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I find it annoying when people get the $25 ebay Clubman bars that are designed for smaller bikes (like 350s) and put them on 500+ bikes and can't point the tips down because the forks are in the way. This makes their bike look like a floppy bunny. If you have a larger bike I suggest getting the wide version so you can angle the tips DOWN and not be a retard.
I had to get this off my chest. So many people put so much effort into fixing up bikes only to make them look like floppy bunnies with incorrectly mounted clubmans.
well. better than them putting the clubmans on upside down right? (see pic below)
maybe thats more comfortable for them though? who knows. its all personal preference right? thats why we take stock bikes, clean them up and have our way with them.
Upside down, inside out, backwards... The only person that should care about the astetics or orientation of the handlebars are the rider or owner. If I want to mount 'em "backwards" whats the big deal? Just because it's the way everyone's doing it, does that establish proper orientation? Do I have to set the pitch at a specific angle for everyone too?
I do agree, most of those look goofy to me, but I don't think that doing something like the last picture, or any of them for that matter, should be considered incorrect. Don't start telling me how to mount my drag bars!
Clubmans were originally designed for 2 purposes. One they were made to be able to install low bars for proper racing positioning while being able to still be mounted to the stock bar mounts to remain in compliance with a lot of race organizations' regulations (wera and ahrma still require it for vintage class if I'm not mistaken). Two, it was to provide adjustability to the arm positioning for the rider because everyone's comfort zone and positioning was different. Low bars were purely form follows function in their design. I love the way that a good bar looks, but to the innovators of the design, that wasnt what they had in mind at all.
I'm gonna put 18" apehangers upside down on my bike. Should get the grips down around the front axel. Badass.
All seriousness aside, like Kanicoy says, the origin and intent of some of these standard cafe parts has become cloudy. Like swept back pipes for instance. Way back, there was a rule stating that the exhaust had to be long enough to reach the rear axel. The tunners thought that the shorter the pipe, the better. So they came up with the swept backs to shorten the pipe. That rule, long forgotten, but the style lives on. Do what you like.
Actually the OP has it pretty much 100% incorrect.
Those 'points' you want to point down? Mean nothing.
Width of fitment not withstanding, the pics you show where you decry the ignorance of the bar install.....pretty correct. Looks at any sportbike and the angle of the clip-ons. You don't see those kats flouncing around with their elbows up around their shoulders do you? Ride for 50 miles with the bars setup like you want them and your wrists will be screaming.
Tailor your bike to suit you...not a 'look', that's just silly.
Yet the front master won't clear the tach gauge and my healed shattered wrist won't bend the other way to allow my elbows to be placed in my ears if I point my tips down. The position of the bars is really comfortable for me and I like how they look. So if my bar placement has annoyed somebody oh well they are mine not yours.
Clip-ons typically angle down at 10 degrees and some are 15 degrees. That's because it's the natural angle for most of our wrists. Likewise bar ends usually bend back slightly to match the natural angle.
But we aren't all made the same way and some riders like more extreme downward angles (Jarno Saarinen was one, but he could ride).
It was a valid point that "universal" usually means that it doesn't really work correctly on anything and neophytes don't always know what they are looking or for or what will work for them. After that the thread kinda took on a life of its own.
I used to prefer clip-ons but now Superbike bars are a better compromise for my shoulders and back which are slightly less forgiving than they used to be. Even on our race bikes I always arrange clip ons to be 3-4 inches higher than the seat for a comfortable riding position on the race track because comfort makes for ease of use and safety and comfort brings speed. It's hard to ride fast or safely if your wrists are at an odd angle.
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that's what I like.
