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When I first bought the 650, I loved the mini chopper looks of it. I didn't care for the 70's XSs, I thought they were too old looking. The 1981 xs650 was more modern looking, meaner looking.
Well some things change with age. Now I much prefer the retro looks of the 70's xs models to the custom chopper looks of the 81 special I have. Not only that, I am incapable of leaving something that works alone. The 650 works just fine right now, which means I must modify it immediately.
My plan is to turn it into a cafe racer. The handlebars were the first step down that path. The installation took about one hour. Most of that time was spent figuring out how to re-route cables and wires now that the bars were no nearly as long. Eventually I will need to replace all those cables, but for now that are just tucked away.
The new bars are great. I am 6' tall and they have me leaning forward just enough to counter act the wind so that it is a very easy position to be in. I have yet to take a longer road trip with the new bars so that may change. My first impression is that they are very comfortable and make the bike feel far more agile.
The bars I got are:
width - 27"
rise - 3"
pullback - 1" Pictures
Preview Image Size
| | | stock bars on an 81 special | | | | | | | | old bars always made the bike feel very small | | | | | | bars mounted upside down, this was the most comfortable | | | | | | bars mounted right side up, they were too low this way | | | | | back to upside down, feels very natural | | | | | | | all the controls back in place, ready for a test drive | | | | | | OEM 81 xs650 bars (inside) versus OEM 80 xs1100 bars (outside) | | | | | the xs1100 bars are just bigger in every dimension | | | | | also replaced my worn out foot peg | | | | | | | | | | old one was worn such that rear brake had to be stomped to get brake light on | | | | | new switch in place, kept the old metal nuts instead of the single new plastic nut | | | | | new plastic nut (not used) and old brake switch, both ready for the trash | | |
