I'm really dissappointed with my choice of ....

I don't think I'd do this to a KZ, but the other day, I saw a bobbed hardtail Honda 750 with Clubman bars. But what was unusual about it was that the Clubman bars were mounted upside down. Kinda ape hangarish looking. Don't know how comfortable they'd be, but it looked pretty cool on his bike.
I tried one of those half helmets when I went to the HD factory in Kansas city. But I made the mistake of wearing it when I rode the V-Rod. Yep, felt like I had a drag chute on my neck.

riverroad wrote:

I don't think I'd do this to a KZ, but the other day, I saw a bobbed hardtail Honda 750 with Clubman bars. But what was unusual about it was that the Clubman bars were mounted upside down. Kinda ape hangarish looking. Don't know how comfortable they'd be, but it looked pretty cool on his bike.

That´s the way I have the clubmans mounted on my 650, very common style in Europe. You may or may not like the look (I do, obviously), but it makes for a very comfortable riding position, gives you a slight forward lean without putting too much weight on your wrists.

Btw, note that there are two general types of clubmans, a Honda type and a Kawasaki type - if you want to mount them this way you need to get the Kawasaki type as the Honda type is too narrow between the "horns" to clear the gauges.



Post edited by: OnkelB, at: 2007/10/18 13:30

Ya know OnkelB, that don't look bad at all. That seat looks good too. Now you got me thinkin...
But for some reason, the bars on that Honda were up higher. Maybe he had them up on risers or something.
Do you happen to remember what cables you used?

Post edited by: riverroad, at: 2007/10/18 15:14

I'm using Clubman Bars. Only ones that'd fit with the fairing I have. I don't find them too low, but I have long arms.
I had bars that had about a 1" raise to them before these, and did not find there was much difference in reach between the two.
My turning circle has gotten bigger (bigger's better I'm told;) ) because the bars hit the fairing at full turn. Not the tank though, as I built up the stop on the frame.
I like the position. I did move the footpegs back about 6 inches, after one season, as well. Feels better overall.

riverroad wrote:

But for some reason, the bars on that Honda were up higher. Maybe he had them up on risers or something.
Do you happen to remember what cables you used?

Makes sense, apart from being narrower between the "horns" the Honda type has a different profile from the Kawasaki type - in the pic below the Kawasaki type (which I have) is no. 111008, the Honda type is no. 111002. No. 111003 is an adjustable type, which is twice as expensive as the others, all are Tomasellis.

I´m running stock cables, upside down the clubmans are not that different lengthwise from the stock bars.

Btw, the prices you see to the right is Danish Kronen, as of today they´re around 5.32 to a dollar.




Post edited by: OnkelB, at: 2007/10/18 16:52

OnkelB, that really does look pretty cool on your bike ! The general angle and reach should be about the same as the superbike bars I just bought will be.

rstnick, I seen pics of your bike elswhere on the forum ... Great lookin' bike ... but I'm afraid the low mounted clubmans would be uncomfortable for me.

I've got a long row to hoe before my bike makes it back to the street ... but a long winter ahead to get it there ... buying the superbike bars now was really just to cheer me up ... lol. Soon I'll have to dig in and repair and/or replace forks, headlight, gauges, etc, etc.

Thanks guys for all the input !!!!!

Got my "superbike" handlebars a couple of days ago .... I think I'll like these much better than the mini-apes I had on my bike.

Had the mini-apes on my 750. Did not like the handleing at all ! Bought my 1000, guy brought the bike for me in his buddys truck. I never drove the bike with the original mini-apes. Went right to the KZ specialist here and bought drag bars. The 750LTD I had I put CSR bars on it. They were perfect. The 1000 drag bars I have are not bad at all. Maybe a 2" rise and feel great. The helmet..... I had a HJC when I had a KLR650. It felt like a ton of weight on my head. Earlier this spring when I was looking at new bikes I should have bought a much cheaper helmet. Forgot the brand, but it felt really good. They didnt have a XXL in stock. Now it got cool I went back to hte dealer, needed a helmet, he gave me a HJC 10 something. Retails for $260, got it for $129. ( goes to show you how much they make on helmets). Anyway..... It feels like I have a ton on weight on my head.....

Post edited by: dannyg40, at: 2007/10/24 19:07

dannyg40 ... dude ... your KZ looks awesome ... My bars are similar to the ones on your bike ... about the same rise and pullback ... I like 'em !

I'm still tangling with this issue. Bars and helmet ... but I'm thinking about the bars at the moment. As chance would have it I got a really nice set of OEM LTD style bars on a parts bike I got from Gringo. The correct bars for my bike as sold new. I have decided to try the original stockers. The bars are out getting rechromed right now so I hope I can live with 'em. I loved the look and feel of the superbike bars ... but I really didn't want to change out cables and brake hose .... soooooooooo

Dale, Just a suggestion... bars are like shoes... you have a properly fitted set of shoes? Do you think anyone else on this board could wear them and feel comfy? Probably not... maybe one or two guys might but most will NOT. Same with bars.

For us that have been around awhile, we go to the old fitting technique... sit on the bike in a riding position and place your hands where they would fall naturally on the bar grips. This means that your hands will be clutching imaginary grips unless your current grips are in the right place. Have a friend mark/note the location...

OK... a place like z1enterprises.com sells a ZILLION types of bars through their various sources. They won't have 90 percent of them listed on the site.

Figure out WHERE your hands were in the ideal position. There are THREE specs with any set of bars and sometimes a 4th. The most common are WIDTH, RISE and PULLBACK. Sometimes, the flat, center part that is clamped by your bar clamps is also mentioned.

Where you had your hands on the imaginary grips, first measure how far apart your hands were. This is the WIDTH, then how high your hands were, this is the RISE... they measure rise on the bars as the line from the fork tubes straight up above the triple tree and last, the pull back. That is how far the bars bend from the rise to where they end up...

Just take the three measurements you come up with and call Z1E and talk to Jeff and tell him the measurements. You will want 7/8" diameter bars. That is all there is to it... your new bars will FIT. You most likely can use your current cables/hoses because the new bars won't likely be any higher or pulled back farther than the bars on there now. Most of the bars Jeff sells are pretty reasonably priced. The ones on his site that you can look at are already marked with the specs I mentioned. Don't forget to account that if you have no shield, you will bend over a bit when riding compared to just sitting on the bike.

How hard is it to swap out handle bars? I really like the clubmans. Would it be a 7/8s for a 79 KZ 650 too?
-Ed