ape hangers

i am new to the xj sight just purchased an xj two days ago i want to put ape hangers on it but not rake the front end because i like its stance already does anyone have a link or company that they could recommend to get a set of ape hangers that will fit my 1982 xj650

 

Any 7/8th inch bars will do the trick. motorcyclesuperstore.com and bikebandit.com are 2 place that you can look. I'm sure other people will post other places you can look. Remember you will also have to get longer cables and hoses for throttle, breaks, and clutch. If your changing out break hose look into steel braided break lines. Chacal carries stock cables and hoses/lines and might have access to longer ones.

 

thanks gurgie i'm already liking this forum lotsa help so far

 

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO USE 1 INCH BARS SEEMS TO BE MORE AVAILABLE

 

Well, you'd need custom bar clamps (1in to 7/8), or a custom top triple clamp to accept the 1in bars.

There are some bars that taper from 1in to 7/8 (at the grips), so if you find a set of them you will be able to use the XJ controls, otherwise it's HD or some Jap cruisers use 1in (I think). Either way, that's a world of pain 8O

Best off trying to find 7/8 bars methinks - you could probably get a machine shop to bend up a set out of stainless if you can't buy some off the shelf :wink:

 

Sorry...just gotta ask.
FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE......WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO PUT APE HANGERS ON AN XJ??????
There..I feel better!

 

Personally, I'd ask that about any bike, unless, of course,the rider happens to be an orangutan ...

 

I put mini-ape hangers (12") on my new bike because it put my hands and arms in a more comfortable position, keeps me sitting upright more (better for my back) and positions my mirrors for a quick sideways glance to see what's there rather than having to look down and to the side to do it.

The really tall ape-hangers (16+") that put your hands above your shoulder height don't make any sense to me at all other than the look, so I'd have to agree with you on those.

 

It's actually illegal over here to have bars that put your hand height above your shoulder height.

Doesn't stop the "brothers" from using them though.... :roll:

 

Made my bars myself. Sat on the seat with feet on the forwards and got in the most comfortable position I could and did some measuring. Ended up with 12" mini apes.
Stick with the 7/8" bars. EBAY has tons of them. Just too much to change out for 1" bars. Not worth it.

 

I have mini apes on my XJ on 4" risers. They give me a very comfortable arm position. My arms are straight out (OK maybe just a hair above my shoulders if I slouch back) I got handle bars off of an older Honda Goldwing, which have a 10-11" rise, so they worked out perfect.
12" apes will get you the same height as I have with the stock risers. I will never go back to the stock handelbars....ever. These are just what the doctor ordered!

 

because i am making a chopper out of it

 

WOW thanks for the great tips on ape hangers you know noone forces you to leave a comment if you have nothing helpful to add

 

awesome and thanks for the pic too it helps me decide on height

 

You are taking us too seriously. Take a valium dude ... Now if I am talking about those morons with the exhaust pipes that make one of those Kia Rio's bounce around on the pavement and knock the loose plaster off the walls, then yeah, you can take me seriously. ;-)

 

Well, first of all, let me apologize for jacking your thread. It was bad form. Just a gut reaction.
But, since you asked.......
I am a purist. A sport rider. I can't and don't understand why some people take a well-engineered performance machine and mangle it into a freakish circus contraption, doing their damndest to undo all the engineering and performance the original designers had in mind, with such abortions such as;
**ape hangers,
**hardtail bobbers,
**retarded exhaust configurations,
**extended forks,
**etc.
It's your bike and your thread. Do as you wish.

