[Philip Potts]

Hi all!

I posted this in the cruiser section but I thought it might be helpful here.

After much searching here and other sites I could find very little information on replacing the stock grips on my Vulcan 500 with Küryakyn ISO grips. Plenty on other Kawasaki models but nothing specific to the 500 so I decided to just take the bull by the horns and dive in. I hope the following photos and descriptions will be of help to other EN500 owners who might want to replace the grips.

After I received the new grips I laid them out to make sure I had everything that was supposed to be in the package. Yep, left and right grip, spacer and a bottle of glue. Death Grip glue! Reminds me of the movie Death Race 2000. This stuff scared me so I used Gorilla Glue instead.

All items and tools ready so now to work. The first thing to do is to remove the weight on each end of the handle bar.

This is easier said than done. Kawasaki didn't want these weights to come off due to phillips screw backing out so they put on a liberal amount of thread locker. I had to use an impact screwdriver to get the screws out.

Now that the weights are off the rest of the project is a piece of cake. Remove the two screws (circled in red in the photo below) from the throttle housing.

Also, remove the screw on the bottom.

With the throttle housing separated you can see the two throttle cables. With a pair of needle nose pliers remove the two cables and slide the stock grip off.

Your bike will then look like this.

This is a shot of the cable end of both the stock throttle grip and the ISO throttle grip.

Slide the new throttle grip on and put the cables back in place. Replace the screws and tighten. Done with the right grip and it looks like this.

Now for the left grip. As this shot shows I was able to get the grip off in one piece. I ran a skewer (the kind you use to grill veggies or ka bob) between the grip and the handle bar. Then I used compressed air and a blow nozzle to just "lift" the grip from the bar and slide it off.

A little sandpaper to remove the old adhesive and it was ready for the new grip.

There is a short piece of plastic that is cut to length to use as a spacer. This is needed because the new grip is longer than the stock grip. I cut the spacer to 5/8" (about 16 mm). I made a trial fit to make sure things lined up right and was happy with the fit. Then I put some Gorilla Glue in the grip and slid it on. This gives some time to get things lined up.

That's it. This is what how the bike looks with the new grips.

Today (10/24/08) I need to remove the left grip. I have been working for about an hour with no success. I may have to destroy the grip to get it off. If I do, then I am going to try a different glue for the replacement.

 

[GeorgiaRider]

Thanks for the helpful tips. Nice color on the bike.

 

[Philip Potts]

Thanks for the helpful tips. Nice color on the bike.

Thanks, I really like the color on the '06 models. Kawasaki calls it Candy Red and I'm thinking about painting mine that color.

 

[JohnScott]

Looks good, Phil.

 

[Philip Potts]

Thanks Kevin, couldn't have done it without you!

 

[ROMAD]

I just did them to the Wannabeabigbike too. I will post on the site soon. (Right) (www.en500.us), but your pictures are sure better than mine! VERY nice. I like the way they feel. I didn't get a throttle sleeve with mine. I had to file off the splines on the original to get the sleeve to fit.

 

[tely]

first..let me thank you for your demonstration Phill.....and to ask for your help
I bought new iso grip for my motorcycle...model 6240 1" universal medium lengh iso and for what I am looking at your pictures..mine did not bring the same things as yours... 1). as in your picture #6,..mine did not bring that black or white thing at the end of either one of the grips 2). it only brought one little black spacer that looks like a cylinder 3). and 2 tubes of glue.
I did notice that one of the grips inside dimension is wider then the other, so i guess that one is the throttle grip....

I am attaching pics so you can see how my grips came.

Can you please help me and tell me if there is anything missing or if i have the correct grips for my 07 Vulcan 900 Custom.also: I got the throttle boss and helmet lock for the end.

 

[Philip Potts]

tely,

I bought the 6235 package. As far as I can tell you do not have anything missing. If you get the 6235 package you can follow the instructions I have outlined above. However, if you wish to use the 6240 you can but with a little more work. Follow the steps above until you have the stock throttle grip removed. Then follow these steps.

The photo below is the stock grip.

The two holes in the white plastic piece are for the throttle cables. This photo shows that the plastic piece is covered with the foam grip and goes from one end to the other.

You have to remove the foam from the grip. You will have to reuse the plastic piece so don't mess it up!

This shows the splines Romad filed off. (See the post right before yours) After the plastic is nice and smooth, put the new grip on with some glue. Like I said in my original post, I was scared of the Death Grip glue so I used Gorilla Glue. Much more forgiving. After you have the new grip glued together just continue to follow the instructions above.

If anyone else has any suggestions or advice for tely please jump in.

I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Philip Potts]

tely,

I've been thinking and you may be able to get the old foam grip off the plastic sleeve without separating the throttle housing. If you can then you will save some steps.

