I’m rethinking my handlebar cleanup. I thought I could get away without ordering any new parts. Not just to save money, but I also really liked the “beater bike” vibe. I care about looks, but how well it works is a lot more important. The issue I’m running into is being able to access some of the controls with my hands on the grips. Like the start button…
I’ve found that starting this bike requires 3 things to happen, all at the same time: keep the choke pulled out about half way, press the starter button, and as soon as it fires twist the throttle to keep it going. Otherwise, NO START and no bueno. OK, so my left hand runs the choke, no problem there. My right hand runs the start button and throttle. Also no problem, except… the start switch sits just inboard of the right grip. Which works great, but it puts the front master cylinder (FMC) along with the front brake lever further in on the handle bar. It works for now, but the brake lever is about at the limit of how much farther in I can put it and still be able to use it. Which brings us to mirrors. If the right side mirror is mounted inboard of the FMC, it’s too far in to be useful. If I mount the mirror first with the FMC inboard of that, I can’t reach the front brake lever (at least not with my hand on the grip). You may disagree, but i.m.o. not being able to use the front brake without taking your hand off the grip is a really, REALLY bad idea. But then, so is riding in traffic without useable mirrors. What to do?
OK, I caved… I bought a Suzuki OEM FMC for a DRZ S model. This solves the problem nicely by having the mirror mount built into the FMC assembly. It was spendy, I’m not gonna lie about that. It also kind of wrecks the retro vibe of the bike. Well, maybe just a little but still… but with the new parts in place I’ll be able to get the thing started AND ride it safely.