Hi folks,

Replacing the handlebars on my 98 GS500 due to a parking lot incident. I'm not looking for any aggressive bars, stock would be fine. I'm even considering an up and back riser just to make things a little more comfy for me. My primary question is, will a bar for a 2008/2009 fit my year? I noticed the stock bars from 2009 are cheaper than those for the 98 the only visible difference being the bar ends - is the inner tubing different?

Thats it for now!

Welcome!

Search the board.  Lots of answers to this one.  You can probably get aftermarket bars cheaper than OEM.  Any 7/8" bar will fit.

Clutch switch module and throttle module have a little nib on the inside that goes in a hole so they don't slide if their screws are loose.
Any aftermarket bars probably won't have those. All you do is compare the hole positions with your bars and drill the appropriate hole in your new bars. That is pretty much a standard thing to do unless you get OEM bars.

All years of GS500 would be the same with one exception: how the bar ends go in. Early GS models had a nut welded inside the bar that they screwed in to. Later bars did not have that and the bar ends had a rubber bushing. No big deal. If you have the bushings and your new bars need just the screw, you might have to get a shorter screw. If you need the bushings, they're cheap at a Suzuki dealer or someone here might have some from changing bars. After market bars could go either way. You'll see the difference if you go to a Suzuki parts list and look at the handlebars for say 1992 and then 2009.

Don't sweat it. Get bars you like. You can easily drill the holes and deal with the bar ends. Good time to shop for new grips! Maybe cool bar ends, too!

Thanks for the info. I have seen some of the threads on bars, especially the aftermarket ones. Most threads I looked at though had people wanting to put more aggressive bars on there and that's not my cup of tea. I'd rather keep them stock or even go with something a bit more upright - hence why I've been thinking about the up and back risers.

As for the controls, I'd recommend just filing off the nubs instead of drilling.  The controls won't move around once tightened, even without the nub.  It'll let you fiddle with the positions of the controls, instead of being locked into a single position.

Quote from: 007brendan on October 01, 2010, 03:30:24 PM
As for the controls, I'd recommend just filing off the nubs instead of drilling.  The controls won't move around once tightened, even without the nub.  It'll let you fiddle with the positions of the controls, instead of being locked into a single position.

Damn, wish I would have known that when I installed my drag bars lol. Took me a few attempts drilling the damn hole in the right spot 

Measure twice - drill once?  (Center punch the spot, drill press preferred over hand drill)

The nibs are really just the switches & throttle, which doesn't make much difference how they are rotated. The brake and clutch are not locked and you can freely rotate them so they feel comfortable.