Straight handlebars for Suzuki M800

Hi. I want to change my current handlebars to straight black ones, but want to keep the same ride height for the bars. Would I need to get some risers? If so what size etc? Any feed back would be appreciated.

if you want them to be the same take a messurement of how hi your hand grips are above your risers and how far back they are from your risers if you find it a bit tricky get someone to hold a spirit level level at the hight of your risers then messure how far back they are (hand grips) and do likewise to see what hight they are .if you want strait bars (dead strait) then they wont have a pullback so you'll have to think about getting them back with a riser that curves back towards you (when sitting on bike) you might find that the ones that go back the most are the taller ones not sure if this will be any help maybe if you posted a pic of the bars you plan on getting people could have an idear of what your 'l need and let you know if they spot risers that should do the job . or maybe you could get the bars with the risers on all ready (t bar) all the best

sorry had tryed to post a link but it dident work so i edited my post and put this

Hi Louise as Morgan says you would have to post a pic if poss,but I do not think you would get the pullback you require.I think the pull back on the m800 is about 5".You could go and get straight bars/drag bars with fitted risers but they would need to have a bend in the risers to compensate.If it for looks alone to try the position out with the help of another pair of hands, take your bars off,and get a straight tube or brush handle cut it to 36" first, and place it in your risers to try it out,you can always cut an 1" or 2" off to shorten it.Bars are a preference thing,only you know how they feel,but this is a cheap way to find out.Good luck on your quest.

Thanks for the replies. I do like the look of the T Bars but wasn't sure if there would be enough room for the speedo in between the t bars.

i like these:

right if its 5 inch pull back i'm pritty sure you can get risers with 3 inch pull back (defo) on ebay and other places i think they do 4 inch pull back risers aswell again ebay and other places the bars you had at the top of your selection must come back an inch lookin at the photo so you'd get the rite pullback out of something like that then you'd just have to sort out thre hight .the second set of bars (window) are dead strait so if there not pullback enough you could always put taller strait risers on and tilt the bars back to get youer pullback . and number three nice bars i'd like to see someone fit them upsidedown (if you can) be different as everyone mounts them the same way . theres so many risers and bars to chooz from i'm sure you'll find something that fits and looks the way you want it good luck

I've got a chrome set of these on order



LINK

They are 6" rise and 6" pullback.

Thanks again for your help

You will need sufficient rise so that the bars do not hit the wide tank.
Also be aware that without the width of the original bars the cruiser wheel flop problem at low speeds will be more cumbersome.

CycleBiker wrote:

Also be aware that without the width of the original bars the cruiser wheel flop problem at low speeds will be more cumbersome.

? Its a Cruiser with very little rake, why would straight bars create wheel flop that is associated with extended rake?

Mr Intruder wrote:

CycleBiker wrote:

Also be aware that without the width of the original bars the cruiser wheel flop problem at low speeds will be more cumbersome.

? Its a Cruiser with very little rake, why would straight bars create wheel flop that is associated with extended rake?

Why Do you think it has very little rake? Virtually all cruisers have an appreciable rake and trail compared to "standards". When one motorcycle magazine turned the Suzuki 650 single into a cafe racer they raised the rear and lowered the front to improve the rake and trail for better handling. I put shorter straighter bars on my VL800 and I really have difficulty with the wheel flop at low speeds.

The reason I say it has very little rake is because for a cruiser it is has a very standard rake and we should not compare it to "standards".
To be comparing an example of a different bike such as the Suzuki 650 that was turned into a cafe racer is pointless, when put in the same context as Louise and her M800.
Wheel flop would be easy to understand with an extended rake and thin front wheel but not on a factory standard M800 with hardly any rake and a fat front wheel, from only adding straight bars. Adding straight bars to the M800 is a very common modification & I will happily find ten examples of M800 owners from sites around the world that have put straight bars on there bikes without a reported issue, for every one that you or anyone else can find that has reported wheel flop due to only adding straight bars.
We need to keep examples in context so as not to unduly warn or concern members looking for constructive advice!

I was doing some wandering on the handlebal subject myself and came across this site http://www.brcustomcycles.com/MEASURING_NEW_BARS_UP.php it has a decent explanation as to how to measure pullback and rise of your existing setup and how to measure up for want you want.

Thats a very good link with lots of info and good video's

Just a point of interest,can you eleborate on the term "wheel flop" it is an expression I have not heard of.

Ok lets try to make some sense of this. The trail is the distance between the center of the contact patch of the front wheel on the ground and the point where the "virtually" elongated steering axis meets the ground. Since the contact patch is usually after the steering axis, this establishes a positive trail, whenever the laden bike is leaned, the weight of the bike sitting on the contact patch, effectively turns or flops (wheel flop) the front wheel in the leaned direction. Eliminate trail and the flop disappears because the contact patch is now centred along the steering axis offering no leverage to turn the wheel. Additional weight over the front wheel such as by having a more forward handle bar position such as Louise is going for, in some circumstances can intensify "flop" on trail laden bikes but this is much more so intensified with a thinner tyre more often associated with choppers than Cruisers such as the C or M800 & again intensified with exaggerated trail. Wheel flop can be an issue with laden touring bikes & can be noticed more or less depending on how the geometry of the bike is laid out. For example, it's possible to have two different bikes with the same trail, one with a shallow head angle and lots of fork rake and another with a steep head angle and minimal rake. Of the two bikes the one with a shallow head angle and lots of fork rake will tend to show signs of flop significantly more than the other bike. However because of the minor or standard rake, depending on how you look at it of the Intruder & that fat front wheel, adding straight bars is not known for causing wheel flop.

