such a mundane question,but

[KOOLNICK]

Hey Fellas, sorry for asking something so trivial but I bought my bikes only a month ago and because of the snow here I had to store them at my bro's sawmill 30 miles away. It sucks because the Suzuki line is new to me and I haven't received my manual yet. Supposedly in the mail. I'm trying to gather up some parts and have them here ready to install when I get the bikes home. I want to order a set of drag bars and risers. My question is this.. What is the diameter of the handlebar clamps on an '81 GS1000L and will I have to replace any existing cables with shorter ones? The previous owner has replaced the original handlebars with a set of low bull-horn type and there does not seem to be much extra slack in the cables now.He may have put shorter cables on already,I'm not sure. But for future reference, as a rule, do you have to replace them? By the way, this is one hell of a site. There is so much information and helpful people. The resources on this site are excellent. Thanks to one and all for making this what it is......Nick

[Redman]

Nick, Welcome to GSR,

I dont know for sure, but I would think the L bars are the 7/8th inch, same as most others. But lets let other verify that for you.

The 850G (not L) that I had before, had lower bars installed by PO. I then got stock bars, and was concerned about the cable lenghts like you are now, since there didnt seem to be any extra slack so I thought maybe the cables had been shortened. But I took off the tank (fairly easy, much easier 2nd time, real easy after that) and found that cables had just be rerouted in a manner that purposly took up the extra length. I suspect you will find the same.

The fun part of the job is getting the grips off and back on.

.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Mr. Redman is correct, 7/8" bars on our bikes. You won't know about cable lengths until you get in there and see what you have. The stock cables are sometimes replaced when shorter bars are installed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[trippivot]

low bars are a P.I.T.A. 7/8 inch is standard for this era of jap bikes

I say this because the clutch cable is going to bind up and be 2-3 times harder to pull, unless you get one that is 8 inches shorter. approx ...good luck I took 2 years to find the right Yamaha cable to cross ref. Maybe it was a Honda or Kawasaki (sorry my guarded secret. no telling) for a cash gift I might help. did I mention I looked for 2 years to solve this problem?

I cannot see what you have but I do plenty of this stuff at my shop.

the throttle is a little more forgiving and can tuck under the tank all the wires will tuck too.

mirrors will give you a great shot of your shoulders. speaking of shoulders they are going to take the stress of the mis-balanced ergonomics. 2nd to your wrists.

the drag bars will hit the air fill caps on the forks and the fork tubes might need to be lowered in the trees.

it is a great chance to get intimate with your baby. then change it back to the high bars and be very happy .

[Nessism]

This topic comes up regularly so the archives has lots of info about popular bar choices and replacing and/or rerouting the cables.

Quick summary:

- Bikemaster sells various styles of bars that fit our bikes for about $20
- Daytona bend is the most popular, Superbike is second choice and are a couple of inches lower than Daytona’s
- Cables can be rerouted when installing lower bars but changing to shorter cables off of a 1000S or 550M will improve smoothness in most cases (particularly if you are starting with an L model)