or not you can fit clipons under the top triple and still clear the fairing, as I obviously don't have one, but here's a picture with the bars under the triple....


Above the top triple


Both of these are under, they won't help you see how to mount the bars, but at least give you an idea of where they sit when you look at the bike from different angles....



Mounting them on top is definitely the easier way to go, and you don't have to worry about them hitting the fairing, but you will have to come up with a solution to replace the top triple cover because that's what holds the gauges on. If you got really creative you could find a way to mount them to the fairing and not worry about it, but otherwise get a steel plate and just copy the shape.

[black and silver twin]

clip ons will not fit under the tree on an f model, I tried. you will need to drop the trees, which is super easy, enough to put the clip ons on top. when you do that you will need to shim the front springs 1/2-3/4" because the forks will bottom out with more than 50% braking, ask me how I know... 

the forks require 4.5" travel and have 5.25" of room stock. most clip ons will require 1.25-1.5" of tree drop. so when you drop the tree 1.25" you now only have 4" of room for the forks to compress. so adding 1/2" of shims will give you the extra room needed. luckley shimming the springs is easy:

1. support bike by the frame to get the front wheel off the ground.
2. buy 10 washers of the right size, 33-35mm od I think. (5 per fork)
3. remove fork caps, slowly
4. place 5 washers on each spring
5. install caps

the cool part is even with 3/4" shims, the front end is still lower than stock by 3/4" which quickens steering somewhat.
clip ons rule but are uncomfortable for rides longer than 1-2 hours

[ohgood]

man, clipons UNDER the tree.. wow that's way low. just regular 89 clipons are plenty low.. but under the tree... ouch my back !

unless you're tracking the bike, i'll bet you hate it after 50 miles.

[tt_four]

man, clipons UNDER the tree.. wow that's way low. just regular 89 clipons are plenty low.. but under the tree... ouch my back !

unless you're tracking the bike, i'll bet you hate it after 50 miles.

I think they'll be alright. I haven't gotten to ride them that way yet but they feel about right so far. My last bike had clipons above the top triple and I always thought they were way too high. I eventually bought a new pair and put them under and it felt like they were where they should be. Aside from that, I don't have a great back to begin with, because I tend to slouch. I actually do better with the lower bars because it leans me forward and puts the weight on my arms. Sitting upright is when my back starts to hurt. I've since stopped slouching, but my current job is the first one I've ever had where I sat in a chair all day, and my back has hurt since the day I started. I also ride a lot of bicycles, so I'm used to my bars being a foot below my seat. Sitting on a motorcycle with low clipons still feels pretty relaxed. Aside from all that, I'm still only 26, so nothing hurts all that bad.

[black and silver twin]

man, clipons UNDER the tree.. wow that's way low. just regular 89 clipons are plenty low.. but under the tree... ouch my back !

unless you're tracking the bike, i'll bet you hate it after 50 miles.

I think they'll be alright. I haven't gotten to ride them that way yet but they feel about right so far. My last bike had clipons above the top triple and I always thought they were way too high. I eventually bought a new pair and put them under and it felt like they were where they should be. Aside from that, I don't have a great back to begin with, because I tend to slouch. I actually do better with the lower bars because it leans me forward and puts the weight on my arms. Sitting upright is when my back starts to hurt. I've since stopped slouching, but my current job is the first one I've ever had where I sat in a chair all day, and my back has hurt since the day I started. I also ride a lot of bicycles, so I'm used to my bars being a foot below my seat. Sitting on a motorcycle with low clipons still feels pretty relaxed. Aside from all that, I'm still only 26, so nothing hurts all that bad.

Im 23 and in good shape, I have clip ons over the tree and its horrible after 1 hour and torture after 2 hours.  dont kid your self, clip ons under the tree will suck for long rides but they rock for shorter curvy rides. and on you other bike with clip ons stock the rest of the bike was designed to be relatively comfortable with them, the gs was desiged for high bars.

[tt_four]

Well I don't really do long rides in general. Sitting on the highway in a straight line kills me, even if it's only for 20 minutes. I used my last bike is my only transportation, so I did spend some time on it when I'd need to go somewhere farther, but I definitely spend the majority of my time sneaking around back roads no matter where I'm going. It's actually been a couple years since I've ridden. I spend last summer fixing up the GS and am just waiting for spring to pull it out and get back to riding, so I can't say for sure how my opinion may differ now that I'm not in my early 20s anymore, but like I said, if I can handle 1-2 hours on a bicycle with my hands half a foot lower than my seat, an aggressive stance on a motorcycle still feels pretty relaxed.

I actually bought a pair of dirtbike bars and planned on putting them on the GS, but I changed my mind because I keep the bike in my basement, and it's a tight squeeze to get through the basement door as it is. Having even wider bars would've made it a nightmare.