Yamaha 1300 Tourer - Yamaha 1300 Tourer Fansite

OK, OK. Uncle. Mercy. I yield. I give up. I surrender. After 2 years of denial, I admit the bike needs better bars. I think the trip from OK to TN and back is what convinced me. Unless you have the arms of an orangutan or are just masochistic, many people are going to find the forward-leaning riding position that the OEM bars put you in fairly uncomfortable after a short period of time. For those of you that have purchased the 2010 model, you lucked out. Yamaha has upgraded the bars on these to something that pretty much matches RSTD bars.

I have chosen to install the bars from the V-Star 950 in lieu of the RSTD bars (which are the popular choice). I chose the 950 bars, as I didn’t think I needed quite the pullback of the RSTDs (12 inches vs 14.5 inches) and I plan on using the OEM grips, which means I’ll want the bar weights, and the 950 & 1300 use the same weights. I will also be able to re-use the wire retaining clips off the old bars and re-run the wires through them on the new bars, whereas on the RSTD bars you have to route the wires slightly differently and it’s a pretty snug fit.

Just a side note: I will also have an easier time tilting the windshield back, if I ever decide to do this. The 950 bars are more of a sloped “beach” bar style, unlike the RSTD bars, which are more “buckhorn” in shape. These sloped bars allow more room for the wires, so a tilted windshield won’t be pinching them against the bars.

If you are looking to install RSTD bars and/or ISO grips, SubNuke has an excellent writeup for doing this, which you can find here:
http://www.1300tourer.com/node/1381

I encourage you to read his writeup, even if that’s not what you are installing.

DISCLAIMER: Improperly installed handlebars can pose a serious safety risk! You are solely responsible for any modifications you perform.

Enough of the jawjacking, let’s begin!

What you need:
8mm hex tool
6mm hex tool
5mm hex tool
4mm hex tool
17mm wrench
14mm wrench
10mm wrench/socket
Flat blade screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
Grip adhesive – hairspray works fine

Recommended:
Torque wrench
Small flat blade screwdriver
Masking tape
Hammer
Center punch or small chisel

Suggested:
Goo Gone
WD-40
A drinking buddy

Before you begin, protect your tank, as the bars will drop! If you damage your tank, don’t come crying to me, Mommas Boy.

Since I’m a bit of a bull in the china shop, I want plenty of space to work, so I’m going to remove the windshield.

Remove the four 5mm hex bolts holding it on:
NOTE: You can do this by yourself, but having a buddy will make the task easier. Pay in beer! Since I was by myself, I removed the lowers on one side, then loosely put the top bolt back to hold it in place, then removed the other side.

Windshield removed, time for some serious destruction:

Starting with the clutch side, disconnect the wiring harness from the bottom of the clutch assembly:
NOTE: Use a small flat blade screwdriver to push up the tab, then it will pull out easily.

Here’s the plug out:

Pop open the wire retaining clip by using a flat blade screwdriver. Just twist it in the gap and it will pop right open:

Remove the wiring from the clip:

Do the same thing for the other wiring clip:

Remove the wiring from the retaining clips on the throttle side:

Loosen the 17mm locking nut holding on the clutch mirror by turning counter-clockwise:

Unscrew and remove by turning the mirror counter-clockwise:

Loosen the locking nut holding on the throttle mirror:
NOTE: The throttle mirror is reverse threaded. Turn clockwise to loosen.

Unscrew the throttle mirror by turning clockwise:

On the throttle side, take a small flat blade screwdriver and pop off the cap on the end of the bar weight:

Using your 8mm hex tool, unscrew the bar weight:

Do the same thing for the clutch side bar weight:

NOTE: If I had been thinking at the time, I would have measured how much the grip extends past the bar!

Loosen the 10mm bolt holding the clutch assembly on:
NOTE: The assembly does not come apart, you will be sliding it off the bar later.

