Hello everybody I have been thinking about bobbing my 04 ex500 out but really need ideas on what to do I have already switched to a honda shadow headlight and got rid of most of the plastics is there any other handle bars available?

hi, sorry for the late reply but as seeing that no one has already here is my 2 cents worth. changing these bikes into something they were not designed to be, can be and is very expensive, time consuming. and a times a nightmare. for every modification you do another 2 or 3 will be required. a bobber is probably the hardest. not only will you have to lower it and reduce seat height, requiring extensive frame/suspension modifications. but everything else on the bike. there are some old threads on the forum to give you some ideas but most are for streetfighter builds and it's not exactly the same thing.

there are no ready bolt on bits to use so it's all out of your head stuff. you can get round the handlebar issue by drilling the top tee to take stock risers or make custom made brackets that use the old bar mounts. but then all the cables and pipes will be too short. rear suspension will have to be altered for the bobber style no mean feat with the uni-track set up. not to mention relocating all the electrics to somewhere dry when you have no dual seat to hide them under. look forwards to probably years of toil before you can call it done.

selling the parts you take off can offset some of the cost but your budget will probably be blown in the first six months.

good luck with it. this may not be the easy answer you seek but it is the truth. I have been there. in my garage [on the site] is picture of the nearest I could get to that style yet keeping the sense of the original bike. but it's a cruiser not a bobber.

In truth, you'd be better off starting with a Vulcan 500, as they are already halfway there, having an easier modded frame and fat rear tires. As to fat front tires, this is art over design, as they ruin handling. Even the 180hp BMW R1000RR only uses a 120 section front tire. Studies were done back in the 80s regarding front tire size. Since there were so many cases of racers losing the front end, a few tried fat tires. Made it worse. Messing with wheel diameter and most of all, stickier tires was the solution.



If you are a slow-sped rider and just cruising the beach, bobbers are a reasonable style. Most guys do street fighter/rat bikes or café racers.



If you want ideas, check Google Images for 'EX500 Bobber' and see what turns up.