Daytona bars on a 550L

[DimitriT]

Someone asked me to put some pics up showing my new bars on the 550L and how
I routed the cables. Here goes:

I had to reroute the cables so that they would take a longer path to get to
the steering stem. Normally the cables go down the middle along the center
frame tube. I rerouted them so that they would go along the left side tube.
This allowed the throttle cable to then cross over in the triple tee and take
up some of the excess slack. Same thing with the clutch and choke.

The brake hose was a problem but I had already replaced it with one (a
stainless steel braided hose) which was 1/2" short so that helped. To take
up the extra 1" or so of slack I had to point the banjo bolt out.

The electric cables just required an extra loop and some zip tying.

There are also two other problems:

* the mirrors will move closer together - I bought some mirror extenders for
this
* the master cylinder will sit at an angle - I have a master cylinder from a T
model which I will try to replace the existing unit - at the same time I will
replace the brake hose with a shorter one

Eventually I will get shorter cables (except maybe the choke) too.

Hopefully this will let you try out the bars and see if you like them before
spending money on replacing cables and stuff.

[DimitriT]

I already had a stainless braided hose on there. I had to kick out the banjo bolt
to an angle to accommodate the slack. Eventually I will replace this with the right
length:

[DimitriT]

I routed the cables along the outside frame tube. Doesn't interfere with the tank and
takes up slack. The key was to find a route which allows the cable to work freely and
not get bound up when moving the bars left or right:

[DimitriT]

[DimitriT]

Here are the bar extenders I used. Haven't tried them yet but they should do the trick.
Ebay find for short money (like $18 shipped):

[79FiveFifty]

Thanks man, looks so much better .. I hope can pull it off too! Waiting on my bars to arrive..

[Nessism]

Nice job with the photos DimitriT.

Don't want to sound dismissive, but new cables are cheap and if you order some 550M (Katana) cables they are the perfect length for those Daytona bars. The clutch and throttle will work smoother with the proper length cables, although I'm sure your rerouting has improved the smoothness over the stock routing.

[fenderfreek]

How does the handling and riding position feel relative to the original setup?

[DimitriT]

How does the handling and riding position feel relative to the original setup?

The original bars felt uncomfortable to me. They gave me pain in my wrist on the right hand
as I had to twist my hand into a funny angle. The new bars allow the hands to sit straight.
I no longer need to use the throttle rocker.

Seating position is about the same. Maybe just a little bit more forward but I have long
arms so its not too different for me. But the bars do allow you to lean forward when you
want to help with control in turns. This gives the bike a little better handling. The shorter
bars do require a little more muscle at low speeds, though.

[DimitriT]

Nice job with the photos DimitriT.

Don't want to sound dismissive, but new cables are cheap and if you order some 550M (Katana) cables they are the perfect length for those Daytona bars. The clutch and throttle will work smoother with the proper length cables, although I'm sure your rerouting has improved the smoothness over the stock routing.

Thanks for the tip on using the 550M cables. I will look to order those, especially the
throttle cable which is original and should be replaced anyway. No rush as we just got
our first real snow here so the bikes will be in storage for some time.