Remove the two Phillips-head screws holding on the blinker/horn assembly:

This assembly comes apart into two pieces:

Put the assembly back together for now, it will be easier to keep track of the parts this way:

On the throttle side, remove the two 5mm hex bolts holding on the front brake assembly:

The assembly comes apart into two pieces:

Put it back together to keep track of the parts:
NOTE: Try to keep the brake assembly upright, so that the master cylinder is always below the reservoir. An inadvertent pull of the brake lever could result in air getting in the brake line if the unit is inverted. Then you would have the extra joy of bleeding the brake lines when you’re done.

Underneath the starter/killswitch assembly are two spade wire connectors:

Disconnect these two wires by just pulling down on them:

Remove the two Phillips-head screws holding on the starter/killswitch assembly:

As like the others, it comes apart into two pieces:
NOTE: You don’t have to take it apart like this. This is connected to the throttle, so all you need to do is loosen the two Phillips head screws so you can slide the whole assembly off later.

Now the fun part, removing the clutch handgrip. I’m not going to keep this grip as I bought a new one to replace it, so I wasn’t particularly kind to it. Run a flat blade screwdriver (or something similar, like a plug gapper) around it to break loose the glue:
NOTE: the generally accepted method to remove a grip is to loosen the glue like this, then take a high pressure air hose and blast it into the grip to finish breaking the glue loose. Someone also mentioned dripping Goo Gone into the grip and letting that soak for a few. SubNuke also suggested using WD-40.

The silver plastic ring is just pushed into the rubber, so you can easily pull it off, which I did:

Like I said, I really didn’t care what condition the grip came off in, so I rammed a pair of screwdrivers repeatedly around both ends of the grip. While they were still inserted, I would twist the grip:

After a few minutes of this torture, it pulled right off. Surprisingly, it’s undamaged:

Next, remove the chrome cover over the speedometer. It is held on by four 4mm hex bolts:

Note that the longer hex bolts go in the front holes:

There are small bushings on the rear bolts that may or may not stay in place. You may want to remove them or tape them in place so as not to lose them:

Push the cover forward slightly, then just lift off:

This will now reveal the brackets holding on the bars:

Remove the four 6mm hex bolts and the two brackets holding on the bars. Loosen the bolts in equal increments, alternating back and forth so as not to bind them. The brackets will need to slide a bit to the outside before they can be lifted out:
NOTE: When they come loose, the bars will fall! You did cover your tank, right?

Whew! Now that the bar is loose, we can finally slide off the throttle assembly:

NOTE: Again, there is no need to fully take this assembly apart like I did. This is a perfect example of “do as I say, not as I do”.

And we can also now slide off the clutch assembly:

Here’s the OEM bars (on the outside, with the retaining clips) compared to the 950 bars I will be putting on:
NOTE: 950 bar specs - Rise 7”, Pullback 12 1/16”, Width 33 5/8”

I’ll be using re-using the wire retaining clips. They can be removed by pushing a small flat blade screwdriver into the tab holding it on, then pushing the retaining clip away from you:

I’ll only be using the retaining clips at the top of the new bars:

Temporarily place the naked bars into the clamps:
NOTE: Notice that the knurling is not completely within the clamps. The knurling is what the clamps grip to hold the bars in position, and the more there is in the clamp the better the grip. The bars look like they need more to help hold them, and this can be done pretty easily. Tape the bars on either side of each clamp so you know what area the clamp covers, then remove them to your work area. Use a center punch & hammer to stipple the bar, or use a chisel to make a “poor mans” knurl. This will rough up the surface and provide additional grip.

Did I? No. I was a lazy schmo and took my chances, which may come back to bite me later. I strongly urge you to make the appropriate modifications and not emulate my laissez faire attitude. You’ve been warned!

Pull the bars back out of the clamps and slide the clutch assembly onto the new bars:

Now slide on the throttle assembly:

Center the bars in the clamps:

Replace the brackets and four 6mm hex bolts:
NOTE: Lightly tighten the bolts, only snug enough to hold the bars in place.

Position the bar height about where you think it will go:
NOTE: A good bar height is generally accepted to be where your hands are slightly below your elbows. Close your eyes and while sitting upright on the bike, reach out with your hands to what you feel is a comfortable position. Have your buddy move the bars to where you reached and that should give you a good starting point.

