Lsl Superbike Bar Kit
LSL Superbike Bar Kit
Sportbikers, sit up and be counted
CW EVALUATION
ARE YOU A SPORTBIKE RIDER WHO hasn’t got enough points against his license? Or perhaps you’d simply like to sit more upright for improved comfort? Either way, you’ll be interested in the LSL Superbike Bar Kit.
Imported from Germany, this kit contains everything needed to replace the clip-on-style handlebars that come standard on many late-model repli-racers with a conventional 7/8-inch tubular setup. In the case of our 2003 Yamaha YZFR1 testbike, the parts list includes a beautifully machined upper triple-clamp.
DETAILS
Spiegler USA
94A Westpark Rd.
Dayton, OH 45459
937/291-1735
www.spieglerusa.com
Price...$449
Jbps
A Parts nicely machined
A “Comfy sportbike” no longer an
oxymoron
A Wheelie at will—or even against it!
^Downs
▼ Cheesy hardware
▼ Boosts bar buzz
▼ Cutting may be required
longer-than-stock clutch cable and brake lines, a bracket for relocating the brake reservoir, fairing spacers and an aluminum superbike-bend handlebar.
Installation was not a complicated process, but it wasn’t easy, either. The biggest obstacle for do-it-yourselfers is the removal of the ignition lock from the stock triple-clamp. Said lock is held in place by two security bolts, bonded in place with thread-locking agent, their keyed heads broken off at the factory. In order to bore out the remaining portions of the bolts with a drill press, we first had to remove the top clamp. This required that we unplug the ignition from the wiring harness, but just to reach the plug, we had to pull the gas tank, an interior cover and a radiator mount!
We also used the drill press to bore holes for the switch-pod locating pins, as the handlebar did not come pre-drilled. In contrast to the nicely
turned-out top clamp, the hardware provided was of low enough quality (and not of consistent length, either!) that we purchased our own grade-8 buttonhead Allen bolts. That shouldn’t be necessary with a product that retails for nearly $450.
Despite the complete lack of modelspecific instructions or illustrations of any kind, the rest of the job was fairly straightforward-creative wire-routing
aside. Beware, though: While the 2002-03 R1 kit doesn’t require any fairing or windscreen cutting (spacers lift the screen out of the way), many
other applications do.
Is all the work worth it? Well, it’s hard to beat what amounts to a 130-horsepower, 415-pound LZ1. So converted, the R1 wheelies as a matter of course, steers with less effort and is more comfortable. Vibration through the handgrips in-
creased, but is livable.
So, there probably isn’t a
better way to fit your sportbike with
a tubular handlebar, and it does make
the bike a scream to ride. If you can ignore the notso-clean control-wire/cable routing and don’t mind jettisoning a few screws from your fairing upper (it’s true), the LSL kit is for you. Just make sure you hang on tight! □
