[OCL]

Honestly my bike has next to no felt vibration in the grips. I have protaper atv high bend bars. Keep in mind the adapters will give you about 5/8" of extra rise just in material.

Did you mount some type of bar end weights? Or you just have the hand guards?

My plan is to re-purpose the OEM bar end weights on the PT 1 1/8" Evo Adventure bars. But if I don't have to because it's as smooth as OEM with just metal handguards, then I won't.

 

[OCL]

Thanks guys. It sure would make things simpler without the bar end weights.

I loathe changing out handlebars primarily because of those finicky handguard fitment/alignment. I measured the width of the Pro Taper Adventure bars and they're only about 2" narrower than the OEM. Maybe 1.75". Not much difference. I also went ahead and got these from Pro Taper. Screw it I may as well just shut up and try. I used this on my rubber mounted DR650 and they worked great. I believe it should work just as good with the KLR and will allow me to re-use the rubber cones for vibration isolation. It has about .65" of a rise and also has a 4mm offset on one end so I can put the bars closer or further away from me, just like the OEM ones. I want to have all the parts lined up and ready to go so I have minimal down time. It's summer riding season!

 

[OCL]

I’ve started the install. Halfway. I’m going to drill the holes on the bars for the switch pods and the wire ties. So far so good after a quick trial fit of the bars and hand guards and their U-Clamps. The U-Clamps have always been the PITA when fitting Hand Guards.

 

[OCL]

PDWestman, I took your advice I didn’t drill the holes for the wire ties. I did drill for the switch pods and man! It wasn’t easy. The material is thick and hard!

The whole effort was kind of a PITA. Took more time than I had patience for. My wife said she heard a lot of cussing during the process.

Now it’s time to test. Installed the hand guards without the bar end weights for now to test for vibrations. I’ll install the bar ends to see if it makes a difference. I understand having those bar end weights raises the damage risk factor of a bent bar end bolt. I’ll deal with it. The shorter handlebars now positions the OEM rear view mirrors OUTSIDE the width of the handlebars. Possibly increasing damage risk further. I have Doubletake mirrors but I really like these round OEM mirrors! LOL! So much drama for just handlebars!

 

[OCL]

@OCL you gotta be the first person I've seen to actually drill holes for the switches. Big props to you for the effort. If you have the evo protaper bars, those things are made out of some tough proprietary alloy so it had to be challenging.

Reveille, it took forever to make the hole. Wasn’t worth the effort but I already had the drill out so I persevered.

Initial ride impression: it’s beautiful to look at. LOL! Definitely much narrower than stock bars. I was lane splitting like a champ no longer worried about nudging someone’s side mirror.

The not so good: definitely increased high frequency vibrations at highway speeds. Not horrible. But most definitely noticeable. It increases to a peak point but does not go beyond that even at redline. I must say I’m a bit disappointed. BTW this with OEM bar end weights already installed.

I’ll do a 300 miler tomorrow to see if this is a dealbreaker. Just in case, I kept the OEM bars and mounts intact. If I hate the vibes I’ll go back to stock.

 

[OCL]

Some pics of the finished installation.

 

[OCL]

Boy, I’ve been wanting to go this route but I don’t know now if it’s worth the effort for what’s gained. I’ll wait and see what the final verdict is after OCL’s three hundred miler.
Reveille, since your bars are dead can you post a few pics for comparison?
TIA

I'm working on the update because I made some changes. After my 300 mile ride, I'm convinced that the high frequency vibrations at highway speeds is not something I want to live with just for the sake of beauty. LOL! But the functional benefits is really nice and I want to give this set up a chance before giving up. Stay tuned.

Don't get discouraged. Changing handlebars can either be a fun filled adventure or a royal PITA, regardless of bike. I do believe the effort is worth it when you get it right. I'm finicky and OCD about my stuff so I tend to focus on one thing until I get it fixed. Others might not be so OCD as I am.

