Inconsequential ramblings of an Old Git

[Skub]

I toy off and on with the idea of changing the bars on the Zed,but I've no definite direction to sail,so I could make things worse. My hands get sore after about 3 or 4 hours,but maybe that's my bike fitness limit anyway. Adjustable bars would be a cool thing.

[Supermofo]

Mine has Renthal fat bars as standard, I like em

[Yorick]

Mine has Renthal fat bars as standard, I like em

Mine's got fat rider as standard

[mangocrazy]

I've found (mainly through trial and error) that my upper body prefers bars that are angled down from the horizontal about 20 degrees, and also back towards me by about 20 degrees. I tried a pair of completely straight bars once and they were horrible. When I was young and flexible enough, clip-ons were fine; they all angle downwards by about 20 degrees and can be rotated round the fork leg to establish a comfortable position in that plane. But these days clip-ons for me increasingly feel like an instrument of torture.

While on this topic, I regularly watch Neevesy's Q&A sessions on Youtube and (more in hope than expectation) fired off a question about 'comfy sportsbikes'. Blow me if he didn't just reply to my question but completely agreed with me. Here's the YT clip...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Aren't things like the Streetfighter, Tuono V4, Speed Triple RS etc. essentially just full sportsbikes with mandelbars etc?

They're naffing expensive though!

[mangocrazy]

I'd say the Tuono V4 is about the closest thing to a comfy sportsbike that's available; the others are more super-nakeds I'd have thought. For me a comfy sportsbike should have all the attributes of a sports bike (low weight, fully faired, top kwoll brakes and fully adjustable suspenders) but with relaxed ergonomics. I don't see anything currently for sale that covers all those requirements.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Thats what made me think of the Streetfighter. Its basically a Panigale?

Lack of bodywork yeah OK.

[Skub]

It's way easier/cheaper to start with a sportsbike and make it comfortable,than to take most currently available naked bikes and try to make them perform like a sportsbike.

[Screwdriver]

It's way easier/cheaper to start with a sportsbike and make it comfortable,than to take most currently available naked bikes and try to make them perform like a sportsbike.

I hesitate to disagree (just for a moment) but all you need for a touring bike to make it sporty is horsepower and suspension. To make a sports bike into a touring bike takes a fair bit more effort, not far off the dreaded "Streetfighter".

You'll probably want taller handlebars which is a feat of engineering by itself. Risers, bars, extended controls, weird angle brake reservoir etc. After that you almost inevitably fall foul of the fairing which will be fixed. Then after you've solved those issues, the seating position isn't quite right for the seat!

Plus you now have monster peaky sports power acting on a much higher centre of gravity. Wheelie city. You'll probably want to tweak the power delivery and let's be honest, for touring you'll probably want to change suspension too unless it happens to be hugely adjustable. Most bikes are massively improved by upgrading suspension anyway I suppose.

Having said all that, I found the early FireBlades were extremely comfortable as stock. Well the turn of the century versions were.
Christ that makes me feel old....

[Skub]

It's way easier/cheaper to start with a sportsbike and make it comfortable,than to take most currently available naked bikes and try to make them perform like a sportsbike.

I hesitate to disagree (just for a moment) but all you need for a touring bike to make it sporty is horsepower and suspension. To make a sports bike into a touring bike takes a fair bit more effort, not far off the dreaded "Streetfighter".

You'll probably want taller handlebars which is a feat of engineering by itself. Risers, bars, extended controls, weird angle brake reservoir etc. After that you almost inevitably fall foul of the fairing which will be fixed. Then after you've solved those issues, the seating position isn't quite right for the seat!

Plus you now have monster peaky sports power acting on a much higher centre of gravity. Wheelie city. You'll probably want to tweak the power delivery and let's be honest, for touring you'll probably want to change suspension too unless it happens to be hugely adjustable. Most bikes are massively improved by upgrading suspension anyway I suppose.

Having said all that, I found the early FireBlades were extremely comfortable as stock. Well the turn of the century versions were.
Christ that makes me feel old....

