| Author | Message | ||
     Fmaxwell |
Having just completed the installation, I wanted to share my observations for others considering the handlebar swap. Plastic bar ends included in the kit are a very hard plastic. I messed one up trying to hammer it in with a rubber mallet. After using a heat gun to get the necessary flexibility, installation went much better. The throttle cables included have a fairly small radius ~45 degree bend (through rigid fittings) as they come out of the throttle control housing. The reason for this is so that they route through the same slot in the housing for the headlight as is used with the cables on the cafe bars. This leads to a bit stiffer throttle action (more friction) and no amount of cable rerouting really corrects this. The 2010 1125CR, which comes standard with the higher bars, has different cable routing and the slots in the side of the headlight housings are filled in (a filler panel? a different housing part number?). The throttle cables route differently and appear to avoid the sharp bends. Anyone got part numbers for the 2009 standard (clubman) cables and hoses, the 2010 standard (high bar) cables and hoses, and the 2009 accessory high bar cables and hoses? See below: 2009:  2010:  Note: 2009 image shows standard clubman bars The clutch hydraulic line is long enough -- but just barely. The banjo fittings were to be tightened to 16-20 lb/ft. That made me a bit nervous, especially going into the clutch slave cylinder, so make sure you have a good torque wrench. Do not use any kind of thread sealant. Mity-Vacs make draining and later bleeding brake and clutch easy. Have lots of paper towels and spray cleaner (409 or equivalent) to deal with DOT4 brake fluid drips, spills, and leaks. It's unavoidable. The stuff is nasty and attacks finish -- even the powdercoat on the brake caliper (when you wipe it off, you can see faint red on the paper towel). That's really the worst part of the project. If you're going to be in there to replace the throttle cables, now is a great time to de-noid if you have not already. When reinstalling the airbox lower "pan," be careful to get the breather hose through and the rectangular rubber fitting attached at the bottom. This is a blind mate, so be careful not to fold it over. I hope that this random set of observations proves to be helpful. (Message edited by fmaxwell on October 26, 2009) | ||
| Fmaxwell |
Another note that came to mind: Wow, what a difference in handling! It makes it really obvious why the supermoto bikes use bars like these. The 1125CR feels so much lighter and more flickable when you are sitting upright without a lot of weight on your wrists. I found that at street speeds, even on the highway, the stock clubman bars were causing me to give up handling and comfort to make a fashion statement. | ||
| Xl1200r |
You shouldn't have any weight on your wrists regardless of the bars. | ||
| Bhillberg |
Can you give an estimate on how long it took you to do the swap? | ||
| Avc8130 |
Yeah...learn how to ride a motorcycle! J/K I greatly appreciate the observations as I plan to do the high bar install ASAP. ac | ||
| Fmaxwell |
"You shouldn't have any weight on your wrists regardless of the bars." Sorry, but my a** is not big enough to counterbalance my entire body when I am leaning that far forward. Apparently, the people below didn't get your memo: Ben Cope, Visor Down, writing about the 1125CR: the riding position puts too much weight on the wrists Adam Waheed, Motorcycle USA, writing about the 1125CR: Buell offers an upright handlebar accessory option which takes a good deal of pressure off your wrists Brian Catterson, Motorcycle Magazine, commenting on the Ducati Sport 1000: Leaning far forward like that places a lot of weight on your wrists and shoulders Sport Rider Magazine: Around town, the laid-out riding position of the SS ... puts a lot of pressure on your wrists and back. | ||
| Fmaxwell |
I'm really not too good at giving an estimate as I didn't do it all in one sitting, de-noided the bike, got distracted by everything from getting a heater in my trailer to figuring out why the brake lights were stuck on (flaky rear brake light switch). If I were to estimate, figure four hours. | ||
| Dmhines |
Can you post a picture of your 2009 High Bar install so we can compare the cable routing to the 2010 picture?? Thanks ... Wonder if it would be better to use all 2010 cables and bar to they can be routed the "new" way ... (Message edited by dmhines on October 26, 2009) | ||
| Fmaxwell |
I'm at work right now, but I will try to get a picture of the cable routing. I think that we would be better off with the 2010 cables. I even thought of calling HD/Buell customer service and asking them to exchange out my cables for 2010 cables. I kind of wonder if the change was in response to less than satisfactory feel with the 2009 high bar kit cables. I'd also like to find out if there is a filler panel which can go in there to cover up the cable openings for that 2010 look. Anyone bought the clubman kit for the 2010s? I'd like to see what they do for cables (e.g., is a filler panel removed from the instrume cluster/headlight housing?). | ||
| Xl1200r |
Whatever helps you sleep. Having weight on your wrists makes for slow, sloppy handling. You're supposed to support your upper body with your core muscles and thighs. How much stiffer is the throttle action? It's pretty stiff on these bikes stock as is... | ||
| Fmaxwell |
Having weight on your wrists makes for slow, sloppy handling. Correct. That's why it's important to choose bars that give the appropriate riding position based on your typical speeds. When you're going 130mph, you have a lot more wind to buoy you up than when you're doing 65mph. You're supposed to support your upper body with your core muscles and thighs. Which is fine if you're talking about an hour or so, but when you're doing a 200 or 300 mile day on the street, complete with stop lights and slower moving traffic, that's just not realistic with a riding position as extreme as the 1125CR with clubman bars. How much stiffer is the throttle action? It's that friction kind of stiff rather than spring stiff. I've got some synthetic cable oil that I will be trying to see if that loosens it up a bit. It's pretty stiff on these bikes stock as is... See, your wrists have atrophied from riding around without them supporting any weight! (Message edited by fmaxwell on October 26, 2009) | ||