So correct me if I am wrong, ok ok nothing new there. if you have all of these extended trail and a handle bar hand position that is over or closer to the triple tree & skinny wheels you will have a bigger chance of getting wheel flop

Still not sure what wheel flop is

It's when a bike turns faster than expected.
Its called wheel flop because the bike is flopping over causing it to turn in an exaggerated fashion especially noticed as speeds get lower.

Thanks for coming back with a simple answer, now I understand what you were saying in the complicated answer

Mr Intruder wrote:

We need to keep examples in context so as not to unduly warn or concern members looking for constructive advice!

OK Here's some context. This is a question and answer in a M/C mag where a Honda VTX owner was experiencing disconcerting wheel flop. (Note that the VL800 has about a degree MORE rake than the VTX):

Flopping Ace
I immensely enjoyed the article last month on frame geometry and
handling. I have a 1998 Honda Shadow VT1100T A.C.E, which exhibits
all the classic cruiser handling characteristics described in the
article, which I appreciate for long cruises.

However, the bike has a nasty tendency to "flop" into a
turn. What I mean by that is, as you enter a turn, the bike tends to
suddenly drop in at a certain point, which dramatically increases the
turn - more than desired. I find I have to consciously be prepared
for this action, and either ready to supply resistance with my inside
hand, or better, counter it by pulling with my outside hand.

My question is, what factors of frame geometry would cause such
performance? I have brand new OEM tires and no modifications except
steel brake lines and such, that I wouldn't imagine would have any
effect.

My own guess is that the bike has a very high center of gravity,
especially with a full tank of gas. Can you comment on what might
cause the "flop" I'm experiencing, and if anything can be
done to fix it?
Cordell


Cordell, your "flop" is caused by something called
steering head drop; if you sit on your bike and turn the handlebars
from left to right and see that the steering head rises and falls as
the fork rotates, the distance it falls is called 'drop'. It's
accentuated by rake, so the more rake a bike has-and cruisers
typically have generous amounts-the greater the drop.

As the fork drops, it tends to steer, or as you so accurately
described it, "flop" the bike into the turn. It also makes
you work a little harder to pick the bike up again as you exit the
turn, because you must lift the mass against the portion of the
bike's weight supported by the steering head. The effect can be (and
usually is) exacerbated when the bike has high center of gravity,
simply because the weight acts like a pendulum.

As far as frame geometry, lots of rake and/or a high steering
head (which, as an aside, is sometimes necessary just so the
handlebars can clear the fuel tank) are the prime culprits but,
unfortunately, without a cutting torch or modified triple clamps,
there's not a whole lot you can do about either.

My experience is that with shorter straighter bars it is harder to hold against the flop.

Different folks different strokes, same with bikes.
As mr I says the intruder bikes are not known for this problem so although the article was interesting as was what mr I wrote, are we not finding problems elsewhere that are not really very relevant with this bike and Louise in this instance which is the issue we should be consentrating on

OMG ! I hope my intruder doesn't get floppy lol these things will never get sorted until someone try''s it, then all will be clear.

Straight bars are common on the m without reported issues so I can't even work out why it was mentioned in the first place. Seems a bit like over egging the pudding to me

Actually it was short (narrow) bars that was mentioned and was probably a fair enough warning for anyone that is wanting to change their bars, however it seems to have gotten a lot more mileage than required as no-one was talking about reducing the width of the bars. I can somehow imagine that riding an Intruder with Cafe Racer bars would be a bastard around town and look pretty strange to boot.

icetechaus wrote:

Actually it was short (narrow) bars that was mentioned and was probably a fair enough warning for anyone that is wanting to change their bars,

The original quote presumed that there was already a wheel flop issue without any text from Louise to lead to that presumption.


Here are a couple of examples of drag bars on the M800, its all a matter of personal taste but I like them

I stand rebuked.

Rebuked, now thats a fine word. Although I hope not.

After reading these write ups about FLOP it has shone some light on the experience I had with my Goldwing 1500, when it was fully loaded with luggage and 2 up on turning at low speed it tended to do this flopping which until now I had never heard of.

Both opinions in this tread are valid and none should be discarded as there is good information in both views and food for thought. After all this is a forum where opinions and views should be aired and bebated.

Well said Ray!   talking about flop has anyone herd about the new viagra small tad you put in your eye    make's you look hard

I agree very much with Pledge, although the opinions have been very different on the discussion of wheel flop on Barky's M800 from both Mr I and Cyclebiker it has been absolutely riveting. For me this is where forums like this really come in to there own, when two obviously very intellegent and well informed members have a head to head without bad attitude or silly insults coming in to play, just lots & lots of very interesting facts.

Cyclebiker & Mr I

Well i've gone ahead & orderd some Highway Hawk Drag Style bars which are shorter then the current ones & some risers to give me an extra inch as i'm a short ass!! So when i have it all done i'll let you know what its like.

Thanks for all your help. I'd be stuck without the forum

Great this will be interesting

Well done Louise, it is always nice to see people make their rides their own.I went the other way,and put bigger bars on,sound investment.