Maybe I'm the exception, but my mirrors were basicly useless for all the vibration rattling them around. I tried bar end mirrors, super heavy bar ends, no bar ends, tighter bar ends, looser bar ends, nothing really worked. My bike runs very well, has smooth power, and doesn't have any weird engine related vibrations. What we're talking about is mostly ROAD induced vibrations, and general wind/engine/etc stuff.


Things you need:

A phillips screwdriver that fits the screws on your controls
A few pounds of bird shot, or any lead shot that will fit in a 3/16" (.187) or so hole
A piece of printer paper
A piece of tape
Patience

OR

Instead of patience, a welder, or a buddy with one and the will to beat the bejesuz out of your bar end plugs

Here's the stuff:



^ that's not coffee honey !


If you loosen the two screws under your left and right controls, as so



They'll reveal a location hole, which fits with a small tab on your controls, approximately under the 'CHOKE' lettering



and you will see the location hole when you move them OUT just a little:



*****************************************************************
Skip this 45 minute step if you have a welder, or a buddy with one, and beat the hell
out of your bar end plugs until one breaks free, fill the bars with lead shot, then have
him tack the plug back in place !
*****************************************************************

Now take your super expensive paper funnel and carefully dribble the lead shot into the location hole:





this is just a glamour shot of the nice chrome bar that darb85 sent me - thanks man !



while you're at it, does your brake fluid look nice and clear ? no ? time to bleed some fresh stuff in !



Another glamour shot, she's happy, doesn't vibrtate her STOCK mirrors at all, and I can actually use them as were intended ! Eventually, I'll find some proper suzuki bar end weights and put them on, for now, the ends are nakked



If you start with the RIGHT SIDE hole you'll be able to fill the bars almost completely from that side, then go for a spin to let it settle and compact a little, refill.

Tighten up all your screws and double check your lights/throttle/brakes before you take off !!!

This simple modification takes about 3 1/4 lbs of the type lead shot I bought at a local scuba shop and about an hour, the hard way. I got ripped on the price of the lead, but it was the only place I could find. I have about 15 pounds left, but don't ask, shipping prohibits it being worth while to sell it to anyone

I did this with the old set of rusty black bars, but never wrote it up. If you ride more than 25 miles on your gs daily, give this a shot. You'll thank yourself for making the grips vibration free, and your mirrors worth having !


Ride on

I like "How To"s... this is a good one!

Actually, I was just thinking about this the other day. My hand had been going numb during rides, so I thought about adding the lead shot. I didn't know there was an easy access hole!

Anyways, I realized my hand wasn't completely on the throttle grip; my positioning had my hand hanging off the side and partially gripping the barend. I think I was getting excess vibration by holding the barend instead of the grip. 

I'm gonna alter my riding position and see if the numbing goes away. I think I'll hold off on this for now, but thanks for the write up! 

I'm going to give this a go this weekend. Lucky for me I can just pull off the plastic caps on the ends of each of my clip ons. 

Nice write up! 

It's great that everyone is writing all these how-to's lately.

Do the bar end weights not just pull out when you loosen the screws in the ends of them?  I thought they could easily be removed/replaced.

nice write up.
I have dumb question tho... will this mod do any good to F models?? Mirrors are attached to the fairing, not to the handlebar 
thanks

Quote from: Jerka on May 08, 2008, 10:13:14 AM
Do the bar end weights not just pull out when you loosen the screws in the ends of them?  I thought they could easily be removed/replaced.

Yeah, but if the bars are stock they have a threaded insert in the end.

Quote from: kml.krk on May 08, 2008, 10:18:54 AM
nice write up.
I have dumb question tho... does this mod will do any good for F models?? Mirrors are attached to the fairing, not to the handlebar 
thanks

It might cut down the vibrations felt by your hands.

How do you keep the lead shot from rolling and settling into the low area where the bars bolt on?From my understanding, this is usually done on bikes with clip ons.It is a good write up.Nicely put together.

Quote from: Jerka on May 08, 2008, 10:13:14 AM
Do the bar end weights not just pull out when you loosen the screws in the ends of them?  I thought they could easily be removed/replaced.

Yes sir they do, and replacement is easy. The threaded plug that your bar end weights screw into isn't drilled all the way through, at least my bar isn't.

Quote from: kml.krk on May 08, 2008, 10:18:54 AM
nice write up.
I have dumb question tho... does this mod will do any good for F models?? Mirrors are attached to the fairing, not to the handlebar 
thanks

Thanks I would imagine the mirror vibration wouldn't be affected, but your hands would feel less vibration. I'm going to put on some cheap foam grips once I find them (cheap), I also have a trottle rocker called "Numb buster" that helps prevent fatigue also.

