flipping handlebars

[Phil B]

I've actually seen this suggested somewhere, but not sure how serious it was, so I thought I'd ask the "Folks who know" here:

If you wanted to try out a more sporty riding position, but are too cheap to buy clipons , what about just flipping the bars upside down?

Is there something that actually stops this from working somehow?

Seems to me, the height would come out, right around where clipons would go. Albeit the grips would be maybe a bit wider?

[Dr.McNinja]

The thing is, the "clip-ons" really aren't clip ons. They're over fork bars without a middle and a very slightly more aggressive position. Modern clip ons go under the tree. The GS500F can't do that without some cosmetic work. The GS500E probably can do under-tree pretty easily but note the below before you attempt it.


It would probably work. I've done my research and asked around and most people say that you shouldn't go with full clip ons or anything more aggressive than MAYBE a drag bar. Reason being is the bike isn't built for that body position and the pegs aren't far enough back to make the "clip-on" position comfortable. I've tried it, felt the difference, and it's pretty noticeable if you've ever been on a bike with legit clip-ons.

I'm not trying to discourage you, it's very interesting. But keep these things in mind. Modern supersports/RRs are build around the aggressive riding posture. This bike is built to handle a more aggressive riding posture than stock, but full RR tank-kissing lean isn't attainable on the frame without serious body work.

[Phil B]

It would probably work. I've done my research and asked around and most people say that you shouldn't go with full clip ons or anything more aggressive than MAYBE a drag bar. Reason being is the bike isn't built for that body position and the pegs aren't far enough back to make the "clip-on" position comfortable.

But the passenger pegs are Quite comfy, actually.

At some point, I'll possibly figure out how to get something proper going on, with the foot controls.
But for long boooring straight-as-an-arrow stretches of freeway (and there's miles and miles of them here)... no need to shift, so .. it works pretty well for me.

[adidasguy]

The thing is, the "clip-ons" really aren't clip ons. They're over fork bars without a middle and a very slightly more aggressive position. Modern clip ons go under the tree. The GS500F can't do that without some cosmetic work. The GS500E probably can do under-tree pretty easily but note the below before you attempt it.

Well, they do have clips and they go on so......

Anyway, there are these if you got $400 or so. I wish I did...
No cosmetic work required. But other "clip-ons" spoken of do require lots of fuggling with the front end. So it all depends on what you want, how much money you have and how much time you want to spend.


Once you move the bars, the feel of the pegs will change because your upper body position changes. Meeting other bikers around here, those that do long highway trips go for cruiser styles. One guy on a GSXR1000 did a monkey-butt 1000 mile run and was in so much pain from the riding position.

It would take maybe all of 5 minutes to remove the controls from your bars and flip them over. Then if you like it, another 5 minutes to put everything back on and drill new pilot holes for the controls.

Go for it. Include pictures and tell us if you like it.

[Phil B]

awwright then I shall

any tips for getting the nice pretty chrome bolt cap things off in a way that is conducive to replacing them again?

[mitch79]

awwright then I shall

any tips for getting the nice pretty chrome bolt cap things off in a way that is conducive to replacing them again?

Flick them out with the edge of a blade held horizontal to the bars. Easier than levering around them.

[Phil B]

Oh wow. this is way more involved than I was originally realizing :-/

For the curious, here's a very useful page:

http://www.everydayriding.org/2010/06/gs500-handlebar-replacement.html

I'm slow and cautious (and tired!), so this may take me a long time

[kidsixteen]

It's actually not hat involved.. should take you an hour even including putting them back if you don't like it.

There are also a few sportier bars out there that'll fit your F. Even drag bars would be drastically different.

I have ProTaper MX bars on mine for the opposite reason. I like em higher on the street.

You could look into clip ons, there are a few options out there for small fork tubes.

[Phil B]

Yeah. i stumbled on this, from a forum post n aug 2009 by Madbones:

"I just fitted some  clipons to my 08 F.   Fitted no worries with the fairings.
Came from Ebay / Rockwall Honda TX shipped over here to Aus. Just took them for a spin around the farm and they suit me great. They were listed as EX500 Ninja 94-up clipons 37mm"
looks like the wiki needs to be updated.
  ( http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.Handlebars )


Bad news on the tweaking though (apart from the pain that it was, and the fact that my bike is still in pieces atm

There was no problem with the tank.. but there IS a problem with... of all things.. the bolt heads on top of the fork tubes

I am quite disappointed. I'll post pics of what I mean when theres more light for my cam. sigh...

