Anticlimactic: Handlebars=Done

It was the beginning of last September when I was bitten by the nudist bug. Not the urge to live sans clothing but rather the idea of stripping some of the excess plastic off my bike and riding 'naked' as they say. Part of my original intention was to eventually convert the bike to using an actual handlebar rather than the very nice Cycle Cat clip ons I've been running. My idea was to buy a spare GSXR upper triple and drill it out to add mounts for a handlebar. I also figured I'd need longer throttle and clutch cables, and a nice long depressing Northwest winter would give me plenty of time to scavange for parts and take the bike apart. However, that's not the case. Instead I rode the bike all winter netting an impressive (to me) 3000 miles between October and April. Don't pat me on the back yet, I only rode when it was not raining out. Correction, I tried to only ride when it was not raining out. This was not always how it played out. Every time I rode I cursed myself for not having a balaclava, warmer gloves, or any kind of appropriate winter gear. I kept telling myself that the more I rode in the cold weather the more it would motivate me to purchase winter gear. Instead my funds went towards other winter hobbies and my body remained mostly exposed to the elements.

The last couple weeks of May I decided to get motivated on this whole 'naked' thing and get these handlebars on there. I ordered myself up a longer clutch cable, and with a little help from Peter Lombardi found myself a set of naked sv650 throttle cables. I ended up picking the Rizoma conical handlebar. 1). Because Rizoma is bling for your bike, and 2). because Flavor flaaavveeeee!!!!. But in reality, the rise and sweep of the bar fit my requirements. I wanted to convert to handlebars, but I didn't want to end up with ape hangers. Something with minimal rise and sweep was all I needed, and the Rizoma conical bars boast a thick-wall aluminum construction that would likely dampen vibrations. I picked up some ProTaper over sized bar mounts that, according to the specs, would work with the Rizoma conical bars. Back in the middle of winter I ended up finding a really cheap set of decent looking mirrors from Koso in China that I wanted to use, and I bookmarked them (smart thinking). Ordered those, and with all parts inbound I just needed a garage to work in, and access to more tools than my own. One of my co-workers who doesn't live that far away from me offered to let me use his garage and tools when the time came. Doing quite a bit of his own fabrication for various off-road vehicles, this seemed like a good choice for tool variety.

I won't give you the play by play of the whole process, but I will break down the numbers for you:
3- last minute parts
4- trips to Lowes
1- trip to Home Depot (closed)
4- bolts destroyed
3- Red Hook beers
1- cutting wheel disc worn out
2- holes drilled in the wrong spot
14- swears words used in a single sentence
12- hours spent

That just about covers it. I've been riding it with the new bars now for two weeks solid and I definitely love it. The seating position is more upright. The grip angle and width is very comfortable. Almost all vibrations that I used to feel in my hands are gone. The leverage over such a little bike around town is very fun. The only problem is, now I wish I had a bigger motor.

I was very tired when I took these pictures, but you get the idea:



And yes, I know I need to fix my brake resevoir.