Getting things to work was a bit of a trial. I wanted to keep the stock heated grips and also add a set of Acerbis Rally Pro handguards. The stock handgrips came off with no problem at all -- the throttle side slides off easy once you disconnect the throttle cable, and the clutch side is secured with two small machine screws (not with glue). After dismantling the existing bar clamps and getting all the controls off the bars, I installed the bar adapters to allow the 28mm bars to fit onto the 22mm clamps on the head. The adapters didn't quite fit so I had to file down a couple of sections (no more than a couple millimeters anywhere). After that, the base of the adapter attaches securely to the head -- this also provides about 3/4" of rise for the bars.
 Screws holding the clutch-side grip in place |
 Adapter clamps for the larger bars |
The existing heated grips run their power cables inside the handlebars then out through a small hole at the center of the bars, between the clamps. I cut the power cables for the grips where they enter the center of the bars, and attached SAE connectors so I could re-attach them easily. Because the handguards attach to the ends of the bars with a 3-inch bolt inside an expansion sleeve, I couldn't run the cables for the grips inside the bars. To make matters worse, the cables for the grips run into the bars at the far ends of the bars instead of towards the center. This meant I couldn't simply run the power cables around the controls and down the bars, unless I wanted the cables to run over the grips. I ended up cutting small holes in the grips near the ends so that the cables could go outside the bars instead of inside.
I mounted the controls and grips (with dangling power cables) and secured the bars to the clamp adapter. I had to snip the wires to the ABS disable switch -- the cover that the switch is on won't fit on the clamp adapter because the bolts are farther apart than on the existing clamps. I used two of the bolts from the stock bar clamps for the front bolt on each clamp. These bolts have a 13mm socket head that is tapped for what I think are M5 machine screws to hold the ABS switch mount. I replaced the stock clamp cover with one I made from a 5" long section of 1" x 1/8" steel bar stock from the local hardware store. That bar attaches to the clamps using two of the torx screws that thread into the forward two bolts in the bar clamps. Onto that bar I mounted a momentary (spring loaded, so it stays open unless you hold it closed) switch to replace the stock ABS switch.
 New ABS disable switch |
 New ABS disable switch mounted on the mini-dashboard |
With the handlebars basically mounted, I added the Acerbis handguards. I had to get a different set of mounting brackets for these because the ones that come with the guards are for 7/8" bars. Acerbis makes a kit for larger bars, and that kit works very well. There's not quite enough room on the 22mm-diameter sections of the bars to mount the grips and control clusters. The grips overhang the ends of the bars by about 3/8" and the handguards have about a 1/8" section that goes inside the bars. I used a 1/4" long section of PVC pipe as a spacer to keep the handguards from coming in direct contact with the grips. Because the handguards go about 3" into the ends of the bars, I don't think this will compromise strength too much, though it's possible that the bolt running into the expansion sleeve will shear off. It's an M6 bolt so I suppose you could get a high strength bolt to replace it with if you're paranoid.
 PVC spacer on the clutch side, the one on the throttle side is not as wide |
The handguards are a tight fit with all the controls and the brake and clutch lines (especially the brake line). Everything does actually fit, and I didn't have to use a longer brake line. I had to drill two small holes in the bars on the clutch side to secure the grip. I don't think this compromised the structure of the bars, at least not by much.
I ran the cables for the heated grips from the ends of the bars back to the center by running them along the inside edge of the handguards. This actually worked out pretty well, and keeps the cables from running over the grips, which would have been really annoying.
 Heated grip cables run along the inside of the guards |
On the throttle, I had to leave some slack in the cable so I could still rotate the throttle:
 Rotating the throttle takes up the slack |
The handguards do hit the dash when steering is turned all the way to the left or right, but the dash moves a bit and when steering is locked right or left, it doesn't seem to be too bad. The dash moves enough that I don't think it will break if I crash -- hopefully I'll never have to test that theory.
 Kissing the dash with the guards |
The finished setup is pretty nice.
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