That was my thought too. I can tell you that the levers reach right up to the fairing and into the cut out of the fairing shape like they were made to fit. The look is good and I am anxious to ride home this afternoon after work. I will try to remember to get some pictures before I head out for the maiden voyage test ride. These bars are about three inches lower and about 1/2 the sweep. Stay tuned...

__________________
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone and I must follow if I can." J.R.R. Tolkien
DL650AL
LIMNCS #51
Shiro Nakama Shichi #007

Ok, I rode it home last night: 25 miles, city and highway with about 8 miles of county black top that allows me to push it a little.

First off: everything worked; lights, horn, etc. Glad of that, levers and grips stayed in place dispite having snipped the nubs off of the inside of the housings for the controls. I didn't want to drill holes into the new bar so I decided to take the chance. Worked good.

The sweep, i.e. angle of the bend at the grip portion is about half of the stock bar set but the bar itself is the same length. That translates to putting your hands wider apart and means that you will get more air on your arms. It also means that you have the feeling of more leverage because the bar seems wider that the stock set. Also, because the sweep is straigter, you have to reach out a little further, which is good to me because I wanted to lean into the bar/turns and the stock set put my body too close the the grips when I leaned over. This feels good. My forearms are about level with the ground, my elbows are comfortably bent and relaxed, and I feel like I have good control with the new bars. Also, being slightly leaned forward tucks you under some of the air turbulance coming over the stock windscreen and when I relax my elbows, they naturally tuck into my body so the wind is further reduced.

I had to adjust the brake and clutch levers after I arrived home because the master cylinder hydrolic line colar touched the black plastic on the side of the plastic ring that attaches to the fuel tank. This worked fine and actually leveled the master cylinder from the tilted install I had initially. Now the sight window is level and straight. There is about 1/4" between the plastic ring and the windshield when turned lock-to-lock. Everything is clear and not rubbing or touching. I could have adjusted the break line, but that would mean disturbing that seal and I'm not interested in bleeding the brakes for this simple mod. My cheap eBay bar end mirrors mounted without incident.

I like the result, but I can imagine the most would fine the extra reach annoying. I also like the white color of the new bar, but that's just me. It's not a perfect color match for the Suzuki white, but it's close enough for the girls I know. I don't have access to my Photobucket account from work, so I can't post pictures. Sorry.

Only problem that I have is that I won't be able to re-install my BarkBusters because there isn't enough room for the mounting brackets, but that's ok because my new gloves have been providing all the protection my hands have needed, so I'll be looking to sell my BarkBusters. They're a little scratched up from drops, but still have lots of life in them, so that should'nt be an issue.

The new bars look good and work great.

__________________
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone and I must follow if I can." J.R.R. Tolkien
DL650AL
LIMNCS #51
Shiro Nakama Shichi #007

Can you please post a couple of pics when you get a chance?

__________________
The destination is not important, only the ride there...

Current bike: 2009 VStrom 650

Previous bikes: Hondas - '65 305 Scrambler; '81 900F; '98 1100 Shadow ACE; '03 VTX 1800C; Kawasakis - '05 Concours; '08 KLR650; '01 Vulcan 1500 Classic

Here's da evidence:







You can see in the last photo that the clearance is pretty close, but there is no contact. I am looking forward to further testing/riding.

__________________
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone and I must follow if I can." J.R.R. Tolkien
DL650AL
LIMNCS #51
Shiro Nakama Shichi #007