Hi All

Ive had my 1300 Midnight Star for a while now and want to start customizing it. I had a ride on an XVS 950a Midnight Star and although I like the punch of the 1300 I was impressed by the 950 !!!

I think what I liked most was the handlebars (Funny enough!)

So,, here`s what I was thinking,,,getting a set of 950 handlebars and sticking them on my 1300 !! Has anyone ever done this??

The control lines and brake lines seem to be of equal length but I am a little dubious of splashing out 100 and plenty £`s if the idea wont work.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Ian

looking at the 2 bikes i cannot see any reason why it cant be done

Ian,

Changing the bars is probably one of the most common mods that are done to the 1300 - the OEM bars got so much stick that the 2010 model as different ones much more like the 950.

There is a mass of information on this here and on other forums. There are a number of alternative bars that can be and have been used, the most common being to use the bars from the Royal Star Tour Deluxe (the 'RSTD' bars as you'll see them called). I've swapped to these and so have many others. They'll give you a very similar feel to the 950 I think (from my brief seat on one) with a bit more pull back. Depends on what position you want. The RSTD bars work with existing cabling, can't comment on the 950 bars but I think they are OK.

If you Google RSTD handlebars you'll find all sorts including a review of bars and how they fit the 1300 or click here. There's also a great 'how to' section here that covers both the RSTD and 950 bars.

You might have to do a bit of detective work to sort out part numbers as the ones that are often quoted are for the US - it was a slightly different number here in the UK. A good dealer should be able to track it down though.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Hi Ian,

I've just finished installing the RSTD bars on my 1300 using the guides Jim refers to. Very easy to follow & no problems at all (apart from changing oil + filter on my 125 never done anything on my bikes before).

I am aware that others have put the 950 bars on their bikes with no problems - you can even use stock grips / bar ends, whereas the RSTD bars require aftermarket grips.

Good luck with whatever you decide & keep us updated.

Graham

Jim's right Ian, the RSTD bars are firm favourite. We've had a few 950 bars fitted by various customers, but either option works. Your local Yamaha dealer will price up the 950 bars, if that's the route you choose.

Roy

Hi All

Ive had my 1300 Midnight Star for a while now and want to start customizing it. I had a ride on an XVS 950a Midnight Star and although I like the punch of the 1300 I was impressed by the 950 !!!

I think what I liked most was the handlebars (Funny enough!)

So,, here`s what I was thinking,,,getting a set of 950 handlebars and sticking them on my 1300 !! Has anyone ever done this??

The control lines and brake lines seem to be of equal length but I am a little dubious of splashing out 100 and plenty £`s if the idea wont work.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Ian

Many thanks guys !!

I will keep you posted as to the progress and post some piccy`s soon!!

Cheers

Ian

you can even use stock grips / bar ends, whereas the RSTD bars require aftermarket grips.

Good point, Graham.

If you decide you prefer the RSTD option, you can't re-use the bar ends from the original bars so the OEM grips are useless. So you can either buy the bar ends for the RSTD bars (I couldn't get these in the UK so I'd have had to import them from the US) or fit after market grips. The popular choice are the Kuryakin ISO grips - these don't need bar ends and IMO look better than the stock grips anyway. About 60 GBP ish from memory.

If you look here there's couple of pics of the RSTD bars fitted and if you scroll up a bit you'll see a 950. Doubt if that would help you decide, as they both look similar in the pics. The 950 bars have less pull back.

Have fun!

Jim

Hi Jim ,I got a 1300 Midnight star last summer and like you ime not happy with the bars I live in Bedford not far from you I think ,could I have a look at your bike sometime to compare the two before I commit myself to a change Thanks Dave

Ian,

Changing the bars is probably one of the most common mods that are done to the 1300 - the OEM bars got so much stick that the 2010 model as different ones much more like the 950.

There is a mass of information on this here and on other forums. There are a number of alternative bars that can be and have been used, the most common being to use the bars from the Royal Star Tour Deluxe (the 'RSTD' bars as you'll see them called). I've swapped to these and so have many others. They'll give you a very similar feel to the 950 I think (from my brief seat on one) with a bit more pull back. Depends on what position you want. The RSTD bars work with existing cabling, can't comment on the 950 bars but I think they are OK.

If you Google RSTD handlebars you'll find all sorts including a review of bars and how they fit the 1300 or click here. There's also a great 'how to' section here that covers both the RSTD and 950 bars.

You might have to do a bit of detective work to sort out part numbers as the ones that are often quoted are for the US - it was a slightly different number here in the UK. A good dealer should be able to track it down though.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Hi Jim ,I got a 1300 Midnight star last summer and like you ime not happy with the bars I live in Bedford not far from you I think ,could I have a look at your bike sometime to compare the two before I commit myself to a change Thanks Dave

Sure...sent you a PM

Jim

i have xvs 950 and definitely want to get rid of stock handlebars.