Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XR1200 Project Part 2

Hand and foot controls in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 series are one of the few modifications allowed, so before we took the XR apart we rounded up a handlebar and some rearsets to make sure we had something that would fit Bradley. For rearsets, we turned to Gilles Tooling, which recently announced its "factor-x" footrest assemblies for the XR. These rearsets feature multiple adjustments and are fabricated with the company's usual top-quality material and machining. The shift and brake levers pivot on double ball bearings and the shifting can be set for standard or race pattern. The rearsets are available in black or the silver shown here, and retail for $822.32. The Gilles rearsets replace the left-side engine cover with a thick aluminum plate, which adds weight but makes a nice location for the shift lever's pivot point; this is a much nicer setup than the stock lever and long, bent rod. Even with the heavy plate, the Gilles parts weight two pounds less than the stock rearsets.

Finding a handlebar may seem an easy task, but for the XR we need something a little bit special. First, it's a one-inch-diameter bar, rather than the smaller diameter we are used to on Japanese and European bikes. Second, we need something wide enough for a lot of steering leverage, but not so wide that the rider's arms end up out in the breeze. We turned to Flanders Company, a local manufacturer of handlebars that has been in business in the Los Angeles area for more than 50 years. When you factor in the various bends and finishes, the company offers more than 1000 different handlebars to fit a Harley-Davidson. We took our XR over to Flanders and had Bradley try a few different bends, before settling on a flat, drag-style bar with a moderate width. The $121.95 bar is powder coated, and knurled and dimpled to match the Harley mounting and controls.