Suzuki Intruder 1500 Unleashing The Beast With Ape Hangers

So You Want Ape Hangers on Your Intruder

I'm going to assume you already own or are buying a Suzuki Intruder 1500 (VS1500, years 1987 through 2004 depending on market) and you want to put ape hanger handlebars on it. Here's what actually happens when you do that, what breaks, and how to fix it without spending more than the parts are worth. The straight deal: ape hangers on the Intruder 1500 are a straightforward bolt-on if you buy the right kit, but they rework your entire cockpit. The stock handlebar is about 1-1/4 inch diameter clamp at the triple tree, and the bike uses Bowden-cable controls — clutch, throttle, and front brake switch. Raise the bars 6 to 10 inches and those cables stop reaching. That's the core problem. Everything else follows from that. A proper ape hanger kit for the VS1500. These usually include the riser tubes, bar clamps, and sometimes extended cables. The risers bolt onto the triple tree where the stock handlebar clamp already sits. Make sure the kit specifies VS1500. Some ape hanger risers are generic and won't match the triple tree spacing, which is about 3-1/4 inches between the clamp bolts on the Intruder. Don't guess. Measure. I bought a cheap universal set once, tried to mount it, and the bolt holes were 2-3/8 inches apart. Gave it back. Wasted forty minutes and $12.

You will also need extended throttle and clutch cables. The stock lengths on the Intruder 1500 are roughly 30 to 34 inches depending on which end. With 8-inch risers, you're looking at about a 6-inch cable extension minimum, usually more because the routing path changes angle. Buy cables that say they fit VS1500 ape hanger setups. Third-party brands like Barends, Drag Specialties, and Cycle Master make them. OEM Suzuki cables work too but they're overpriced for what they are. Extended front brake light switch wiring. The brake lever pivot has a switch that grounds when you pull the lever. Raise the lever position and the stock wire won't reach the switch body. Either run a new piece of silicone-insulated wire through the bar, or use a pre-made extension harness. This is one of those things you'll discover at 11 PM when you can't get the brake light to work and you're sitting on your driveway with a test light. Turn signal extensions or relocation. Stock turn signal stalks are on the handlebar ends. Ape hangers move the bar ends further out and up, which can clear the mirrors fine but sometimes puts the signals at an awkward angle. You can extend the wiring with spade connectors and heat shrink. Or you can move the signals to the forks using bracket kits. I did both on different builds depending on the year and model.

Installation steps, the way they actually go

Remove the stock handlebar. This means taking off the hand controls first — throttle grip, clutch lever, brake lever, switch pods. Label everything with masking tape. Not a suggestion. Write "left switch pod" and "right switch pod" on the tape. You will forget which wire goes where and you'll be pulling your hair out later. The Intruder uses a mix of spade connectors and threaded nuts on the switch bodies. Don't force anything. The plastic housings crack if you yank them. Disconnect the clutch cable at the lever end and the throttle cables. There are usually two throttle cables on the VS1500 — one for the twist grip and one for the return spring mechanism. Note which is which by their color coding or position. The right side has the throttle cable and the return spring. The left side has the clutch cable and the neutral switch. Remove the three triple tree bolts holding the clamp. On the VS1500 these are typically 10mm bolts. Use a socket extension because one of them is buried near the steering stem. Take photos before you take anything apart. Two or three pictures from different angles will save you an hour of wondering why the fork brace doesn't sit right when you put it back.

Mount the ape hanger risers. They slide over the fork brace and bolt to the triple tree. Torque the bolts to spec — about 18 to 22 foot-pounds for those 10mm bolts. Don't overtighten. The triple tree is aluminum and the threads strip easily. If you cross-thread one, you're buying a new triple tree. They're not cheap relative to their size. Run the extended cables through the riser tubes before you put the bars on. This is much easier done before the bars are clamped down. Feed the throttle cables through first, then the clutch cable, then the brake switch wire. Use a fish tape or a stiff piece of wire wrapped in electrical tape to pull them through. The riser tubes have a bend in them and the cables resist if you just push from one end. Pull from the bottom while guiding from the top. Mount the hand controls on the new bars. Set the bar position so your wrists are neutral when you reach them. This is the part where people get it wrong. Ape hangers tempt you to go as high as possible. Don't. If your elbows are locked out and your shoulders are raised, you'll be in pain after twenty miles. Aim for a slight bend in the elbows and a wrist angle that matches your natural grip position.

Connect all the cables. Adjust cable slack so there's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of play at the lever. Too tight and the clutch drags, the throttle sticks, or the brake light stays on. Too loose and you get vague clutch engagement and delayed throttle response. Adjust at the lever end first, then at the engine end if the cable has an adjustment nut there too. Test everything before you ride. Squeeze the clutch, watch the neutral light come on. Twist the throttle, check that it snaps back. Squeeze the front brake, confirm the brake light fires. Turn on the turn signals and verify they click at the correct rate. Spend ten minutes on this and you won't be stranded on the side of the road figuring out why the bike won't stay in neutral.

