Need advice on clip ons

[kmoney_imp]

Never even thought of that. That's actually a pretty cool idea.

[domenaxe_imp]

Never even thought of that. That's actually a pretty cool idea.

I'll keep you posted on the outcome if I try it Kmoney


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[run-tmc_imp]

I found myself typing out the exact title of this thread, so instead I will simply add on.

I'm looking at a set of used Tarozzi clip-ons and love the look but am concerned about the lack of clearance. Has your manoeuvrability at low speed suffered with the Woodcrafts kmoney?

If I don't purchase the clip-ons, I am considering the Renthal ultra-lows after good experience on my K6. Has anyone had experience with both the CB500 bar and the Renthal ultra-low? Does either stand out as a lower vibration bar? Seems to be a lot of support for both choices on this forum (notable reviews from Chip Beck on the CB bar and usgcmac on the Renthal ultra-low come to mind), but I'm not sure if anyone has tried both. Thanks for your thoughts members!


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[Nortoon_imp]

In the late 60s, when I was young and weighed 163 pounds, I transformed my 1966 BSA Lighting into a café racer with a lot of fiberglass and alloy components from Britain. The bike was very fast for its day and fun to ride. The disadvantages on long trips I do remember are: sore wrists, sore lower back, stiff neck and difficult handling at slow speed because of the narrow clip-ons.

Girls didn't like it either. While I was bent over the tank behind a quarter fairing out of wind blast, they were not. They also found the wide thinly padded seat uncomfortable. So I was changing girl friends more often than I changed the bike's oil. I sold it a few years later when my government job was moved someplace else.

That summer I found a job working in a motorcycle shop that sold Yamahas. After a few pay days I felt confident enough to buy a new 1971 350 R5 that was on sale. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on café racing gear, I changed the bars and turned them upside down. What a hoot! Because of its light weight and low center of gravity the bike handled great and was capable of 103 MPH. All of the aches and pains I had suffered on my BSA were none existent because the bars were wider and could be adjusted for height. But girls still didn't like it.

[c-breezy_imp]

I would love to see how the handlebar flip turns out! If anything, it would be the first time I've ever seen it on the CB1100.

[DocRid_imp]

I did the 41mm Woodcrafts with 2.5in risers (shoutout to kmoney for guiding me through the install).




Sadly, I have bad news... the riding position was too uncomfortable for me and I went back to the stock bars after one riding season. The problem for me was that I have long legs, so that combined with the foot control position of being more forward than a sport bike felt like I was riding a pocket bike (a little exaggerated but you get the point). I would get really bad hip cramps while riding. I'm positive that moving the foot controls rearward would have solved the problem.

Regardless, if you're looking to do it the process is pretty simple. Only thing that I wasn't able to do myself was drill the holes in the bars for the anti-rotation pins; I took them to a local metal shop that had a drill press.

Also, they did hit the tank... barely, but enough to prevent locking the forks to the side.

[Nortoon_imp]

I did the 41mm Woodcrafts with 2.5in risers (shoutout to kmoney for guiding me through the install).




Sadly, I have bad news... the riding position was too uncomfortable for me and I went back to the stock bars after one riding season. The problem for me was that I have long legs, so that combined with the foot control position of being more forward than a sport bike felt like I was riding a pocket bike (a little exaggerated but you get the point). I would get really bad hip cramps while riding. I'm positive that moving the foot controls rearward would have solved the problem.

Regardless, if you're looking to do it the process is pretty simple. Only thing that I wasn't able to do myself was drill the holes in the bars for the anti-rotation pins; I took them to a local metal shop that had a drill press.

Also, they did hit the tank... barely, but enough to prevent locking the forks to the side.

Ah! Yes I am beginning to remember. The joys of modifying a bike with after market race kits.

Adding any racing part, like clip-ons, to a motorcycle meant buying three other parts to make them work. What are needed with clip-ons are rear set shifting and brake levers to try and make the riding position functional. It never will be comfortable. A foot peg kit might also be required.



I was lucky as I was able to use my passenger foot pegs. The modified brake pedal worked, but the modified shifting mechanism was balky. I ended up just reversing my shift level. One up and three down was great for drag racing. But three up and one down was awkward and dangerous on a British bike with poor brakes, as you had to rely on downshifting to reduce speed. Grabbing a handful of front brake at speed resulted in a front wheel wobble. Stomping on the back brake locked the rear wheel up and produced a spectacular but unnerving slide.

It's all coming back to me now.

[Mikestib1_imp]

Clip ons will make it much harder to change direction at speed as they offer little leverage. Also you would probably need custom cables and rearsets if Cafe look is what you're after. Wish you luck and keep us updated.
You can find 41mm fork stops that were for Rickman CB750 and Kawasaki frame fits with 41mm Ceriani forks . Just google 41mm fork stops and they are being sold on EBay. I used this type in the 70's on a Cb750 K1 I turned into a Cafe racer.

[Brookland27_imp]

[quote='Mikestib1' pid='162031' dateline='1484762295']
Clip ons will make it much harder to change direction at speed as they offer little leverage. Also you would probably need custom cables and rearsets if Cafe look is what you're after. Wish you luck and keep us updated.


This is inacurate. Clip on bars will actually greatly improve your handling in most agressive riding situations. It seems however you are more interested in looking cool which they also will do. What has been said here is very accurate in regards to the tradeoffs of comfort and the need to invest in rear sets etc. I did clip ons on my thruxton and loved the look and the improvement in handling high speed turns/ agressive riding stance but couldnt take the riding position for long and always felt like my legs needed to be further back. Impossible to ride a passenger comfortably too. Ultimately i sold the bars and bought a more upright bar. If your only objectives in riding the bike are visual appeal and attacking corners then i say go for it. Buy woodcrafts they are awesome. Otherwise just get a euro bar and enjoy the ride. The bike looks pretty awesome as is.

[Novice_imp]

Why? I certainly don't want to discourage someone from making their bike their own but, for me, clip ons don't fit this bike's style. I personally avoid trying to make a bike something it's not. If I wanted a bike with clip ons, I'd buy a CBR1000RR. It might work aesthetically though assuming a) you can stand the riding position and b) you don't dent the tank. I just don't see the positives outweighing the negetives.