Raising the bar(s)

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Yonks and yonks ago I bought a set of raised clip-ons from Fast Eddie before he decided to do his Sport Bar conversion. I finally got around to fitting them. They are only 1" raised so a lot of effort for not a lot of gain but at least there was enough slack in the cables etc to get the job done (just). Yesterday was strip down and reassemble day which was straightforward, this morning I spent the time aligning everything up and torqued down. The only 'issue' I had was that the Anniversary/Dominator headlight brackets had to be slackened off and top bolts removed from underside of top yoke, getting the brackets aligned again required a bit of patience as it was fiddly and any misalignment manifested itself in a misaligned fly screen magnified 10x, my ocd wouldn't allow that! I need to road test to check wrist angle and see if there is any real benefit in the slightly higher bars, fingers crossed.

Raising the bar(s)


Raising the bar(s)


Raising the bar(s)
 
Looking forward to the road test Mark.

An inch can make a big difference... as the actress said to the Bishop...!
 
46 mile run, glorious day and fairly quiet roads. First 25 miles on fast sweeping A roads, last 20 mile was tight and twisty B roads. Note I also reduced hydraulic preload on rear shocks by 1 turn, i've been meaning to do this for ages. Conclusion....

1. Nothing fell off!
2. The 'buzz' on the bars at 4k rpm was still there but seemed less than normal, could be due to slight length/tube thickness difference?
3. No change in handling behaviour detected at all but defo felt less harsh on my posterior.
4. No change in weight on hands. Strong wrists and a stretch over the tank still required. "It's a cafe racer, what do you expect!"
5. BIG change to neck/shoulder positioning, minimised neck strain, could now see clearly through visor opening without having to keep chin raised!
6. The 10 mile marker 'I hurt, tempted to turn around and go home' didn't materialise, I'd actually done 28 miles before it crossed my mind that it hadn't.
7. The engine STILL sounded like a cement mixer full of bricks at tickover
8. I need to lose a few pounds, my jacket feels tight :)

Point 1 pleased me. Points 5 and 6 above makes the exercise worthwhile. Point 7 is just 'character' isn't it (I hope). Point 8 will be addressed in due course.
 
Sounds like a worthwhile exercise.

I’m sure point 7 is just character Mark... well, either that or impending catastrophic engine failure. Or is that just character too?!

Point 8 addressed in due course... by buying a Harley Softail... and matching (bigger) jacket... ;)
 
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Surprised it didn't ease pressure on the wrists. Try to keep your wrists straighter and don't lean forward so much. Go on a diet. I'm built like a cinderblock myself. I can commiserate.
 
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