Rear crash bars fitted ............................ 2004 Suzuki VL800

Just fitted these

They look bloody fantastic Martin, what a difference they make   

Which ones are they, do you have a link to those particular ones?

Looking good Martin. Custom seats or covers? Whose please?

I can see lots of others adding them now, they are awesome. reminds of bikes when I was a kid, Rear crash bars really do make bikes look more complete but I think they went out of fashion but stuff like that on cruisers never should

  These are the ones from metric cruisers got one for the front too fit that tomorrow  

They look rather excellent, crash bars fitted to the back as well as the ones you are planning to fit to the front could potentially make the difference between a scratch and the scrap yard. Plus they will look very fitting and in keeping with the cruiser, nice one.   
That is another something for the to do list.

Kevin the seat is a slightly modified original & recovered by Tony Archer @ Huddersfield!!   
Dave that to do list must be growing faster than you can mod  

They look great Martin  

Cheers Sim Santa fetched em,  Happy new year to you & Jo see you when the weater improves  

Happy new year to you and Linda too  I'll look forward to meeting up and casting my eye over your new shiny bits  

good news as well if you order them from metric & quote suzuki800.com you get ten percent discount
can't get better than that    & service from Jon was fantastic!

Nice mate, looked at these myself but they stick out way too much further than my panniers and would look a bit daft on mine.
Still want some front ones though .... Santa brought me new riding kit this year rather than accessories !

look good Santa thinks someone was a good boy this year lol.

Those rear bars you have fitted are an excellent mod, they do look very good.

Martin if I may can i ask you for some measurements on your rear bars?

What is the distance between pannier frame mount & the crash bar? 
I take it the bars are 25mm diameter by the way?
What is the distance from the footrest mounting bolt to the crash bar, if that is where the bar fits to?
What is the gap between the silencer & the bottom of the crash bar?

The reason i ask is I'm looking to fit some to my 2010 C800 but Jon at Metric said the would not fit my year due to the silencers being higher but Mr Intruder says there is no difference so we were puzzled & seeing as you have them fitted I'm taking the opportunity to ask these questions before I buy any.
Any & all help would be gratefully recieved by myself & possibly anyone else looking to fit the bars.

Regards, Peter   

ps. 
Your seats are almost exact replica's of the ones I had done recently by Tony except the back one on my bike is almost twice the width now as Rosie likes something to sit on not be cut in half by lol!

Peter i'll probably be able to take some measurments on Sun morning & yes they do mount behind the foot rests  & the top one on the front of mudguard mount, & the rear seat on my bike is almost twice as wide as the original one Linda said it was to narrow the first time she sat on it hence the mod!!

Martin thanks for that most appreciated.
Ah then Tony had done what we wanted before, bloody good job as well & most comfortable!
I thought it looked as the top bar was fixed between the pannier frame mount & the rear mudguard strip.
The bottom one also.

Look amazing, cant wait for mine to arrive, from the Cheq republic. (fingers crossed)
Metric wasn't doing them when I ordered mine. Bugger.  
Lost out on the 10% discount.

Job well done. Can you do a pik, so we can see the whole bike please. Ty

Peter to be totally honest I am with you 100%, I would take no bloody chances at all as there does seem to be some confusion amongst different retailers and I can't find any differences on microfiche. Good shout with getting your own confirmation of measurements from an independent source.
They will fit though.    

Peter sorry for the delay with the measurements last few weeks have been crazy to much running around to hospitals my mum broke her hip, but anyway your message gave me the kick i needed, so hope these help, the bars protrude 70cm, distance from footrest to bar 9cm centre, same at the top to the saddlebag mounting point, hight between mounts 20cm distance from exhaust to bars 2.5cm i'll do a drawing later so it maybe more clear.

Martin I'm sorry to hear the news of your mum breaking her hip, it's not the sort of thing that mends overnight especially in the elderly!
As for 'kicking' you it was'nt meant that way just a gentle nudge that's all mate.
Yes a brief sketch would be useful to us all I think so we know exactly which measurement is which.  

