| Author | Message | ||
     Buell82 |
I have a '97 S3 and I am looking into possibly moding the rear tail piece plastic. I love the look of the S1 tail piece which looks very sleek and more "sporty". Not a big fan of the S3 rear end. Just looks like there is way too much plastic. Now I have been thinking for a while now to just trim some of the plastic away on my rear end to create my own custom look..:-) Just thought I would get all your thoughts on this to see if anyone had any good design ideas or tips or tricks. Also I would love to see your pictures if any of you out there have done this sort of thing already. Thanks, Mike | ||
| Bad_karma |
Mike I'm with you on this. But it all works good enough with the bags on. The real mod I want to do is to the front fairing, different light assembly. More current. Joe | ||
| Buellfighter |
Buell82, the plastic is easy to cut. Taped off the offending area and used an air grinder to remove. Pic in my profile or in Cool Buell Pics. | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
At least on a 99 S3 the plastic simply unbolts. All you need is a plate mount which I got on e-bay for about $12.   | ||
| Djkaplan |
I made a cutout in the flyscreen on my M2 to clear the brake reservoir when I shortened my Crossroads bars.  It was easy to do with a Dremel tool and a couple of files, flat and rat-tail. I painted the flyscreen afterwards, but I really didn't have to. The paint stuck to the edges of the cutout pretty well and the black plastic didn't look so bad without paint. I like the 'frenched in' look of the cutout, but more importantly, I like the narrower width of the handlebars - perfect. | ||
| Rellim51 |
Why would you narrow the bars? | ||
| Djkaplan |
Uh... because they were too wide? | ||
| Rellim51 |
I guess I am still new to this stuff but I don't understand why they were too wide. I have seen lots of Buells with crossroads bars and none of them were narrowed. Are all of them too narrow? Do most people not want to bother with narrowing them? If they are all too wide, why don't crossroads make them the correct width? What are the advantages of narrowing them? | ||
| Maxbuell |
I too am wanting to change the tail on my scooter but it's a M2. Been looking for a S1 tail but they seem to get top $ for them. Been thinking about possible motocross tail YZ or something. Need to go to a MC junk yard and see what looks like it could work. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"...I don't understand why they were too wide." The Crossroads bars were advertised as being 1/2" narrower than stock M2 handlebars... this isn't the case at all.  "I have seen lots of Buells with crossroads bars and none of them were narrowed. Are all of them too narrow?" Not really sure what you're asking here. }"Do most people not want to bother with narrowing them?" I don't know. "If they are all too wide, why don't crossroads make them the correct width?" Because with the lower and more forward position of the bars, you'll have to cut the flyscreen to get the stock reservoir to fit. Here they are at they're delivered width installed on the bike. See how the reservoir is right next to the flyscreen?  At this width... about 32 inches, the Crossroads are wider than the bars I ran on my last competition dirt bike. "What are the advantages of narrowing them?" They fit me better, put less strain on my wrists, let me sit a bit more upright when I want too, and my upper body doesn't catch the wind as much when I'm crouched at speed. If you get Crossroads bars for yourself and don't want to narrow them, that would be fine by me. | ||
| Rellim51 |
Thanks for answering my questions. I wasn't trying to question your opinion or style in any way. I am planning on using the crossroads and this is the first I have ever heard of anyone narrowing the bars. Now that you have answered my questions, I will narrow the crossroad bars also if I use them. I have a tendency to question everything and it comes across the wrong way sometimes. I'm not the type of person who does things just because everyone else does or just because that is the way it has always been done. I have to know the reason something is done. Thanks again. | ||
| Djkaplan |
No worries, mate. You might find the stock width to be fine for your application. I'd actually like them to be swept back a bit more (like Crossroads for an S1) but they'd interfere with the Manta tank. The bars themselves are easy to install on a tuber... much, much easier than the Crossroads for XB's. |