 

[tely]

tely,

I've been thinking and you may be able to get the old foam grip off the plastic sleeve without separating the throttle housing. If you can then you will save some steps.

thank you so much Philip....i think i will do that......lets see how this goes, i kind of afraid doing it on my own...afraid that i might brake something...but i will let you know how it went as soon as i get the courage.

 

[Chimerix]

I just ordered a set of these!

My stock grips, after 9 years on the road, are dissolving. Icky, sticky black residue on my palms. The one good thing to come of it is I've become diligent about wearing my gloves!

I'd looked as the Iso Grips several times online, but was never sure they'd fit. Thanks, philipd and KMF!

 

[Chimerix]

Wow, what a project this turned into!

The endcap screws were so stuck, that an impact driver merely stripped the bejeezus out of them. I ended up having to drill the screw ends off, pry the endcaps loose, and Vice Grip the remaining shaft out. On both sides.

Once everything was ready, I practiced putting on the left grip a few times, because the warning on the Death Glue is pretty spooky! Then, as I was doing it for real, the rubbed cane loose and folded under the chrome basket! I rapidly slid the grip back off, put the rubber back in place, and slid it on again. Luckily the warning was just a tad overstated. The glue does not bind instantly in the absence of air, it just takes about 3 seconds.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd have rotated the left grip maybe 5 degrees more. Oh, well... no biggie.

They look sharp, and feel great!

 

[flw]

I don't have access to a impact screw driver, do I have any other options other than taking it in?

Also is there any other type of glue I can use that I can get from a typcial hardware or auto store? I would like the option of replaceing them again in the future when the rubber degrades.

 

[Philip Potts]

I don't have access to a impact screw driver, do I have any other options other than taking it in?

Also is there any other type of glue I can use that I can get from a typcial hardware or auto store? I would like the option of replaceing them again in the future when the rubber degrades.

When Kawasaki put the screws in the end grip they COATED the thread with thread locker. This stuff melts at about 280°. You MIGHT be able to heat the screw with a propane torch and then just use a regular screwdriver. Pretty risky though. You could drill the head off and then just file off any remaining stub.

About a month after I put the ISO grips on I needed to remove the left grip. Even though I used Gorilla Glue I destroyed the grip getting it off. When I got a new grip I put it on without any glue at all. In the last four months or so I have not had a problem with it slipping. But to answer your question you could probably use any brand of "instant" glue.

Good luck with whatever you decide and let us know how it goes.

 

[Chimerix]

I don't have access to a impact screw driver, do I have any other options other than taking it in?.

In my case, I borrowed the impact driver, only to prove that those screws can NOT be undone. Maybe 9 years of setting up makes the locktite even harder?

Get a drill and a bit about the size of the "X" in the screws. Center the bit in the "X" and drill straight in! Once you get past the depth of teh screw head, thathead will pop right off. Wait for everything to cool off, pull off the endcap, and take a pair of Vice Grip pliers to the remnants of the screw. With that type of persuasion, it will come out.

 

[Philip Potts]

Chimerix,

I don't know if loctite gets more tenacious with age or not but this photo shows just how much Kawasaki uses. My bike was just a few months old but it still took a couple of good hits with a 3 pound hammer on the driver to get them loose.

 

[JHARPO]

ISO grips for my 500

Which model grips did you install? Was it one of the "universal" models or the Vulcan 900 model? I'm really interested in that I just sold my Suzuki Volusia 800, anniversary addition and it had ISO grips. I would love to put them on my new 500 but was giving up hope until I saw you forum. Thanks so much for posting

 

[strider714]

I just tried to replace my grips today. (I have a 1500 Vulcan Drifter) I managed to get the left grip to fit into place quite nicely and it didn't seem to need glue, but getting the throttle grip on was a disaster!

I used the universal 1" ISOs, and I managed to get the grip all but the last inch on to the plastic throttle control part. It jammed and I ended up breaking the plastic trying to get the grip to slide on the rest of the way.

I'm going to go to my Kawasaki Store in the morning for a new plastic control but does anyone have any suggestions to make sure the the grip slides all the way on the plastic?

 

[kfolse107]

I realize this is an old post, but I just put the ISO grips on my bike. I did not have any problem getting the bar end weights off. Used an old #3 phillips screwdriver that I had to grind two flat spots on so the vice grips wouldn't spin. Came off easy. The install of the throttle grip went without a hitch. Saved the left stock grip by using the compressed air method.
The hardest part of the entire job was not being able to test ride the new grips due to stormy weather.

 

[JenniferCh]

Thank you for providing this instruction for changing hand grips on vulcan 500. Im ready to give it a try