Martin I've just realised that you state that you state the bars are protruding 70cm? 
Is this overall or each as 70cm equals about 28" or is it 35cm 14" either side?

Looking at the pictures Martin posted, I'd have said 35cm either side Peter.

Thats what i estimated Sim as my bags are possibly wider than his & I guessed 35cm was about right to cover them overall.

Hope this helps any more questions just ask i'll do my best

Thanks Martin for that, it does explain things a lot better to me at least now.
I may ask Jon to let me try a set out on my 2010 C800 as he reckons they wont fit as the silencers are higher than previous years for some reason but according to Dave(MrI) they are all the same, strange?
Still now we have your original pictures & this picture we may be able to extend the range of models they can fit to?   

I would love some proper clarification here to as I can see no reason why they won't fit. Unless I have completely missed something bloody obvious because I would love some.

Dave I'll fone Jon in the morning & see what he says ok? If he says ok then we'll see what he will do as to letting me have a pair, if not well I don't know so will have to possibly buy a pair then if they do not fit I'll have to sell them on?

Yeah would be good to actually know a difference for fact rather than simply just being told it. I will have to do a search of the parts changes again because this is doing my bloody head in. I am also going to contact Suzuki.

ok Dave no probs mate & will let you know what Jon says ok?

Peter give them a ring when i ordered mine Jon said i could return them if they did'nt fit & don't forget the discount! 

Hi all. 
Well I think i've gotten to the bottom of the mystery at last! Bear with me though ok!
This morning I spoke to Phil at Metric who after I'd asked him about the bars he offered to send me the bars & if they did not fit to send them back free of charge. 
I chewed this over for a couple of hours & decided to bite the bullet & do just that, nothing lost but a lot gained possibly?
This afternoon I rang back & ordered, Phil took the order & I paid up, done deal sale or free return!
Minutes later he rang me back & said that he'd spoken to the brains behind the organisation, Jon, & the reason they may not fit is the 2010 on silencers/mufflers are supposed to be a larger diameter & not higher up as Jon had told me before!
So I was offered the option of cancelling or simply trying to fit them, so they're on the way & may arrive tomorrow at the earliest!
I have been down to look at the bike & do a few measurements & except for the silencer/muffler distance measurements I think they will fit, BUT I shall know properly when they arrive & I've actually got them on the bike!!!
I do have the added problem of having rear Kuryakyn footboards fitted but If I'm right(?) I think they will just miss them & the silencer/muffler.
Watch this space!

That sounds promising to give you an extra idea we need someone with a earlier bike model than yours to measure their pipe around to see

Martin has an 04 model so waybe he will do us the favour eh Martin? Pretty please or someone else out there may be able to help?
Marcin how about yours?

Hi Peter just measured mine circumference is 30cm dia 9cm, bear in mind mine's an american import, hope this clears things up

Thanks Martin. I think they are basically all the same but we're having a check with anybody who can answer so we get a basic idea. Hopefully the bars will be here today so I can try to fit them tomorrow & then we'll know if they fit all years or not as Metric want to know also!

Hi all, just got back from PTS assessment so am not in too happy a mood but simply to say that the crash bars arrived whilst I was out. 
Unfortunately the packaging was a little damaged but the bolts & spacers were still all there but no instructional help but I'm able to work it out anywaysup but it may be a help to the less mechanical of us out there.
the general look of the bars is very well constructed, 6mm plate at the base & a slightly smaller(4mm) at the top with excellent welding onto 25mm tube all of which is very well chromed.
Tomorrow morning I shall endeavour to fit the silencer side bar & see what the outcome will be?
By the way the silencers are 32cm in circumference so we may be on a loser here guys but I think a slight mod by the suppliers would be an easy one to do.
Watch this space!

