wow, now I actually know the difference betweent he choices you gave me!

go-go-adidasguy tutorial!

WOW! Thanks for the extensive detail!   

One thing I didnt see an answer to, though is:
Do you need a replacement top-plate to properly fasten on the "clip on style" bars, for later models (ie: fairing models)?

I edited it a little. Never mind the prior posting below.
------------------------------------
I said this:
"The top plates are the same (although later ones had a different mold with less material on the under side). They are directly interchangeable with the standard handle bar top plate. "

You can make it more verbose in the WIKI. I suggest copying the photos to a place in the WIKI in case something happens tpo the photobucket account.

Quote from: adidasguy on February 21, 2012, 10:59:05 AM
I edited it a little. Never mind the prior posting below.
------------------------------------
I said this:
"The top plates are the same (although later ones had a different mold with less material on the under side). They are directly interchangeable with the standard handle bar top plate. "

Erm.. seems like a bit of an oxymoron to me. Lets see if I can get complete clarity here.

You SEEM to be saying, "there are TWO, separate types of top plate. One is for 'standard handle bars'. One is for 'GS style clip ons'. The good news is, they are interchangeable: they are 'the same' size/fit on top of the triple fork clamp. The bad news is, yes, they are actually different, and you need to use the right one for your desired type of bars"

Is that correct, or not correct?

I edited the text in the write-up. Is this better?

If you are changing from standard bars to the clip-ons, you will need to change the top plate. The top plates are directly interchangeable. That is, while different, they bolt on the same. Remove your standard bars (4 bolts on the handlebar holders). Remove the instrument bracket (2 bolts). Then remove the top plate by removing the 2 bolts hidden under the handle bars. THESE ARE ON TIGHT!. While you can use the same bolts to mount the clip-on top plate, there are chrome plated bolts with shallower heads for the clip-ons. You can order this from any Suzuki parts house or a parts-whore on GStwins.com. Finish it off with a little chrome plastic cap on the allen heads of the bolts. Use the ones you took off of the 4 bolts that held your standard bars or get new ones.

The same clip-on top plate will work for all three types of clips.

Updated that spot again with more information on swapping top plates.

Quote from: adidasguy on February 21, 2012, 12:21:50 PM
I edited the text in the write-up. Is this better?

Much. Thanks!  ...
well, at least having the information is better.
Knowing that I'd have to spend more money, and a whooole lot more work, rather puts a damper on my enthusiasm for having them myself now
Looks like for the same riding position, I'd be better off just buying a Suburban Machinery type 2 set of bars, for my 2006. sigh.

Phil: do not forget the "coolness factor" of the OEM clip ons. Much cooler than suburban bars. What's an extra $25 or so for the added coolness?

UPDATE: Edited write-up to include a caution of shorting out the front brake switch.

The bloody high rise ones are near impossible to find though.
I had a few, cant find em now, I didn;t like them, if I find it I'd happily trade you for it.
However I have another solution for you.
A 750 katana front end will give you both a better FE and a higher bar, and I make some stuff (when my machinist is done) to fit E type headlights on it.
Cool.
Buddha.

High ones are not hard to find. A few sets in my bike cave. Just to get rid of them, everyone I sold clip-ons to got a free set of the high ones! 

(Thanks - jets came in today.)

Hi guys. I read this entire thread twice, and read the wiki and all related links.

So it sounds like the 1989 bars are not available anywhere really for sale. Assuming I read that correctly, I want to confirm with everyone my options and make sure I read this info correctly.

I have a 2009 GS500F. I want a sportier feel with the bars closer towards my body when I ride. From what I am reading, as far as clip-ons, I basically have a few options for clip-ons:

Suburban Machinery Type 1 - http://www.suburban-machinery.com/GS500F.htm

Suburban Machinery Type 2

Woodcraft - http://www.woodcraft-cfm.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=12-0237

Vortex - http://cliponbars.com/SuzukiClipOnBars.aspx

Basically, they are all approx $150. I just want to buy the "correct" one that will work best with my bike. I want to make sure this setup is safe, and that I have range of motion, and don't hit the tank. That being said, I am not opposed to a slight "riser" if needed. I am just still slightly confused and need a push in the right direction.

Help! Thanks.

If you are patient, they do show up on fleabehy. You might have to order them from the UK or Germany. I have extra bars, but no extra clip and top plates right now.
Post a want-to-buy. We do have members in the UK. They could make money and to everyone a favor by buying them and shipping them to the USA. Some fleabay sellers in the UK do not ship to the USA. (HINT HINT to you guys in the UK and Europe!)
Euro type-1 are your best bet. Second would be 89's. Remember the top plate and bars don't matter. The clips are different. You may not find everything from one seller so shop around.

Quote from: wildcat333 on February 21, 2012, 08:54:58 PM
Hi guys. I read this entire thread twice, and read the wiki and all related links.

So it sounds like the 1989 bars are not available anywhere really for sale. Assuming I read that correctly, I want to confirm with everyone my options and make sure I read this info correctly.

I have a 2009 GS500F. I want a sportier feel with the bars closer towards my body when I ride.
...

