80 GS450 have the same frame as 85 GS450?

[Pac-Man]

Im purchasing some items that fit to the frame for my 1985 GS450 that came off of a 1980 GS450, will these match up or shall I continue shopping elsewhere? The item in question is a Highway bar, heres a picture of said item im thinking about buying.



I just wanna be sure before i waste my money as this is a no return/refund policy store. thank you for any and all info.

[pete]

Depending on the price, if it was me I'd give it a go.

I don't believe the part numbers for the frames or anything match up from 80 to 85, but given the bottom end and mounts didn't seem to change much (if at all), I wouldn't be surprised if it bolted straight up...

[Pac-Man]

thank ya kindly pete, i may do just that. hes only askin 40 bucks plus shipping which scares me cuz im awaiting a reply to tell me how much shipping is for said odd shaped item such as this...we will see what happens w/ shipping costs.

[pete]

Yeah shipping can definitely be the killer on these deals.

I'd love a set of crash bars for mine but the only ones I've come across so far are in the US and I don't wanna think what that would cost to ship...

All the small parts I've ordered so far are $20 - 30, so I expect crash bars to be $50 plus minimum...

[Pac-Man]

yea i been searchin for a set of bars since ive owned the bike, tired of cramping hips and awkward sitting while highway ridin'. I need to stretch out a bit & relax a bit more.

[Mekanix]

I have the same bars, this is what they look like.

On the bottom they bolt to the frame where the front motor mounts are . And on top they bolt onto the frame with U bolts.

Ask for some dimensions,
Such as the spacing between the two bars at the bottom and the space between the holes on the top.

I think it should fit just fine and it is much more comfortable to ride.

One thing i'd suggest is to try the pegs on the inside of the bar.

[Pac-Man]

nice mekanix, thank ya very much for the eyes on there! Now I got decisions to make, I just found these guys as well,lol. Mercy whats a guy to do!?

Altho this guy wants $70 ObO for these here.

[Mekanix]

Cool, your welcome

here's a really closeup pic

[Pac-Man]

NICE! Exactly what i was looking for! thank ya agin! much gracias er' however u say it! lol

[pete]

Personally I think the two piece ones look better (that's the style I really want for mine) but the pegs wouldn't be as far forward or as high I wouldn't think...

[Pac-Man]

Well I went w/ the one piece, i also like the 2 piece design but theres more you can do w/ the one piece so far as location of pegs & such. So hopefully they will b here by the weekend so i can finally do sum long distance riding w/out cramping up.....

[Mekanix]

I find its really nice having 3 foot positions.

I always alternate between the front middle and rear pegs. My back never hurts afterwards

I find the L model is the best thing for comfort and figuring out just what kind of rider you are by the foot position.

Some like to lean back while some like to crouch over. And some just ride like the little picture you see in the handbook :P

[Pac-Man]

Cool, your welcome

here's a really closeup pic

So I got my engine guard today thats identical to yours here, only problem is the bottom two rungs of the engine guard have nothing to attach/bolt to? On yours it looks to attach to existing bolts of some sort, the bottom rungs of the engine guard are flush w/ the frame of my bike but have no bolts or holes to mount up to. So now I'm trying to figure out whats next? Ill put pics up soon so u can see what im talking about more closely.

[Pac-Man]

ok heres a picture of what im referring to. Youll notice the rungs are flush within the same area as yours but I cannot see on your photo how you have them mounted or what not, did you drill extra holes in the frame as to mount those or how did you go about this? As you can plainly see I have nothing there to grab the engine guard w/ unless I make my own holes therefor possibly compromising the stability of the frame? Any ideas/suggestions?

[Mekanix]

I see the problem,

On the 81 the front mount bolts go through the frame and it mounts on the outside of the downtubes.

It's the way it came from the factory.

There are a few things that I can think of.

1. Using another set of engine mounts ( or make your own), mount them on the inside of the original engine mounts and use longer bolts to hold them to the frame.
   Use a long bolt that would go through the crash bar then through a spacer then the mounts and another spacer and then out through the other side of the crash bar.
2. Another thing would be to make two identical triangle mounts and weld them to your existing engine mounts so that it allows you to put a bolt through without hitting the frame. If you take one of the mounts off and put it on facing forward you can see what I'm getting at
   
   You can make the mockup of what you need to make using some cardboard and then take each engine mount off. Make the brackets to the shape of the cardboard and weld them to the original brackets.
3. Use a couple of U bolts to secure the crash bar. Coming from the inside just below the where the engine mounts are, put a U bolt facing outward in place and through the crash bar mount. Do the same for the other side.

Here is another pic of how mine were mounted