An additional 2cm in diameter is nothing, that would only be a couple of MM extra in width with pipes that size

Smart has given a measurement of 30cm diameter and 9cm width. If the exact measurement of 30cm is correct then the exact width would be 9.54mm. If peardrops measurement is correct at 32cm in diameter then that would give an exact width of 10.18mm. That means that the difference is less than an additional millimeter per pipe in height

Just fitted right side rear crash. Took about 15 mins. There is a good 25mm clearance
Between crash bar and pipes.

Good... now get your ass in gear with eagle measurements LOL      

Crash thats what I'm hoping mate so we'll see tomorrow when I get my self sorted.

Aaron glad they fit ok mate, will see what happens when i fit mine, oh i did comment on your other post to this as well ok. Can I ask what circumference your mufflers are as well Aaron? :cmate: 

If Metrics wont fit I'm going to do a movable link cut out & send that back to them so they can get there ones altered for the bigger mufflers.

Marcin stop bugging Aaron it's not like you have a time problem lol!  

Arron that the same as mine then i have 25mm between the pipes and bars too just hope the outcomes same the for Peter  

Well guys the jury has come back & the bars are FITTED! 
Not much problem except the distance between the bar & the silencer/muffler is just 1/8"(0.125inch) or about 3mm but there is a gap!
The first fit did no go well as the spacer Metric supplied is too thick & pushes the bar downwards into the muffler so after a think I decided that 2 washers was enough to pack out the bar away from the frame chrome trim & to lift the bar away from the muffler to stop chafing.
Please do note that the bars must be inboard of the sissy bar/pannier frame bars & next to the chrome frame trim as if you fit them the other way they will hit the muffler & not fit at all!
once I had re-fitted the Kuryakyn footboards & foortrest bracket assembly & tightened everything up It was noticable that the gap as I stated above was now there, close I know, but I can live with it.
I then re-fitted my pannier's & as I'd estimated prior, they fit into the bars exactly & overlap the ends by about 1-1/4", do note though that Martins bags are slim ones in his pictures above were as mine are very large ones.
I am very happy with the fit & look but would have liked another 1/4" or so gap but as I said there is a gap & I have thought that I may try a bit of persuasion with the muffler by getting the bike upright & rigidly mounted & simply putting a little weight on the top behind the bars so I can bend the muffler down a little I hope with purely my weight bending the mount or the muffler?
So on Monday I shall be phoning Metric & giving my thoughts to the guys & suggest a small re-positioning of the holes in the mounting plates of 1/8" to 1/4" downwards to give just that bit more space between the bars & the muffler.
Fitting time should be estimated at about 40 minutes from start to end if you have ordinary footrests fitted.
I do apologise if this has been a bit long winded & has taken a couple of month's to sort but it's done now, oh & by the way the cost from Metric was £111- inclusive of group discount so very good value also.
This has given me something to do today & has focused my thoughts for a short while so I may do a few more things now like sort the VS1400 conversion out I have to do, fit my h/bar grips, spotlights & the Stebel horn set up etc in the next week or two & get my head working properly again.

So I was right, thank the lord for that ot I would had to keep my head down.    

I've spoken & written a report to Metric Dave who were glad of the feed back & my suggestions for a simple alteration to the hole placement to accomodate the larger mufflers on the later 2010 models from the earleir models. 
30cm circumference as against 32cm circumference hence the small gap between the bar & the muffler.
Hope this report was ok for you & the group?

Nice one Pete.

I had to go the other way on when fitting the bars. Sissy, crash then bag mount. Otherwise I
would of have to fitted another spacer behind the sissy bar bolt at the back to make it all flush. 

But then as i have after market pipes, there isnt much of an issue with the clearance.

I think they look bloody good, just a shame that the pannier bags seem to swallow them up. 
Ive kept my bags off for the mo, as i think they look sexier on there own.

Top Mod

Arron here's the pics of the whole bike

Looking god Martin! Looking good   Roll on Spring!  

Your bike looks enviable Martin, very impressed.