| Xl1200r |
If the high bars make you happy then I'm happy (and that's not intended to sound as sarcastic as it does). But my CR with low bars has taken me to Ohio and back, my Firebolt with stock ergos has taken me to Georgia. 10 and 12 hour days are not out of the ordinary, so it works for more than an hour. Personally, sitting upright at anything more than 50mph with no fairing makes me feel like a sail about the get blown off the bike and having to grip the bard even tighter to hold on. See, your wrists have atrophied from riding around without them supporting any weight! HA! Trust me, my wrists get a plenty good work out, lol. | ||
| Froggy |
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| Fmaxwell |
But my CR with low bars has taken me to Ohio and back, my Firebolt with stock ergos has taken me to Georgia. 10 and 12 hour days are not out of the ordinary, so it works for more than an hour. Were I not using the bike to fight rush hour traffic in the DC area, I could probably make do with the clubman bars, but I'm not spending a lot of time cruising at highway+ speeds. Way too much in the way of weight transfer forward and back. Glad that your bike is working out for you. Mine's working way better for me with the higher bars. Yes, more wind protection would be nice, but, but not at the expense of a less natural (to me) riding position. Trust me, my wrists get a plenty good work out, lol. Ever wonder why the clutch springs seem so light and the throttle spring seems so heavy?  | ||
| Zac4mac |
I have 22k miles on my 1125R and I'm an "old man". I like the bar position, most of the time I lay my chest on the airbox and stick my left thumb under my chin. It's so comfy, I've fallen asleep... Z | ||
| Dmhines |
My HandleBar kit is still on backorder. Was supposed to be come off backorder on Monday but it didn't happen. MAYBE if we are lucky ... HARLEY will start using the 2010 parts to fill backorders ... then we would get the newer line routing! | ||
| Dmhines |
FYI ... HandleBar kit is OFF of backorder and my bars are currently in transit from HD to the dealer as of 10/28. | ||
| Avc8130 |
Anyone have the 2010 part numbers so I can try the new cable routing? ac | ||
| Cms1172 |
Is anyone willing to trade High for Low bars? I have the Clubman bars and need the upright kit. Better to trade than buy. | ||
| Dmhines |
The problem is that if you wanted Clubmans they were easy to get .. not many folks got "STUCK" with highbars. I got "stuck" with Clubmans and wanted highbars. Dealer only had a Red Highbar. I figured it was cheaper to swap handlebars than swap plastics so went with the Black Clubman. In Hindsight I should have had the dealer just swap the plastics and made it a done deal ... hindsight is 20/20 ... and I am pretty sure they would have done the swap. | ||
| Xbud |
I am having a problem with the re-installation of the longer cables on the highbars, seems the retracting throttle cable is too long, no amount of adjustment will take up the slack. Anyone else run into this? Anyone have a picture of the cable routing through the control housing? Thanks in advance..... | ||
| Dmhines |
Any chance you have the cable's reversed? My kit should be delivered next week. I did order a Service Manual as well since I figured that would help with the install. | ||
| Xbud |
I checked the cables, the cable with the black nut for the throttle body return is the lower cable and it inserts into the throttle tube housing first with the flat spot facing towards the opening..Right? Then the opening throttle cable mount on top and fits into the groove against the return cable..Right? Any ifo on this is appreciated. | ||
| Buelltours |
does anyone know if there are other superbike bars which would fit the CR? I was looking at a Aprilia Dorsoduro yesterday and noticed that their bars also changed thickness towards the clamp (The Manas' too). They would look gorgeous on my CR. Just wondering if anyone ever looked into aftermarket yet.... ??? | ||
| Fmaxwell |
You might also find that MX bars fit, as there are quite a few 1.125" clamp area MX bars. I've used them on a number of street bikes and they are a great choice if you're looking for a somewhat wider bar. Whatever bars you get, if you drill locating holes for the electrical switch assemblies, chamfer the holes. This greatly reduces the chance of cracks developing at the holes. | ||
| Crswede |
Rizoma got some nice bars | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
Lets get some p/n's on this thread! I have seen just the bar for sale w/o the entire kit... If we had the correct p/n's we could come up with the best overall package for this swap. If the clutch line is long enough that helps make the price more do-able so we just need: 1-high bar p/n: N1002.1ATZT (dose this come with the grip installed?) you can find these on buell parts .net for $82.45 2-2010 throttle cables (pull and return)need p/n's 3-front brake extended line. need p/n anything else needed? | ||
| Kevin_stevens |
Can you get a photo from the rider position? I've seen the shot in the catalog, but that doesn't give a very good idea of how it all looks. Tx! KeS | ||
| Froggy |
Xtreme, there is no point in doing it all individually at this time, as all the lines require replacement, plus the kit comes with various things like tie wraps and instructions. Kevin, I got pictures of my swap here http://froggypwns.com/images/CR%20Bar%20Swap/index .html No before or after shots, we rushed to get started, and then it got dark before we finished. | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
Looking thru some other threads it looks like some members claim the 2010 p/n is be the same for the throttles as the pre '10? weird. Any one know if there is actually a revision? Froggy, the op stated the clutch line could be left... I have a ton of zip ties and I really don't (I hope) need the instruction sheet to replace a set of bars/lines/cables... I think that putting together a parts list seems like a good idea for those who want to... |
