Clubman handlebars

revoluzin

New Member
Tried putting new handle bars on my bike tonight... was the most difficult thing I've done and have done a lot already, this really tried my patience. I feel like this is maybe a stupid post, but I'm having a hard time deciding how these handle bars are meant to sit on the bike? No matter how I placed them it seemed off... I also struggled to get the brake perch on; got it eventually but it all goes right up to the elbow of the handlebars, is this typical?

I also noticed the right switch slid right on, but the left one won't go because of the wire in the way. I am assuming I am expected to drill holes for it or file the switch itself down.
 

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you'll find they fit best in the least comfortable position, its always the way, and if you still have stock footrests then wherever you position them its going to be feckin' uncomfortable, best way to describe it is you'll be crouched over like a labrador shitting a baseball whilst tilting your head backwards so you can actually see where you're going

and yes either drill a couple of holes in your nice shiny new bars or notch the switch housing

looking at the brake it looks like its in about the right place, the throttle and switch block are taking up most of the rest of the place so if you can reach it with your hand on the throttle its about right, you may end up having the brake cable looping across in front of the speedo but a shorter cable will fix that
 
Okay haha, I wasn’t sure if there was a best way to have them.

I have no room at all to move anything on the right side. I did notice that the throttle cable is way to long now, I’m going to have to have to try and shove some of it under the tank I assume...? Don’t have a new brake cable, should I expect to need a longer one?
 
sorry, i modified my answer while you were typing it seems

you'll probably need shorter brake and throttle cables and possibly clutch too

i never got round to that stuff on my XS250 with clubmans, blew it up long before i got round to it. my gsx11 had them for a while but it was just too uncomfortable so i ended up using straight drag bars for a while and even that after a 500 mile day was a chiropractors dream come true....
 
As above those bars wont last long :) get yourself a set of drag bars they drop you down a tad but not as far forward ...or a set of clipons :) .....the throttle cable will have to be shorten a tad, or allowed to run down the opposite side of the tank. it needs to be smoothly run wherever otherwise the cable will bind not allowing the throttle to snap back to idle

think my setup lasted 2rides before I went to drag bars
 
I considered clip ons but I wasn’t sure about them or what the pros/cons were... I thought they’d sit much lower than the clubman bars?
 
clip on's might be lower than clubmans but not as far forward, reducing the stretch a bit

and also if you have a look at wozza's bike above he's moved the pegs up and back from stock ( i think) or at least more so than the stock position on your bike, this gives a more lying down or prone position rather than the folded in half in the middle effect you may find yourself with
 
Na pegs are stock...but still bloody uncomfortable with clubman bars on....not to mention moving weight forward,Have clipons on her now but its more aesthetics over function, the drag bars are a much nicer ride just didn't look right with the direction I was going ;)
 
Wow. If you can't ride it well and comfortably, what good is it other than art? If you plan to ride it, build it that way. Low bars are for aerodynamics at high speeds, low CG, and allowing the rider to rest part of their weight on the tank in that position. Early beach racers had chin pads to allow resting part of the weight of the head on the tank without knocking teeth out/cutting chin. But they were not street-ridden. Your bike and your tastes, but bikes should be built to ride.
 
I'm not sure if I felt uncomfortable when I sat on the bike and tried them... but I'm also short at 5'7... I felt more like I was doing a stretch and I was speed racer. I'll have to try them again and maybe I'll pick up clip-ons.

I am concerned about the clutch cable I got now though, it's the standard length from Common Motor (53"). Throttle cable definitely too long I will try running it through the other side of the tank.

Full disclosure, the furthest I've ever ridden a bike was down the street and this is a project bike that I have learned to work on as I've gone along. People said get it running and enjoy them before making the cafe modifications, but by the time I got it running it was all apart anyway... seemed strange not to just start making the changes I wanted. I am assuming the comfort of clubman bars and clip-ons is much higher with rear sets, but I'm not sure how safe it would be to learn with rear sets?
 
Most bikes run the cables around the front and to the opposite side of the headstock (clutch to the right, throttle to the left) to avoid problems when turning (at low speeds when counter-steer isn't used). So, check that you've done that.
 
I will check, I think I may have run the throttle cable up the right side... if not, then I need a shorter throttle cable. Common Motor only has one size though
 
whatever you ride , you'll get used to eventually, it becomes normal and therefore safe (ish)

just look at harley guys with apehangers, bloody uncomfortable, sh1t control of the bike but if thats what you get used to......

i used to change round my old 750 from clip ons to mini apes and low street bars along with the seat and stuff and it always felt weird going out the driveway the first time but by the time you get to the end of the street it was back to being normal

however what is being said about getting the cables right is important, if they pull tight turning the bars at low speed you're either going to get unexpected and unwelcome revving of the engine or the clutch will pull itself on, both can be somewhat awkward if you're manouvering round a car park or something with your feet up, you'll either rev up and shoot off in whatever direction you're pointing or if the clutch pulls in you'll simply tip over, neither are good
 
For me its an age thing :) getting close to 60, the bike is just a therapy project keeps me happy and the mind ticking over....my reflexes are to slow these days to ride seriously and the muppets in cages are getting quicker.
So a cool looking bike (to me) that I work on every day but ride less than 100km a year comfort isn't a priority ;)
 
with my vmax its the opposite, stock its hideously uncomfortable, tiny little pullback handlebars on risers that put them about a foot in front of your chest, high mounted pegs that are directly below the seat and a seat that doesn't allow you to move around at all ( it does have a great big bump stop in the middle to stop you sliding backwards under acceleration) , which is all very practical but not if you're well over 6 foot tall

so to make it fit me, as i was never going to fit it, i changed the bars to wide MX ones and lost the risers, put forward controls on and a corbin seat that i can sit about 8 inches further back on

having said that, if none of these parts were available i would still have the bike, i'd just be bloody uncomfortable with a huge grin on my face

you'll soon enough find out whats good and bad about the riding position and you can adjust from there, you'll still enjoy it i have no doubt, and buggering around with bits of motorbike is at least as much fun as riding them
 
Thank you everyone for the advice and input! I will keep going with what I have for now and make adjustments if necessary... do kind of wish I just went with clip ons, but I can always change that later. The other concern I had aside from cable lengths was the ends of handlebars when the forks are turned to their stopping point. There isn't a lot of room left there for my hand, is it typical that I would even turn that sharply to begin with? It seems that it would be manageable, but tricky.
 
You'll probably only need full lock at very low speed or even with feet down maneuvering a tight place in the garage.
 
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