Looking for Handlebars and Levers

[RandyN]

First a quick intro. New to this board and bike. My main bike is 2011 Kawi Concours 14. Other rides are 2001 Gold Wing and SV650. Wanted something in between Concours and SV650 and think the Tracer Gt will fit well. From Ft. Lauderdale and do most riding in NC, GA, SC and TENN. mountains.

Replaced the stock bars. I didn't like the position the handlebars were putting my arms in, they were putting a little pressure on my wrists (maybe a little Carpal Tunnel issue). The ends of the stock bars seem to tilt up too much and seemed more of an elbows up dirt bike riding position. Tried rotating them back and moved the mount forward but not enough change. The new bars I'm trying are a little lower on the height, kind of flatter, with more Sweep. See photo. The control mount area was a little shorter than ideal and was a tight fit to get all controls mounted. The brake master and clutch perch are right at the bend of the bar. I tapped the bar ends (M16 x 1.5) to put on the handshield adapter. Bar inner diameter was fine to go without drilling.

These are the bars I used. Renthal Fatbars model # 819-50 Gold. Bars are near perfect position for me but could be better, not so wide would be about it.

https://www.renthal.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4205

These are the short levers I'm using. Not the greatest quality and had to do a very small amount of grinding on the clutch perch to allow the lever to fully return to mount. They're better than stock, for me, but want shorter. Looking for shorter true 2 finger levers. Any suggestions welcome on both levers and alternative bars.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C5MQKCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I noticed some other bikes I saw, such as newer Versys, use a fat bar like the GT. Maybe someone will have info on bend/height/width and could be used??

 

[betoney]

Maybe the photo is misleading but from what I can see it looks like there is still plenty of room to move the controls inward.  The Renthal bars actually look wider than stock bars.

I dont like wide bars and have always cut mine shorter on each end.  On my last 2 bikes I have used Rizoma Handlebars which are narrower than stock and I still cut another 1/2" - 3/4" off of each side.  In the control area I dont have anything extra mounted to the bars except grip, clutch or brake mount and control/switch pod which measures 9" to the end of the grip on each side.

FWIW, I don't use the factory handguards, I'm not sure if those would require you to have a wider control area on each side?

[stringman]

On 3/16/2019 at 4:02 AM, RandyN said:

First a quick intro. New to this board and bike. My main bike is 2011 Kawi Concours 14. Other rides are 2001 Gold Wing and SV650. Wanted something in between Concours and SV650 and think the Tracer Gt will fit well. From Ft. Lauderdale and do most riding in NC, GA, SC and TENN. mountains.

Replaced the stock bars. I didn't like the position the handlebars were putting my arms in, they were putting a little pressure on my wrists (maybe a little Carpal Tunnel issue). The ends of the stock bars seem to tilt up too much and seemed more of an elbows up dirt bike riding position. Tried rotating them back and moved the mount forward but not enough change. The new bars I'm trying are a little lower on the height, kind of flatter, with more Sweep. See photo. The control mount area was a little shorter than ideal and was a tight fit to get all controls mounted. The brake master and clutch perch are right at the bend of the bar. I tapped the bar ends (M16 x 1.5) to put on the handshield adapter. Bar inner diameter was fine to go without drilling.

These are the bars I used. Renthal Fatbars model # 819-50 Gold. Bars are near perfect position for me but could be better, not so wide would be about it.

https://www.renthal.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4205

These are the short levers I'm using. Not the greatest quality and had to do a very small amount of grinding on the clutch perch to allow the lever to fully return to mount. They're better than stock, for me, but want shorter. Looking for shorter true 2 finger levers. Any suggestions welcome on both levers and alternative bars.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C5MQKCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I noticed some other bikes I saw, such as newer Versys, use a fat bar like the GT. Maybe someone will have info on bend/height/width and could be used??

 

Randy

are your bars any lower than stock?

Thanks

[RandyN]

On 6/7/2022 at 3:03 PM, stringman said:

Randy

are your bars any lower than stock?

Thanks

I don't think they are significantly lower but what I was looking for was less up turn on the bars. Meaning the stock bars made me have to hold my elbows up like riding a dirt bike and that put pressure on my wrists when I lowered elbows to a relaxed position. The new bar ends are less tilted upward.

[maximo]

1 hour ago, RandyN said:

I don't think they are significantly lower but what I was looking for was less up turn on the bars. Meaning the stock bars made me have to hold my elbows up like riding a dirt bike and that put pressure on my wrists when I lowered elbows to a relaxed position. The new bar ends are less tilted upward.

FWIW, I have 5" bar risers w/the stock bars, and that allows the bars to swivel to almost horizontal, so the upward bend sweeps back, not up.  Still not comfortable. LOL