Gone are the Buckhorns.

So who has changed out the buckthorns for standard bars on their maxim? Has it changed the way the bike handles in the twisties?

 

changing the bars wouldn't change the way the bike handles, just your perception of the handling due to the change in leverage and hand position.
if you went to a much shorter bar you are going to have to apply more pressure to effect your turns/cornering, inversely, longer bars less pressure.

 

i think that's called a change in how it handles.....?
weight distribution changes, body position changes, your outlook on life changes, your tank gets dented, your master cylinder doesn't fit right anymore, all sorts of things

 

So I rode it today with a set of stright bars from a xs400. Love it. Polock I agree if less effort is needed to flick it into and out of the turn then it changed the way it handles. All of my bikes had buck horns on them so this is my first experance with this setup. I ride this 650 in a "spirited manner" and this mod was a good one. Not thinking I'll change the xs1100 over but who knows. Also I'll be looking for a different clutch purch and a different mastercylinder to make the mirrors look right but that's the fun of changing stuff.

 

I'm in the process of doing this. The short list:

Emgo Euro style handlebars. (E-bay)
Shortened and soldered wiring for both controls, front brake switch and neutral switch.
Rebuilt m/c from a Seca 650.(E-bay)
Mailed existing maxim upper ss brake line to Len to be shortened and re-clocked
New clutch and throttle cable for a Seca 650. (Len)
Re-routed existing maxim choke cable. The Seca 650 cable is too short for my set up.
Rebuilt left clutch perch from a Seca 650. (E-bay)

e-mail from Len said brake line has been shipped. I will post pics when it's all test fitted.

Gary H.

 

Double post deleted.

Gary H.

 

I also went with some euro style handle bars. Its a bit of a different riding style vs. the stocks bars. I feel thats its a little more of a comfy and little more fun to ride compared to stock. imo

 

The cables, clutch perch and m/c from a Seca 650.

My homemade soldering jig.

Wrapped these puppies with electric tape, did a test fit and hooked up the juice. Everything works as it should.

Gary H.

 

Dude, that's a lot of wasted solder.
I love the jig. Cheap and effective.

 

Yeah,...I know. Thanks. Very cheap (from the wife's arts and crafts bin) and very effective.

Gary H.

 

To be fair...you should have seen the first weld I ever made. To call it at booger is a gross understatement.

 

Lol. I think 99% of us would say the same thing. I know mine sure did. Actually, most of that came from tinning the iron before each touch and I think this is the last one of everything I did that evening. Still a waste tho.

Gary H.

 

you are using electronic solder and not plumbing solder I hope. if you have core flux and plumbing solder it can cause problems its a different kind of flux

your splice does look good

 

It's electronic (rosin core .062). Thanks for the comment.

Gary H.

 

I don't mean to hijack but I'm putting the same handlebars on my 650 Maxim. I finally got the point of a roller yesterday and sat on it for the first time. It feels like I am really reaching for those bars compared to the stock ones. Gary, have you ridden it yet? I too picked up the 650 turbo MC and clutch bracket. I'll probably be PMing you on the cable details as I have no idea what ones to order yet. You should add the part numbers in this thread, would be a great reference to a popular handle bar swap.

 

No, I'm waiting on the brake line from Len. It's on the way.

Cool.

We're not hjing. We're talking about what wingnut asked about.

Gary H.

 

I'm going to be looking for the mastercylinder and clutch purch. My cables and wires all look fine but the mirrors sit real funny. I may attempt some custom made mirror stalks.

 

Idk the bore size of the turbo m/c and perch and I think the m/c has a extra switch that's not used on the maxim. Iirc the Seca 600 has the same 14mm bore as the maxim. I have the non-turbo Seca 650 m/c (5/8 bore) and clutch perch on mine.

If you go with any style shorter bars the cables, wiring and upper brake line will be too long. And yeah, both the stock m/c and perch on the maxim are angled to accomodate the bucked bars.

Mocked up everything, took her for a short spin 2 days ago right before it started to rain and there's a definite...

but...

Gary H.

 

@jayrodoh: With the Seca set- up on the Emgo euro bars my mirrors don't allow me to see directly behind me. I'll probably get bar ends.

Gary H.

 

I am replacing the stock clip-on bars on my FJR with EMGO Classic bars. I bought an LSL adapter to change the clip-on triple to accept a 7/8" bar. The stock mirrors are similarly misplaced with the new EMGO bar. I am going to try using classic mirrors mounted to the clutch MC and brake MC.

 

Good to know on the mirrors, I'm hoping the MC and clutch bracket will allow for some mirrors in the correct place. The more I look at handlebars, I think the Classic set or one of the smaller buck horns would've been a better choice (more pullback). Once I get foot pegs on I'll mock up the bars and see how they work.

 

I re-adjusted the left mirror at the perch and now I can see directly behind me.

Here's the new mocked set-up this morning with her running. I took her out a couple times but the rain just won't stop. The handling is quit a bit different but I like it. I'll try to post better pics once the rain stop.She's filthy but she runs good. And yeah, I need to clean the garage.

Gary H.

Found a broke/missing header stud friday and spend the better part of yesterday after work fixing that.

 

Finding one is better than seven like I had

Thanks for the pics! I'm getting closer every day now that its warmer out and all the little things go back together quick now that the big stuff is done.

 

I changed to euro bars on my 81 650 midnight maxim and love the new riding position. No offense buckhorn fans but I felt like I was rowing a boat!
I like the riding position as it feels I'm more in control of the handling. I kept stock mirrors but installed riser/extenders which made quite a difference.

 

I took her out for a night cap and...

I should've done this mod a couple years ago.

Gary H.

 

Picked up a Seca master cylinder so we shall see how that works. I agree the stright bars seem to have the feel I'm looking for on this bike. By the way how do we post pictures on this site?

 

Upload your photos to the image hosting service of your choice (some, Google for example, block many forums and will not work). Copy the image address. On this site click the pretty icon of the moon over the mountains and paste your image address, then click the insert button.