| Author | Message | ||
     Jraice |
Just wanted to post my thoughts. The OEM bars on my XB12Ss were a little to upright for me, also I wanted something that had more leverage because I felt like I had to fight to get the bike to lean. Went with 1" risers so I could use a fat bar and got a Pro Taper Carmichael bend. Loved it, more leverage and a bit more forward. Started getting more aggressive (hanging off, etc...) and wanted to be even more forward, also I had new tires which made the bike more lean happy and didnt think I needed the leverage. Got a good deal on the CR bars from my dealer so I went for it and got them. Install was a pain but in the end is fine, except for the rather large hole for the clutch cable (plan out where the hole goes better then I did and yours wont be so bad). First ride with them was about 10 miles of twisty backroads just by my house. Wasnt to excited, bike seemed to lose its flickability and the comfort just wasnt there. Did two groups rides that weekend, the first one they still didnt feel great. By the second one (Doc Wong Clinic) I was getting more comfortable with them, much of that from some stuff Doc taught at his clinic on anchor points. His clinic ends with a 4-5 hour ride on some VERY technical roads and I was riding just as hard as I normally would on them. Did a bunch more riding... Then today I did a 5 hour ride in the twisties and started working on body positioning (aka hanging off, had to follow the rules of the Book of Buell  ... JK). Bars felt GREAT when doing so, much better then with the wide bars. It felt natural by about 1 hr into the ride to hang off, which not only gives me more clearance (and is really fun!), but makes the bike more flickable. I also road some nice twisty goaty roads and found I could flick the bike around just as well as with the wide bars now that I am used to the CR bars. They work for dirt style riding (pushing the bike under you and more extended arms) in the REALLY tight stuff, or full on hanging off everywhere else. My biggest concern was that my hands would be fatigued as they used to get with my last bike, an 05 R6 (this setup is probably more aggressive then the R6 was), which would tire out my hands and make my throttle hand fall asleep. Not sure if its the bars ergo's or (more likely) my increased skill level and confidence but my hands never hurt one bit, atleast no more then with the upright bars. Only thing bothering me was my legs, which take a beating, especially when shifting from side to side all day! In the end, I am in love with the CR bars. They look like they belong on the XB IMHO more so then the Pro tapers, they feel great on technical roads or sweeping roads and are even fine around town. Oh and consider this a for sale thread if anybody wants a fat bar Charmichael bend . Which is a sweet bar by the way if you like something upright but still aggressive and with tons of leverage. |
