pauljo said:The purpose of bar end weights is to dampen vibrations in the handlebars. Some bikes really need them, or they will vibrate your hands numb in a rather short time. Both of my Suzuki's have them, but I'm not sure how much they really need them.
A pricey, but very nice looking fix, would be to purchase the Throttlemeister throttle lock kit. That replaces the bar ends with their own very handsome machined aluminum ones.