 

Kirk, it's great that you're a purist, and I'll never belittle you for it, but it's a bike. Two wheels and a motor. Not much else. That's what makes bikes great. Yeah, a rigid bobber may not have as good a ride as a twin shock swingarm set up may have, but you're not exactly comfortable on either one. Even with all the engineering from the factory, a 5'2" person is going to have quite a different ride than a 6'2" person on the same "engineered bike". That's why there's so many different sized bars available aftermarket. And when/if the day arrives that a blue haired old lady in a cage pulls out in front of me, am I to assume I would be less hurt if I my hands were wrapped around bone stock factory handle bars as opposed to ape hangers? People don't all have the same hair cuts. We don't all wear the same kind of clothes. So why should we all be riding the same cookie cutter bikes? If we wanted to blend in, we'd probably be in a car instead of on a bike anyway. If you are loking for "engineering and performance the original designers had in mind", might I suggest a Bentley or Roll Royce. That's some real engineering and performance.
And just because you can't and don't understand it, doesn't mean it's bad. I can't and won't understand quantam physics, but I'm not going to act so judgemental towards those that do and I'll do my best not to respond to the posts that are about quantam physics, because I already know I have nothing useful to add to the conversation.

 

"Well engineered performance machine"? What the....?
Who are you trying to kid? There is alot of room for improvement in these bikes (750 Seca for one) starting with that "anti-dive" front for set up which is worthless and actually dangerous in some cases. I removed mine and now it rides and acts like a normal bike. The wiring is a birds nest of confusion and some of the worst wiring I've had in any of my bikes. There's alot of room for improving the wiring to simplify it and make it dependable, unlike the way it come (ie: the fuse box mod)
The riding position sucks to say the least (for me) and has since been greatly improved with mods I am proud to say I made myself. There are very few bikes on the market that can be right for everyone. There's always some room for improvements on every bike.
I would have never purchase a 750 Seca brand new (too dam ugly and sat to high to put my feet on the ground) I got mine for just about nothing because I figured I'd have to make alot of mods to make it ridable. Now it's a better looking and alot better riding bike.
Do the mods you need to make it yours. You'll be happy when your done.

 

Painter, here here! I ride a BMW K1200 LT. New cost? USD $24,000. Mine is an '01 purchased for A WHOLE LOT LESS.

Here's the point: $24,000 and the guys never stop bitxhin' about the rider pegs being too high, the seat is so soft that they can only ride 500 miles in a day, it's so top heavy that it will lay down to take a nap at a moments rest, the headlights are crap, etc.

I have aftermarket peg lowerers which make the knee angle sooo much more comfortable, the seat feels like a million bucks to me (800 miles in 1 day), I replaced the headlight with an HID system, and I exercise extreme caution when I pull to a stop so she doesn't lay down on me.

This is a $24,000 machine! To make it "rideable" you have to spend $3500.

Motorcycles have been aftermarket modified since they were 2 round stone slabs held together by a tree branch! Part of the appeal I guess.

BTW, the LT has ape hanger handlebars too! In order to reach the handlebars they have to be nearly 15"long. It's just that they lay flat instead of sticking up in the air! !

One more thing, when did the "brothers" reach Australia?

 

Well Put PainterD...Do all the mods you want (safely) and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or says. I have 12" mini-apes plus 4" risers on my Maxim-X and they are the most comfortable fit I have ever had on a bike...including my Venture. I no longer get numb thumbs or tingling hands. Not everybody likes my bike in it's current configuration, but it was given to me in 3 cardboard boxes and a running frame, and compared to that, it is now a work of art (even if it is only in my mind). If I would have listened to everybody tell me what I should have done to it, the bike would still be in my garage stripped down to the bare frame. Go for it dude...your bike is for you, not anyone else.

 

We interrupt this broadcast for a special announcement:

