| Author | Message | ||
     Bigeasy |
Ok guys who have the crossroads bars for your lightnings, what do you think? I am thinking about making a run to detroit from new orleans next week for my grandfathers birthday, he will be 89, still going strong. I have made this run before for christmas last year. I put my tank bag on and tape foam on my passenger pegs for these long hauls. I lay on the tank bag and put my shins on the passeneger pegs superman style the whole way. So I am thinking these lower bars would help. Anyone who has these bars what are your likes and dislikes? Oh yea I have a 2004 xb12s. Thanks art | ||
| Daves |
I have never used them but I know where you can get some!  | ||
| Nguzzi |
Crossroads is right down the road from us, in fact they borrow bikes from us to do R&D. Crossroads make an excellent product. I have ridden both XBs and X1s with the bars and loved them. | ||
| Dago |
I had them for a bit. The fit-n-finish is top notch, and they do lower the bars a good bit. They make 2 versions; standard and 0 degree. I had the standard and felt the angle at which they sat was a bit hard on my wrists (I currently ride an R no with no problems and am 6'3" ). Evidently the 0 degree is supposed to fix that. Someone will surely pipe up with an opinion on those fairly quickly. Even with the discomfort, I felt they were worth every penny. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
I've got the zero degree bars and love them. Worth it, and I find them more comfortable than the stock bars.  | ||
| Spike |
I haven't owned a set, but I've ridden a 9S with them and a 9SX with them. I love them. I ride a 12R and find the stock S bars to be too tall putting me in a "sit up and beg" position. The crossroads bars eliminate that feeling without making the bike feel like a naked R. I thought they were just right and if I had a Lightning I'd certainly have a set of them. | ||
| Clown |
Talk to Glitch. You can post a question on the 3%er forum. He loves his. | ||
| Sinatra |
ive had them for about two weeks and love them. much better riding position than stock on my sx. | ||
| Cmm213 |
I also have a question about the crossroad bars. I recently rode a 9s at my local dealer and I am almost 6' tall, every time I went into a corner it was a very different experiance than my previous jap rockets. It was like the bike wanted to fall into the corner but I had to muscle it to actually turn? Also the stock bars seemed very touchy at high speed. My reason for this question is that I want a 9R but I and having trouble finding one, but there are many lightnings around. Do these bars ride like a R?? Also I got it up to around 120 and felt like I was going to get ripped off the machine. | ||
| Dago |
The crossroads on an S are nothing like the R. The drop-back angle, width, and reach are all very different between the two options. FWIW: It wasn't until I got on an R before I said "this just feels right." Be sure to ride one. My $.02. | ||
| Cmm213 |
thanks for the $ .02 Dago that was the comment I was looking for. I think the R will be right for me! | ||
| Rocketsprink |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/98622.html?1108957834 | ||
| Dago |
 Let us know what you think afterwords. | ||
| Brad_buell |
Hey Al- Any update on installation, or the instruction sheet that comes with the 0 degree bars? I've been seriously considering the Crossroads bars, but hope for a smoother install than Rocketsprink!  -Brad | ||
| Al_lighton |
Brad, Ya know, I don't even know what to add to the instructions other than better pictures of the routing, and a note about how the cables go into the throttle housing. I've installed a few sets per the (poorly illustrated) instructions now, and haven't had any problems with cable binding externally. I HAVE had problems with the throttle binding due to the way the clamshell assy goes together over the twist grip and how the cable ends are retained (the stock parts), but once they have been assembled correctly, throttle and clutch cable stick just hasn't been an issue on the installs I've done. I know some folks have had some problems with the throttle cables binding, but I'm not sure what is happening since I haven't seen the difficulties. A front stand, or a couple strong friends, are needed to lower the forks in the triple trees briefly, but that is in the instructions already. The lightning with the zero degree Crossroads, or the Firebolt with the Heli's, are pretty close to each other. The Heli's are a little narrower, and have a slight down angle, but not as much as the standard crossroads (-7 degrees). Height and reach are very similar between the two, lean angle will be about the same on each. The -7 crossroads are too wide and low, the -7 isn't quite right for the wrists, IMHO, but we do have some customers that prefer the -7 bars...I think most prefer the zero degree bars, I sure do. If I had a Firebolt, it'd have the Heli's. Wrist weight on a stock bar'ed firebolt isn't as bad as some of the metric repliracers, and it's a great position for short attacks on the twisties, but the back/neck angle while looking down the road is still too acute for these old bones for any extended seat time. The Heli's, or the crossroads on the S, are easier on the neck/shoulders. YMMV Al (Message edited by al_lighton on July 15, 2005) | ||
| Spatten1 |
The Crossroads bars are great! Perfect for track day and around town. I tried various "handlebars" including the low dirt bike bars, and they did not work for me. As far as installation, crossroads sent me a PDF with better pictures and it was easy. Cable binding: the throttle cables take an idiotic "S" bend behind the fly screen, and when you turn the bars to the left it gets kinked. I pulled my throttle cables out of the clamp on the steering head, and let them just take an "L" bend down instead. It fixed the problem immediately. I used a few loose zip ties to keep them in a reaonable route. Cable routing is not the XB's strongest point. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Dago was being humble in his post. He needed the lower and more forward R set up because his engine is so strong he kept falling off the back of the bike with the stock setup and Crossroads. His XB is FAST. | ||
| Dago |
You're daaaaaaaaamn straight! | ||
| Ivanski |
Had mine for 4 months now. Love them. the seating position of the stock xbs was it's worst attribute. Crossroads solved the problem well. | ||
| Elyaswolffxb9s |
I have the 0 degree bars and I love em! | ||
| Bigeasy |
Thanks guys I'm sold!!! Will be able to buy some in 2 weeks. art |