Quote from: ben2go on May 08, 2008, 11:26:54 AM
How do you keep the lead shot from rolling and settling into the low area where the bars bolt on?From my understanding, this is usually done on bikes with clip ons.It is a good write up.Nicely put together.

Letting the lead roll into as much of the bar as possible is the objective. More lead in more places = less vibration, hopefully. If it packs too tightly, I believe it may even make the vibrations worse, so I opted not to melt the lead and pour it in, but to only pour in the lead, still in shot form. Thanks

This isn't an original idea of mine by any means. Like almost everything I do, someone else thought it up, tried, tested, and then posted their results on the 'net. This is common on forums with members that cruise / commute long distances. I believe the first forum I saw it on was a Connie (Kawasaki Concours) forum. Apparently there was a typical buzz around a certain rpm that drove their owners batty, until one of the resourceful folks stumbled across this method. The tutorials come and go, forums appear and change ownership, but once you've tried it yourself, it's a nice thing to share.

Very Cool idea! 

Quote from: ohgood on May 08, 2008, 02:45:10 PM

Quote from: Jerka on May 08, 2008, 10:13:14 AM
Do the bar end weights not just pull out when you loosen the screws in the ends of them?  I thought they could easily be removed/replaced.

Yes sir they do, and replacement is easy. The threaded plug that your bar end weights screw into isn't drilled all the way through, at least my bar isn't.

Quote from: kml.krk on May 08, 2008, 10:18:54 AM
nice write up.
I have dumb question tho... does this mod will do any good for F models?? Mirrors are attached to the fairing, not to the handlebar 
thanks

Thanks I would imagine the mirror vibration wouldn't be affected, but your hands would feel less vibration. I'm going to put on some cheap foam grips once I find them (cheap), I also have a trottle rocker called "Numb buster" that helps prevent fatigue also.

Quote from: ben2go on May 08, 2008, 11:26:54 AM
How do you keep the lead shot from rolling and settling into the low area where the bars bolt on?From my understanding, this is usually done on bikes with clip ons.It is a good write up.Nicely put together.

Letting the lead roll into as much of the bar as possible is the objective. More lead in more places = less vibration, hopefully. If it packs too tightly, I believe it may even make the vibrations worse, so I opted not to melt the lead and pour it in, but to only pour in the lead, still in shot form. Thanks

This isn't an original idea of mine by any means. Like almost everything I do, someone else thought it up, tried, tested, and then posted their results on the 'net. This is common on forums with members that cruise / commute long distances. I believe the first forum I saw it on was a Connie (Kawasaki Concours) forum. Apparently there was a typical buzz around a certain rpm that drove their owners batty, until one of the resourceful folks stumbled across this method. The tutorials come and go, forums appear and change ownership, but once you've tried it yourself, it's a nice thing to share.

I've never done this.My thoughts were to keep the weight out where the grips are to slow or eliminate the vibration.Basiclly weight the bars down where they can't vibrate up and down.I use weighted bar ends if they're available.Thanks for clearing that up.

i loaded mine up by removing a grip, exposing teh end of teh bar, and filling there. totally changes teh point where it vibes at.

Yes, I've been using the lead shot in my bike for almost a year now and it's amazing the difference!

Nice photos and interesting way of getting the shot into the bars. Good on ya! 

Quote from: ohgood on May 08, 2008, 02:45:10 PM
Apparently there was a typical buzz around a certain rpm that drove their owners batty, until one of the resourceful folks stumbled across this method. The tutorials come and go, forums appear and change ownership, but once you've tried it yourself, it's a nice thing to share.

Mine vibrates pretty good between 5,500 and 6,000.  I've gotta try this!

I think I'll give it a try, once I figure out where to find the lead shot in NYC... 
any suggestions?

Quote from: kml.krk on May 09, 2008, 10:32:38 AM
I think I'll give it a try, once I figure out where to find the lead shot in NYC... 
any suggestions?

I haven't looked yet, but I was planning on checking Wal-Mart.

Thanks for the nice "how to". I am about to try my own version using some rubber dampers. I will let you guys know if it works well 

I priced lead shot at local reloading shops...YIKES!!! so I went home, pried open the ends of a box of 12 ga shotgun shells, #8 dove loads left over from years past, and  Voila, enough lead shot to do the job w/o buying anything. It's amazing that the finished shells cost less than  the shot itself. Before anyone gets their panties in a wad over safety or whatever, there is no danger in this method, as you are never anywhere near the powder or primer, just pry open the crimp at the end of the shell... the older I get, the better I was....

Then you can use the left over cartridges as 'bird scarers'

Another source for lead shot on the cheap is the sporting goods or bait/tackle stores. They sell the pinch on, round, fishing weights. Just over a buck for a bag of em at the Big 5 up the road from me.