At least a little bit of good news for me, in that I think I can at least SLIGHTLY adjust the handlebar tilt now, and that should be better for me.
Before, I wouldnt touch it because I didnt want to hurt the little shiney things, that I now know how to remove
The worst part, was getting the left grip off.  It was NOT glued, but it felt like it as first.
I had to twist half at a time, bit by bit, to get it off.
Plus I now have something rattling inside my bars. I think my bar ends had internal nuts on them, behind some rubber stoppers. more fuss. sigh...

[adidasguy]

Sounds like you messed up taking off the bar ends.
You losen them then wiggle them off. You DO NOT remove the screw. This is what they are:


You need to remove the bushing and the nut. Then put things back together. You wiggle them on then tighten the screw so the bushing expands and holds them on.

PS: Don't feel bad about that. Lots of people do that until they learn how the bar ends are put together.
Grips come off real easy: slide a thin screw driver under it. Squirt a little WD40. Work it around then they slip right off. Clean them, apply a little glue then they slide back on real easy.

[Phil B]

D'awwww... the site I referenced, had a picture of that, but they didnt SAY anything about that
oh well at least it's fixable somewhat easily.  Thanks!

[Phil B]

FYI here's pics, as promised.
Reminder: this is with the handlebars FLIPPED. Note that this means the "right" side is now on the *left*.
The original plan fails I'm taking pics to save others some experimentation time on that way, or to allow formation of alternative plans
However, check out the second set of pics as well, for alternative placing

Set 1:
The side view hopefully demonstrates how the fork nut gets in the way. But even without those, seems like it couldnt go TOO much further down in this direction anyway, because of the width of the forks.





Set 2:
Now HERE, I've rotated them the other way.. and funny thing, they kindasorta look like the "Suburban machinery, Type 1" handlebars.
Except that the bar ends are even lower, making then even more like a clip-on. 'cept that they are angled.

What do people think about that?

[Dr.McNinja]

They look horribly uncomfortable. The last one looks the least uncomfortable, but still uncomfortable because of the way the bike was made.

[pdx dino burner]

   I think you'll find that you're going to want those bars swept back towards you a bit instead of angled away. Gonna be hard on your wrists otherwise. If you look at the set up of most clip-ons and clubmans, hell most bars out there the bar ends are directed back towards the rider.

  That being said, do what feels good to you. You're the one ridin it!

[Phil B]

Intersting point, dino.  FYI, the stock bars are somewhat bendable. So theoretically, I could do that.
But I think I might try them out as-is.
But this means I have a lot of reassembly to do. Plus rescuing the rubber gizmos inside the bars, which I'm trying to put off for now. sigh.

[kidsixteen]

You could stick a set of risers in there... or find some extra riser top caps and use longer bolts.. I wonder if E bars wold clear the nuts. You can try the ones I have upside down if you want.

[Phil B]

You could stick a set of risers in there... or find some extra riser top caps and use longer bolts..

Hmm. interesting point. That would probably work!  ....   however, the point of this excercise, was to do something without spending any money If I were spending money, I'd probably just buy "normal" clip ons or something.

For example, on ebay for $99

Or the "suburban machinery" handlebars, which are $147 or something

[pdx dino burner]

Get a pipe bender and go to town. Could be an interesting solution.

[kidsixteen]

You could stick a set of risers in there... or find some extra riser top caps and use longer bolts..

Hmm. interesting point. That would probably work!  ....   however, the point of this excercise, was to do something without spending any money If I were spending money, I'd probably just buy "normal" clip ons or something.

For example, on ebay for $99

Or the "suburban machinery" handlebars, which are $147 or something

The top cap idea would be <$10 I bet. That's really close to free.

[Phil B]

Results:  More bad news

I couldn't understand some posts I've seen  about problems with handlebars, and the fairings. Now I do.
With the handlebars in the (2nd set of photos) position: If I turn all the way LEFT... the RIGHT side, hits the FRONT of the fairing.

For some reason, I thought the problem with some clipons was that they were too "low", and were scraping on the "top" of the fairing.
My plan didnt seem to have that problem. But I didnt count on the front-part problem

Oh well.. I did learn a bunch of things.. AND, I got my handlebars adjusted to be slightly slightly towards me. About half an inch.
Which means they are a little closer, and a little down. 
I experimented with a few more extreme positions... but sadly,  those result in the "inside" bar hitting the gas tank before wheel lock