Erm.. in that case, you Do Not Want the suburban machinery or GS500 "clipons". they technically put the bars further away! :-/

You might try just loosening the handlebar clamps, and rotating the bars a bit towards you. I did this. Works *really* well, great feel to it.

Quote from: Phil B on February 21, 2012, 10:03:51 PM
Erm.. in that case, you Do Not Want the suburban machinery or GS500 "clipons". they technically put the bars further away! :-/

You might try just loosening the handlebar clamps, and rotating the bars a bit towards you. I did this. Works *really* well, great feel to it.

Hi Phil. Ok. I really appreciate the input here. Sometimes all of this new research can get overwhelming. So you also have a 2009+ GS500F? How would I adjust the bar angles more towards me? I have a fair amount of tools, so I'm not worried about that, I just sort of need to be advised of exactly what to do, step-by-step. Thanks!

Well, I have a 2006. close enough
Your handlebars are attached to the bike via two clamps.

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.Handlebars
mentions
http://www.everydayriding.org/2010/06/gs500-handlebar-replacement.html
which gives long gruesome details on how to REMOVE handlebars to switch them out. But you dont want to remove them. you just want to loosen the clamps a bit, rotate the bars, then retighten.

The trick is that, since you dont need to remove all the controls, grips, etc. to skip ahead to step #8.
"8: Pry the little caps off of the handlebar clamps with a thin screwdriver."



and you can figure out what to do from there

To clarify, I want the handlebars tucked in more, and closer to the tank so it is more sporty of a riding style. Forget comfort for now. I need to be able to tuck under my windscreen properly on the highway, and I think true aftermarket clip-ons would work. The following pic is from this guy's bike (from this thread http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=55923.20 ). He says he has a 2009 GS500F (like mine). It appears his Vortex clip-ons do not hit the tank when turned fully.



>>>What would I need to do to fully copy this guy, and to get these clips-ons? Just order them from Vortex directly? Would I need any other parts? Anything else to worry about?

Quote from: wildcat333 on February 27, 2012, 10:01:45 PM
To clarify, I want the handlebars tucked in more, and closer to the tank so it is more sporty of a riding style. Forget comfort for now. I need to be able to tuck under my windscreen properly on the highway, ...

I already do that with my slightly rotated bars.
Try rotating the bars before you start throwing money around on a new set.

The bars arent your biggest problem. biggest problem there are the tank, and pegs.
Wearing a proper leather suit (track suit, so made to "lay flat"), the tank isnt soo much of a problem. (although not completely comfortable)  But if you want to do it "properly", you'll need to spend $$$ on rearset pegs.

If you want to do it IMproperly, and are just looking for "cruising on the freeway", though.. you can cheat, and use the passenger pegs,
since you dont need to change gears suddenly when at normal highway speed riding safely


oh, and PS about bar positioning again: I sugest you dont go by what you think looks cool,  but what feels good.
I suspect that if you made your bike have super-narrow bars like that picture, it would get fairly uncomfortable after 30 mins of riding. plus you'll lose levarage while steering. Not a good thing IMO.

Ihave a 2009 gs500f and fitted 89 clipons and its plate that goes on top of the triple clamp and have about 3/4" clearance between tank and clipon on tighest lock no washers under clamp just fitted straight on here is a pic   <a href="http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z380/twinrat/?action=view&amp;current=eaf0f681ca9e__1285331639000clipon3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z380/twinrat/eaf0f681ca9e__1285331639000clipon3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>             click on the last set of numbers to view i dont know why but it works

I don't really want to lean that much to have my stomach on the tank on the highway, or ever put my feet on the passenger pegs. That sounds terrifying actually.

Maybe I am not visualizing this properly, but which direction are you rotating your bars: Are you PUSHING them up/forward towards the guages? Or PULLING them down/backwards towards the tank?

BTW, the easist way to embed images from Photobucket, you just click the link towards the right of the picture that sames "IMG Source" them copy that into this forum here. Alternatively, you can type (without spaces) [ I M G ] imagelink.jpg  [ / I M G ]

Quote from: wildcat333 on February 28, 2012, 05:42:05 AM
I don't really want to lean that much to have my stomach on the tank on the highway, or ever put my feet on the passenger pegs. That sounds terrifying actually.

make up your mind, do you want to "fully tuck in" or not?
:p

To get your head fully down, not to mention fully lay on tank, is uncomfortable on stock pegs.

The only truly decent set of rearsets that give you an alternative, are "gimbels" brand. which are $400.
For that kind of money, I'd rather save towards a new bike I think :-}

Quote from: wildcat333 on February 28, 2012, 05:42:05 AM
Maybe I am not visualizing this properly, but which direction are you rotating your bars: Are you PUSHING them up/forward towards the guages? Or PULLING them down/backwards towards the tank?

as I wrote in my first reference:
"You might try just loosening the handlebar clamps, and rotating the bars a bit towards you. I did this. Works *really* well, great feel to it.
"

And since you dont have to pull off all the controls like throttle, etc to do this, it's a quick easy 5 min operation to do.

Side note:
I rotate towards me, because I'm 5'6.
Strange people who are 6ft and on a gs, might actually prefer rotating away, I dunno.

i THOUGHT I had put a pic up somewhere, but guess not. Maybe I'll do that a bit later,(when it's light out!) and edit it in.