If I was interested in getting rid of my drag bars, could I retrofit on a set of cheap clipons and maintain all of my forward controls?  Will it just bolt right up there or are there further mods.  I could just slide my forks up a few inches for enough to put the clipons on right??  Tell me more or talk me out of this.  What would be the turning radius on a bike that I dropped way down like that in the front.  Pardon my weird writing, I can barely comprehend whats going on right now because of all hte ambien That I've taken.  Peace

Yes, as you stated clip ons will clamp directly on the fork tubes. The proper size clip on for a GS is 37mm. I bought a set off Ebay and they fit fine as far as the controls go. Was able to get them adjusted so that they didn't hit the tank as well, I must say though that they do come very close. If I remember correctly I had to lower the front end about 3/4"-1" for the clamp to fit. As far as handling I thought the cornering feel was a little better, but I guess that could just be personal opinion. If you like an agressive seating position I'm sure you will like the clip ons. But if I were you I would keep your current set up just in case. 

Quote from: Absolute Rescue on February 26, 2008, 06:32:22 AM
If I remember correctly I had to lower the front end about 3/4"-1" for the clamp to fit. As far as handling I thought the cornering feel was a little better, but I guess that could just be personal opinion.

That is true. Lowering the front end, generally, helps the bike to lean faster, but also makes it a bit more unstable in straights.

we're not talking like a doing 85 and all of a sudden the speed wobbles happen right?

yes possibly, that is the inherent danger of changing the suspension or steering of a bike

Quote from: bombadillo on February 26, 2008, 09:46:00 AM
we're not talking like a doing 85 and all of a sudden the speed wobbles happen right?

All of a sudden...??  I don't think so 

There is also another way of installing them. Under the clamps, but you have to mod your headlight bracket http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Upgrades/Handlebars#toc12

I never had an issue with instability with my clipons.

I have the original clip ons on my 89.That may be a cheap option.You can find them used on ebay cheap.
Airtech  sells a decent set http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/suzuz/GS500Titan.htm They're at the bottom of the page.

i too have 89 tripple and clip ons on my new gsf and so far no problems.  but then again i only have 850 miles on the bike

i have 89's as well 

On the airtech site they say 36mm not 37mm what is the correct size?

If you want the Airtech ones we are a distributor for them and I can get you a little better price  Most of their items arent marked up very much though 

clubman bars are cooler anyway. 

I have cheap drag bars on right now and they are way sportier than stock, but I don't know whether or not to keep them on or throw some clip-ons on it because they are way more comfy and much more 

If you don't want to change the bike's geometry that much, you can always take off the top plate, the one holding the old handlebars, and replace that with a much thinner piece of metal to hold your gauges. Or you can zip-tie the gauges on... those things are pretty darn reliable.

For my clip-ons, I only had to raise the forks about a quarter inch. My gauges are bolted onto a steel plate that was cut in the shape of the old top plate.