 

[OCL]

I got positive results!

Round #1:
Used the Pro Taper Universal Rubber Mounted 1 1/8" Bar Clamp Adapter. Everything fit right in and the aesthetics were clean and tidy as if from the factory.
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr

Results:
Increased high frequency vibrations at higher RPM. This was made worse by increased higher frequency vibrations at the footpegs! Yes that's not a typo. So both my hands and feet were getting buzzed and it was hard to ignore and got pretty annoying very quickly. So much so that I was ready to put the OEM handlebars back on. This bar clamp adapter also did NOT add any height to the handlebars, which I was hoping it would do so, even just a tad. So Round #1 is a fail since it did not accomplish one thing I wanted, and introduced more vibrations that I am unable to ignore.

Round #2:
Used the Pro Taper Universal 1 1/8" Bar Clamp Adapter, that uses the OEM lower bar Clamp as a base. Everything fit right in and the aesthetics from the bar on up was clean and tidy. Not as tidy as #1 above but worth the change because....
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr

Results: Vibrations were back to OEM standards if not better. Vibrations at the foot pegs back to OEM standards or better. This bar clamp adapter also added just a bit of height to the handlebars, about 1/2" is my guess, which was nice on long downhill descends in the standing position. The difference in vibration dampening was not slight or just a bit, it was A LOT!

Other positives is the handlebar width is about 2" shorter at each end, which makes lane splitting in CA drama free. Gave me more confidence when going in between wide vehicles, especially pick up trucks with big ass side mirrors.

I kept the OEM bar end weights. I understand the risk of having them there.
Left side:
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr

Right side:
Untitled by rogue_biker, on Flickr

I did have to replace the Hex bolt that came on the hand guards with a longer one, size 6mmx70mm. This was necessary to reach and engage the expanding plug inside the handlebars.

I also had to put a short spacer, in between the bar end weights and the hand guard so that the rubber mounted bushing inside the OEM bar end weights were snug up against the hand guard ends when I tighted the Hex bolt to the handlebar ends. The spacer can be purchased at the same hardware store they sell the longer 6x70mm bolt. One can use several washers too but I prefer the aluminum spacers.

100% happy with the results.

 

[OCL]

Yeah I figured just do what you did since you got good results.

I honestly can't explain why there was a difference in vibrations between the two different bar clamp adapters. Maybe the combination of the heavy, OEM lower clamp, plus the adapters, increased the dampening enough. The difference was a lot. Plus the added vibrations at the foot pegs was puzzling.

 

[OCL]

Ok, I’ve been following and like what you, going to be my next mod. If you don’t mind me asking what hand guards are you using with the pro taper bars?

Hand guards? Oh boy. LOL!

I was using the Zeta-Racing Adventure Handguard on the stock bars and they worked perfectly. I mean everything lined up and fit. But Zeta-Racing kit I had was for 7/8" bars so I could not re-use them.

The new handguard set I'm using is the Cycle Gear Trackside brand aluminum handguards. I like these for the following reasons:
1) The finish is Satin Black and the material, billet aluminum for a bit more strength
2) They have articulating ends that allow some mounting flexibility.
3) They come with matching bar clamps that also articulate for fitment flexibility.
4) They're $60 for the complete set, and made in US-friendly Taiwan. Taiwan quality is pretty much on par with Japanese quality as far as I can tell.
Trackside Billet Aluminum Handguard
I removed the "Trackside" logo stickers.

However, I had a beautiful set of Cycra U-Clamps that I'd been wanting to use so I went with this U-Clamp set for now. These aren't a perfect fit to the hand guards but they are close enough. These do not interfere with the wire/cable/brake line routing.
Cycra Probend Twin Wall U-Clamp

 

[OCL]

Yeah I need to change mine out. I used what I had just because I had them and not ideal. Would prefer for something that fit over the handlebar clamps but they're not cheap. These things are like jewelry!
Bar Clamp Mounts