Handlebar Modification (with pics)

[yamahaman]

Greetings All from the Great White North!!!!

I have just been approved a week ago as a noob member of this great forum.
and have been given a wonderful old 1982 XZ 550. It is in ridable shape (but I am in very bad need of a fuel tank – 15 holes and counting!!!!) and ripe for customization. I  have been looking  at treedragon's threads and a lot of others as well. It is amazing what every one is doing to this bike.
I would like to contribute to the cause by showing everyone my version of a handlebar mod that I have come up with.
I love my bike but ever since I saw it I have hated the handlebar set up so I came up with this !!!!!!

Pic 1 – I started by cutting out a large amt. of the stock handlebar risers, saving the top
            and bottom parts           

Pic 2 – I cut the riser 50-55 mm measured from the top of the clamp and then I drilled a
             10 mm hole, 37-39 mm up the riser measured from the top of the clamp as well.


Pic 3 – I cleaned up the clamp end and filed the sides of it so it fits in the bottom riser
             part. I locate the split in the clamp down when it is welded to the riser.

Pic 4 -  The only modifications I have done to the handlebar ends are drilling and
              retapping the end thread from 8mm to 10 mm ( for strength) and filing
             the splined end of the handle bar shorter by a few mm's so that the splined
              clamp is pinched between the riser and  the handlebar end when the bolt is
              tightened. (It's a bad  pic I know!!)

Pic 5 – This is showing the unit assembled. I am going to have a buddy of mine TIG the
             spline to the riser to hold it in place. The beauty of this set up is that it is VERY
             adjustable- the risers can be swapped from side to side to point forward or to the
              back. The handle bars can also be swapped from side to side to be raised or
               lowered(as they are not centered on the splines) as well as they can be rotated to
              suit your own personal taste.

Pic 6 – this is the opposite setup to the previous pic. (handlebar down, riser forward)

            I used a milling machine to finish the top of the risers and a lot of air tools to
            finish the project (including sand blasting and TIG ) but the majority( if not all) of
            the project can be completed with hand tools. Depending how much time and
             money you have.(I know we all have more money than time for mods like this)


Pic 7 – This is a pic of the spline clamps welded to the risers. I also ground off the
             locating pin on the clamp to allow the bars to be totally rotated.



I will send the rest in Pt.2 post

[yamahaman]

Here is the rest!!!



Pics  8&9 -  These are pics showing the tank clearance at full right and left lock.
                     just  enough room!!!! I originally tried the setup with the risers
                     pointed forward and the handlebars up but I found it was TOO far forward. I
                     swapped the risers to the rear position and that was waaaaay more comfy.
                     
Pic 10 - Here's my baby !!!!!! Looks very different and is very much better to drive!!!!!!!

Well, that's about it let me know if any one else has tried this or any other handlebar mod.
This is the first in a great many mods to make my great bike even better!!!

Cheers,
yamahaman

[dingleberry]

I'm not sure I would trust the cast alloy that much myself under hard braking. It may be OK tho, and if it is top marks.

Welcome to the forum

[Jimustanguitar]

The 82 and 83 risers are different dimensions. I believe that the 83's are about 2" shorter. How much lower would you say that your mod is compared to the 83?

Looks nice!

[Fuzzlewump]

I like this idea very much! Simple, straightforward, final product looks very adjustable to suit taste. Looks nice, too.

I don't know much about metals but I would think that shortening the risers as you've done would give them more strength as opposed to less (it's harder to break a short rod than a long one).

I'm also curious how low they sit compared to original or the 83's?

[luvs2dune]

If you are still looking for that gas tank there are two on eBay right now 8)

[Rikugun]

Looks like a fairly stout attachment. Is that a coarse or fine thread 10mm bolt? Is the choke lever as close to the tank at full lock as it looks or is that just a camera perspective thing?

[Jimustanguitar]

Is the choke lever as close to the tank at full lock as it looks or is that just a camera perspective thing?

I wondered about that too. You could probably pivot the control pod just a touch to open the gap.