Replace the bar weight on the throttle side:

Tighten using your 8mm hex tool:
NOTE: Torque spec is 17 ft-lbs.

Replace the end cap:

Put the starter/killswitch assembly back together using the two Phillips-head screws:

Push the throttle assembly up almost against the bar weight:
NOTE: Don’t place it snug against the bar weight, as that will cause the throttle to drag or stick.

Only snug the screws for now. We’ll align the assembly a bit later:

Disassemble the front brake assembly and re-assemble it on the bar with the two 5mm hex bolts:
NOTE: Just snug the bolts for the moment.

Align the seam of the brake assembly with the punch mark on the top of the bar and final tighten the two 5mm hex bolts.
NOTE: Torque spec is 7.2 ft-lbs.

Re-connect the two spade wire connectors under the starter/killswitch assembly:

The brown one goes on front:

Run the wiring harness through the clip and snap it shut:

Align the seam of the starter/killswitch assembly with the seam on the brake assembly and final tighten the two Phillips head screws:

Temporarily screw on the clutch side bar weight:

Since the grip will actually be covering the narrow portion of the bar weight, we need to measure on the bar how far to slide up the grip:
NOTE: This is where measuring the old grip before taking it off would have paid off!

I used painters tape to mark where the grip needs to be:

Remove the bar weight, again:

Apply the grip adhesive. I raided my wife’s beauty products and used her hair spray (shhh!):
NOTE: It’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission!

Slide on the grip. Work quickly as the adhesive is going to dry pretty fast:

Now put the bar weight on for the last time, using your 8mm hex tool:
NOTE: Torque spec is 17 ft-lbs.

Replace the end cap:

There you are, one grip installed!:

Disassemble the blinker/horn assembly and re-install beside the grip using the two Phillips head screws:
NOTE: Just tighten it a little snug for now, we’ll align it on the bar later.

Align the clutch assembly seam with the punch mark on the inside of the bar:

The punch mark is a little hard to see, so here’s another shot. I have the prick punch pointing at it:

Tighten the 10mm bolt to secure it in place:
NOTE: Torque spec is 5.1 ft-lbs.

Re-connect the wire under the clutch assembly:
NOTE: This wire is what tells the system the clutch is pulled in. If you can’t start your bike when the clutch is pulled in and it is in gear, then this wire is no connected.

Run the wiring harness through the retaining clip and snap closed:

Now align the seam on the blinker/horn assembly with the center of the mirror mount and final tighten the two Phillips head screws:

Screw the throttle side mirror back on. Remember that it is reverse threaded, so turn counter-clockwise to tighten:
NOTE: The locking nut at the base is 17mm, the locking nut by the mirror is 14mm.

Attach the clutch mirror, turning clockwise:

Alright, all the major parts are in place!

Bars look about in the right position?

Tighten down the four 6mm hex bolts securing the bars:
NOTE: Torque spec is 20 ft-lbs.
WARNING: Tighten the bolts in an ‘X’ pattern, and be sure to keep the spacing at the top and bottom of each clamp equal. Improperly tightened clamps can result in the bars slipping!

Now, before finishing the bike, go for a ride and test the bars. Don’t feel right? Adjust and ride again. Wash, rinse, repeat until you get the bars where you want them.

Now that you have the bars where you want them, it may behoove you to mark the position in some way, should you ever have to remove them or they shift in clamps:

Almost done!

Replace the speedometer cover by setting it slightly forward and sliding back:

Replace the four 4mm hex bolts:
NOTE: The longer two bolts go into the front holes. Also remember to keep track of those two small bushing that the rear bolts go through.

Re-attach the winshield/lowers with the four 5mm hex bolts:
NOTE: Torque spec is 17 ft-lbs.

Done!

Bask in the glory of your new bars!

So what to do with the old bars? Well, you could strip down to your underwear, dive into your wife’s makeup kit and apply your favorite warpaint, then ride through the neighborhood gleefully whooping and hollering at the top of your lungs all the while swinging the newly liberated handlebars over your head. The neighborhood kids will love it and you’ll probably never be bothered by the HOA again.

Boomer Sooner
Potestatem obscuri lateris nescis