Are Clubman bars really vintage?

[Hoosier Daddy]

Question for the old guys... at least I am able to say that in this case. Being born in '62 I just missed the days when the original Cafe Racers were in full swing.
Were the Clubman style bars used then or are they a more modern development to try and replicate the stance of a bike with clip-ons?
I am wanting to keep my next project true to the authentic "Cafe Racer" from the early days. A little '67 BSA 441 Roadster that will never see the Ton, even if thrown off a cliff... but figure it might be a nice tribute before I start really playing with my A65 from the same year. The Spitfire is in too nice of shape to modify much and going to remain mostly stock for now... but this little Victor is open game.
Problem is I love the look of the fork full length shrouds and don't want to give them up for clip-ons. Clubmans seem logical choice but are they true to the time period?
I can Google images but sometimes it's hard to tell if the pics are actual vintage shots or photo-chop.
These Rockers look authentic with Clubman bars on the Triumph...

While this one is obviously not... notice the Land Pirate named Carpy on the right.

 

[Brodie]

From my understanding they were created to be mounted the other way around so that you could have a decent rise bar without a cross bar. Apparently the shape was to allow the gauges to be viewed unhindered.

Not long after that they were flipped by the Cafe crowd as a cheap alternative to clip ons.

But I cannot reference this, as all the info I got came from a few old Aussie riders.

 

[Nebr_Rex]

I have these bars saved for a special project. They came from the Australia via eBay.
You can see the original intent as Brodie stated.

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[Hoosier Daddy]

Nebr, those are friggin COOL! Mostly because I have never seen anything like them.
So, the extra "hoop" was to surround the gages?

 

[Nebr_Rex]

Yes, around the gauges.
They're the only ones I've ever seen.

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[HerrDeacon]

My understanding with clubmans (no experience just what I've heard) was that they were a way to stay in the racing regulations that stated the handlebars needed to still use the stock mounting locations. This ruled out clipons and clubmans were a way of having the clipon position and still use the stock mounts. Could be a load of bull for all I know, but thought I'd mention.

 

[beachcomber]

My understanding with clubmans (no experience just what I've heard) was that they were a way to stay in the racing regulations that stated the handlebars needed to still use the stock mounting locations. This ruled out clipons and clubmans were a way of having the clipon position and still use the stock mounts. Could be a load of bull for all I know, but thought I'd mention.

No Bull HD - right on the money

Clip ons obviously came first, and in the early days [ 1959 / 60 ] was the obvious WTG for aspiring Cafe Racer boys.

My first Clip Ons were fitted to my 250 AJS - which in my 16 year old mind was a simple switch. Until I came to the aforementioned top shrouds. Headlamp brackets weren't readilly available, so I just cut out the shrouds around the clip ons.

When the Thruxton endurance races became a popular shop window for manufacturers - regs were soon introduced stating that Clip Ons had to be OEM items on the bike AND headlamps had to be retained in their original configuration - which left the choice of Vincent / Norton straights. It's a moot point as to who actually came up with the "Clubman's" bars [ that's to say I can't remember ! ] but like most simple but good ideas, soon became adopted by most teams. The first one that immediately comes to mind was a Bonnie ..... but I could be wrong. The Connie was a prime candidate - as to fit Clip ons you had to change the whole top nacelle / binnacle - which was integral with the top yokes. My ex-Bob Mac Thruxton Connie came with Clubman bars fitted. Luckilly for us Enfield freaks - the early Bullet top yokes were a straight swap.

As Clip-Ons found their way onto Cafe Racers - so did Clubmans - the most popular make was "Ace", and the bars soon became generically known as "Ace Bars".

The only one of our "senior" crowd that used Ace bars was Rocket George - EVERYTHING was chromed on his bike - and he refused to lose the headlamp shrouds as they'd cost him 5 Bob to have chromed.

Aussie Ace bars ???? nah, that's a Roo-Bar on the front !!