[yamahaman]

hello all!!!

Thanx for the support.....this modification lowers the handlebars about 3" and I did cut out a 2" section of riser.

The bolt I used was 10mmx1.5 mm thread(coarse)

I think this mod will be stronger than stock just from the less leverage aspect.

the controls are close to the tank but I think in my excitement to put it together i may have been1 spline out
(and I could rotate the control panel as well.

[Ken Williams]

For me, this handlebar positioning appears to be an improvement on the stock 82 position.  However, I have concerns similar to "the oldstuff".  The connection of the clamp to the riser doesn't look very strong.   I would prefer to see weld further around the clamp in pic 7 to spread the stress out to more metal.  Of course, if you go too far it won't clamp.  A washer or properly shaped piece of sheet metal under the 10mm bolt would be good also. 

[QBS]

Welcome to the group.  I've never needed to do what I'm going to suggest so I guarantee nothing.  But, it's worth a shot and shouldn't cost much.  I got this idea from a BMW board several years ago.  I POR treated my unrusted '83 tank 20 years ago and it still functions as new.  POR has an excellent reputation throughout the automotive and motorcycle hobby communities.

Acquire a POR 15 fuel tank liner kit. 

Plug the fuel petcock attachment holes.  Protect the petcock attachment threads in the tank from the POR coating material.  Temporarily block the perforated areas of the tank so that the POR tank preparation liquids can't leak out during the preparation process.

Prepare your tank interior for coating as per the POR instructions.  Adding assorted screws, nuts, and bolts to the tank and shaking very well is helpful for removing internal rust and scale. Stop short of pouring in the actual coating material.

Sand the outside of the tank around all areas that are perforated. The point is to reveal the full extent of the perforations.

Stuff cotton into all perforations while leaving some of it exposed on the outside of the tank.  Do not pack the cotton in so tightly that the POR coating material can't fully soak into and through the cotton.  The POR coating material is pretty thin in viscosity. You want the cotton to end up being max saturated with it.  The purpose of the cotton is to provide a matrix to hold the POR and allow it to plug the perforations while providing a contiguous POR coating inside the tank.

Complete the coating process as per the POR instructions. Allowing the POR coating material to puddle inside the tank is OK. Make certain that the cotton is fully saturated and that the POR coating material is visible on the outside of the tank.

Let the tank sit for 2 weeks in a warm environment.  Do not cut short the curing process time, especially if coating material puddling was allowed. 

The POR coating material cures to a hard, ceramic like surface.  Gently sand the exposed, and now hardened, POR/cotton matrix flush with the tank surface.

Add a small amount of fuel to the tank to check for leaks.

[yamahaman]

The welded connection of the clamp to the riser is not meant to be totally welded... it only locates the handlebar on the riser. It is also wedged into it.
I don't use the stock pinch bolt to lock the handle bar to the clamp. The strength of the connection is in the handlebar clamping the spline to the riser with the bolt.(which is why I ground a few mm's off the end of the handlebar.

I did use a SAE washer on the bolt(because a fender washer wouldn't fit).
I think it is a good idea to put a plate on the bolt side to further strengthen the connection. I will probably do that at a later date. Thanx

[dingleberry]

Just had another look at pics, missed the welded spacer first look. My concerns are the thin bit of (shit)metal that the bolt goes through.

If a spacer/packer was made up to go under bolt head and bridge the "I-beam" the strength would be good I think providing good quality bolt is used.

Just my opinion, I'm no expert. ;)   

[Ken Williams]

The riser is essentially an I-beam.  The load path for the original design utilizes the entire cross-section of the I-beam.  This modified design depends on the less strong web section to get stress to the flanges of the beam.  My main concern is that the stressed section of the web may break out.  If you weld a backer plate to the inside of the risers, attached to the flanges, I will be confident a handlebar would not come off in your hand. 

Additionally, since the spline is not clamped, the bars may rotate little bit within the open clamp.  Over time, this may loosen the 10mm bolt.  Use locktite.