Things that will annoy you

The first thing is wind buffeting. Ape hangers put your hands higher, which means your chest and face take more wind pressure at speed. At 70 mph on the highway it's noticeable. At 80 it's tiring. If you ride long distances, consider a windscreen. The stock Intruder windscreen mounts to the headlight bucket and clears the taller bars fine. Aftermarket screens from Brockling or Corbin work better. The second thing is mirror vibration. Taller bars amplify any imbalance in the mirrors. Cheap mirrors will shake themselves apart at cruising speed. Get mirrors with threaded rubber isolation mounts. The difference is like night and day. I spent $40 on a set of rubber-isolated mirrors and the whole front end felt tighter. The third thing is leg room. Raising the bars shifts your hand position forward relative to your hips. If you're tall, you might feel stretched. If you're short, you might feel cramped because the bars crowd your chest. This is body-type dependent and you can't really know until you try them. Some riders swap to a lower riser height as a compromise — 5 or 6 inches instead of 8 or 10. The bike still looks aggressive and you keep most of the control.

A problem I actually ran into

On my '93 VS1500, the extended throttle cable I bought was about 4 inches too short because the riser tubes I used had a tighter bend radius than the kit I originally planned for. The cable would bind at full left lock when I turned the bars hard left. The throttle wouldn't snap back all the way. That's a dangerous situation. The workaround was to reroute the throttle cable along the inside of the left fork tube instead of letting it hang freely between the bars and the engine. I used zip ties with rubber inserts every 4 inches to secure it to the fork brace and the lower triple tree. This shortened the effective run by about 3 inches and gave the cable a smoother arc. I also swapped to a cable with a slightly larger inner diameter — a 4mm ID cable instead of the 3.5mm one that came in the kit. The smoother inner surface reduced friction enough that even at full lock the throttle moved freely. Total cost was about $15 in zip ties and a different cable from RockAuto. Took me about 20 minutes to re-route it.

What you should know that most guides skip

Cable stretch is real and it happens fastest in the first 100 miles. New cables settle and elongate. After you install the ape hangers, ride for a week, then re-check all cable adjustments. The clutch will feel spongier, the throttle will need more twist. This is normal. Adjust them again and they should hold for a while. If you don't re-adjust, the clutch will slip under hard acceleration and the bike will feel sluggish. Another thing: the steering dampener, if your Intruder has one, may interfere with very tall risers. The VS1500 didn't come with a factory steering damper, but many owners add one. A damper mounted to the triple tree can conflict with riser tubes that are over 8 inches tall. Check clearance before you buy the risers. Measure from the top of the triple tree to the lowest point of the damper body. If the riser tube is taller than that gap, you'll need a different mounting position for the damper or a shorter riser. Also, ape hangers change the geometry of your front brake lever reach. The lever pivot stays in the same place but your hand is higher and further forward. You'll likely need to adjust the lever position on the pivot arm. Most levers have a threaded adjustment that lets you move them closer or further from the grip. Set it so you can pull the lever with your ring finger, not your whole hand. If you're gripping the bar with all four fingers to operate the brake, you've got too much reach.

When ape hangers are a bad idea

They're a bad idea if you mainly commute in traffic. The high bars make low-speed maneuvering awkward. You can't lean the bike as easily when the bars are above your shoulders and your arms are locked out. Parking lot U-turns feel like you're riding a lawnmower. If your riding is mostly city and short trips, 3 to 4 inch risers are more practical and still look good. They're also a bad idea if you're under 5'7" and the bike is heavy. The Intruder 1500 weighs about 580 pounds wet. With ape hangers, you can't put weight on the bars to help balance at speeds. You'll find yourself putting more effort into holding the bike upright at stops. A lower bar position lets you brace against the tank and use your core instead of just your arms.

Part numbers and sources

OEM clutch cable for VS1500: Suzuki part 65710-35E00 or equivalent. Throttle cable assembly: 65720-35E00. Extended cables from aftermarket suppliers typically list compatibility as VS1400/VS1500. The VS1400 and VS1500 share the same handlebar mounting pattern, so many kits are cross-compatible. Just verify the cable length before buying. Ape hanger riser kits for the VS1500 run anywhere from $60 to $200 depending on material and brand. Aluminum billet risers are lighter and look better but cost more. Steel risers are cheaper and stronger but add weight to the front end. The weight difference is maybe 2 to 3 pounds total, which is negligible for handling but noticeable if you're sensitive to front-end feel. I've used both and honestly couldn't tell the difference in handling. The aluminum ones just look nicer.

Final notes

The build itself takes about 2 to 3 hours for someone who's done this before. First time, plan on 4 to 5 hours because you'll be reading instructions, looking up part numbers, and making trips to the parts store. The tools you need are basic — socket set, screwdrivers, cable cutters, zip ties, and a torque wrench. A torque wrench is worth using on the triple tree bolts. Guessing the torque and stripping a thread costs more than the wrench. After it's done, ride it for a day. Adjust the cable tension, check all the bolts, make sure nothing is rubbing. Then ride it for a week and adjust again. After that, you're set. The Intruder 1500 with ape hangers is a real head-turner and it rides fine once the cables are sorted. Just don't skip the adjustment step.