I keep telling myself to shut the hell up, but I can't resist.
Don't take me wrong. I'm certainly not against modifications and making a bike fit you. Far from it! That's how grass-roots racing was invented and operated before the days of million-dollar factory sponsored race teams..
And if modifying your bike to your liking makes you a better rider....rip into it!
If removing the anti-dive makes you more confident...yank it out!
If changing and modifying the wiring gives you more confidence in your machine.....start snipping!
If your feet won't touch the ground....lower away!
If your bars are the wrong height or give you numbness....change them!
Here's my point of contention WRT the ape hangers- last summer I noticed this buffoon riding around here with his arms stretched so high over his head it looked like he was changing a light bulb. He couldn't return my two-fingered wave, because he couldn't take his monkey-looking arms off the grips. He would've crashed immediately. The forks were ridiculously extended and his feet stuck out in front of the engine on home-made Sanford & Son highway pegs. It was all he could do to ride in a straight line. Hardtail....no suspension. Huh?
Cool? To him, I suppose. To me he looked like a zoo exhibit.
Safe? Yeah, right. It was a suicide run anyway, what with the wife-beater, doo-rag and shades, and the Barcolounger-seating. He was leaving the parking lot of a bar.
So, when I speak of "performance engineering" I'm not talking zero-to-sixty, or tha "manufacturers know best". I'm speaking in terms of safe handling and responsible rider safety. Frankly, I don't care what anyone does to their own machine to make it better; make it their own. But don't we OWE it to the likes of folks like Bill to be the best, safest riders we can be? I'd like to think so, anyway.
But, since the original poster was a new owner, I just wanted to present the other side of the coin. Regrets are a dime-a-dozen. Especially when you're dead.
We now return you to your original programming.

 

Like I said, do the mods from a safety standpoint. If your not confident at working on your own bike, your have to have someone who knows what they're doing help you. I've worked on my bikes since before I can remember. The first thing to get is a shop manual (Haynes or Clymer, etc.) to show you basically how things work (or don't in some cases) It's just funny just how the manufacturers wire some of these bikes (and why they do it that way) Once you know how it's put together, it's alot easier to take it apart and fix it.
The manufacturers make bikes for the masses, and have to make them work for alot of different size people, who are riding with various intellengence levels, riding skills and for different reasons. Once you are lucky enough to find a bike that fits you, you'll probably find there is some things that you just don't like. If you don't, good for you and enjoy the stock ride. For me, there's always room for improvement.

 

I appreciate all the interest in the thread and as wonderful as it is to hear people argue about how to customize or lack of ,i was actually looking for info on diameter of bars and height of ape hangers.To the few that gave me that input as well as pics i do thank you it helped me alot to the others as much as i love hearing all your personal opinion on engineering and debates about how the manufacturers screwed it up ,i could have done without it but thanks for plastering my thread with absolute nonsense i didn't need.

 

Ah Obie Wan! Pragmatic XJrookie he is!

The good news is that in between the social/political/personal comments you were,in fact, able to get the answer you were looking for.

Welcome to XJBIKES.COM!!!

 

very true some helpful folks on here

 

Plus it's the internet.....you get free advice garnished with a bunch of opinions :lol:

You'll get your money's worth though :wink:

 

7/8 inch bars on the yamahas and pretty much all imported bikes. American bikes have 1 inch bars. Both sizes have plenty of options on different heigths and bar configurations on EBAY, as well as lots of assessories. Do your thing to your bike.

I know reading writen words aren't the same as hearing spoken words. You just can't hear the tone of voice a person uses. You can't feel the sarcasm or concern or joking manner in which someone writes something as opposed to hearing it. But, I was pretty sure Kirk had no safety concerns in the tone of his post. Seemed like a lot of "holier than thou" thumbing the nose snide comments directed towards anyone who dares to alter their bikes. Now that he has cleared the air,I guess I was wrong. The concern over a fellow rider's safety is so obvious and overwhelming now. I'm surprised being the great humanitarian that Kirk is, he didn't rush right over and stop the ape hanger guy who happened to be leaving the bar. I mean, afterall safety is first.

 

Maybe Kirk didn't want to get the snot beat out of him 8O

 

Maybe Kirk should just shut the f*ck up and mind his own business. 8)

 

Did you ever put ape hangers on this bike???

 

I've seen some really tall and nasty apes on a 700, looked beautiful, but for the life of me, i cannot think of how to search for it and find it....

 

I don't want anything too crazy..... and not big "looping" apes. I like the look of z-bars a lot. I am holding off picking anything up until I lower the ass of the bike and try to figure out how high I want my hands. Then I have to figure out how to attach the new bars. I can't find anything on here.