Yeah,there are more things to change than you'd think. A couple of things,going from the direction a tourer to a sportsbike,ground clearance and weight. It's hard to fix those two things cheaply.

But I take your point,making any bike into something else will never be a smooth road.

[mangocrazy]

But I take your point,making any bike into something else will never be a smooth road.

As I am personally finding out, first-hand...

Going from a tourer to a comfy sportsbike means basically re-engineering the whole bike - reduce weight (quite drastically in most cases), fit better suspension & brakes and change the appearance of the bike to look sportier, while retaining the relaxed ergos.

Going the other way (sports bike to comfy sports bike) is way easier, especially if you're a manufacturer. In fact you've probably already got all the bits you need to make the conversion in a sister model's parts bin.

[Yorick]

It's way easier/cheaper to start with a sportsbike and make it comfortable,than to take most currently available naked bikes and try to make them perform like a sportsbike.

If I was going on a long journey, I'd want...

Fairing.
Comfy seat.
Good riding position.
Bonkers engine.
Great suspension.

Hmmm

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[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Mine has Renthal fat bars as standard, I like em

Mine's got fat rider as standard

Blue Suzukis are like that

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Since buying my Suzuki I've considered buying a GSXR750 and putting flat bars on it, but all my Suzuki needed was better suspension and a screen, so much easier to do.

[mangocrazy]

The top yoke and handlebars have (finally) come back from being Xylan coated and all the little bits and pieces that are required for a conversion like this have at last popped through the letterbox, so a couple of days ago I set about putting all the pieces together. The second top fairing is (unsurprisingly) still at the painters, albeit a different painter than last time. Having said that, they all seem to work to extremely relaxed timescales. At least this means you can get a decent view of the yoke, risers and bars, doesn't it?

Whether you'll enjoy that view remains to be seen...

So without further ado, here's the view as you walk into the shed:

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To recap, the top yoke is OE Aprilia, as fitted to the RSV and Falco, but with two triangular aluminium wedges JB Welded to the sloping top sections. To strengthen that bond, a steel insert was pressed in to mechanically join the two parts. The risers are off an MT-09 SP and the bars are home-brewed out of 1 1/8" (28.6 mm) section steel tube for the base and uprights and 7/8" (22.2mm) tube for the grips and controls. They're basically home-brewed 'fat bars'. Welding was done by professionals, not me (my welding is shit - really shit.) Here's a closer view of the risers and bars:

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I was pleasantly surprised how easily all the parts went together. No real gotchas were encountered and things like the throttle action is better than it's ever been, even from new. This is because the throttle routing is much more relaxed and there's no tightness or binding when going from lock to lock. Having the throttle cable exiting straight down from the grip helps, and the cables are custom ones from Venhill to their 'featherlight' specification which uses marine-grade stainless steel inner wire for maximum flexibility, and a 'teflon' liner, to reduce friction and give a lighter action. All I can say is they work. And this is the rider's view:

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The bike is still on the Skylift and will stay there until the bodywork has been fitted, but I did a test sit on it, and the riding position feels massively improved. I'm still leaning forward - it's not 'sit up and beg', but it no longer feels like the bars are an extension of the wheel spindle. I'm sure my back, elbows, shoulders and wrists will thank me.

[Taipan]

Wow! Thats quite a height from the top yoke! I hope you enjoy it Fonzie!

[mangocrazy]

In cas anyone's interested, the remote reservoir brackets came from Racetorx - they're on FB and the Web. The bracket I used for the clutch reservoir was their 'side angle perch':

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And the one for the brake reservoir was their 'Z perch':

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And here's a side shot of them both:

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[Screwdriver]

How's the tank clearance at full lock?

[mangocrazy]

Perfect. Full lock to lock clearance without changing the lock stop positions. The risers just touch the tank harness, which is a loose-ish fit on the tank. I was really surprised at how well it all went together.

[Screwdriver]

Looks like you've sorted the cable runs too which is where a lot of these types of conversions go wrong.