Handlebar question for the knowledgeable or shop owners.

[johnr]

Ok if I can't actually do work on the Guzz at the moment I can at least carry on with planning and wish lists.

My bike started life as a 2002 EVT hydro. Thanks to you lot it now has a 2002 lemans engine (Wow!) Still some adaptions to make on that front when I can rustle up some mulah for it.

The riding position on this bike could stand some serious improvement. I find that I'm sitting bolt upright behind the screen and further more, the screen is too low for me.

This means that the wind stream off the screen wallops me fair in the mouth and that I get a lot of jarring through my upright spine.

I'm quite sure that the unfaired models of that year like the Stone or the Aluminium,  must have had lower bars or they would have been almost unrideable at anything over 30mph.  Mine certainly was when I experimented with taking the handlebar fairing off.

So, an effective fix to both the jarring and the screen height would be to have lower bars. (the screen may need further work to reduce backwash)

So does anyone have definitive info about the dimensions of other bars, say the Stone or Alluminium ones, that would simple plug and play?

Edit.
Basically I'm looking for bars that are 2 or 3 inches lower but otherwise pretty much the same.

[oldbike54]

 John , any chance of bending the existing bars into a better shape , and cutting some off the ends ?

 Dusty

[johnr]

Not really I don't think Dusty.

The bars have reduced diameters at the ends for controls and given the equipment needed to make such adjustments I would have to get it done professionally, at huge cost and no guarantee of a good outcome.

If I cant find a good Guzzi pair I think the nest best alternative would be bars off something else at the reduced diameter and have sleeves made for the steering head mount. This would leave me with skinny looking bars though and I'm not keen.

[oldbike54]

 Oh yes , forgot that fact re the taper . Someone help us out here .

 Dusty

[John A]

To help you visualize what you want, take two pencils, one in each hand. Hold them out in front of you, sitting in the approximate position you will be astride the bike. Look at the pencils, they will be at the angle your body wants. There are some variations of stock bars, there may be one that suits you. Dirt bike bars that are tapered mite be something that bolts right on. I had a problem finding a selection all in one place so I could visually look at them and compare, that's where a knowledgeable dealer is helpful.

[antmanbee]

Get the handle bar clamp set that fits an earlier Jackal model and then buy whatever 7/8 bars you want. The controls all fit on the 7/8 in bar (22mm).

That's what I am looking to do on my CalVin that I posted about in the 'For Sale, Wanted' at the top of the page.
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=86091.0

[wavedog]

Perhaps a set of bars from a cali Stone? Same diameter, tapered like the bars that you currently have but lower. Just bolt on and go.

[kidsmoke]

EV Bars



Stone Bars



These images are ripped off from Harpers site...If you called them I bet he could give you numbers on rise and pullback etc. There are MANY 7/8"s bars out there that would be similar in overall dimensions. Maybe craft a bushing for the clamp area and go with an inexpensive 7/8's bar if a tapered guzzi salvage isn't forthcoming.

[webmost]

I'm quite sure that the unfaired models of that year like the Stone or the Aluminium,  must have had lower bars or they would have been almost unrideable at anything over 30mph.

Reminds me of the quote by Barney Oldfield, after becoming the first man to break the mile-a-minute barrier in Old 999:

 "You have every sensation of being hurled through space. The machine is throbbing under you with its cylinders beating a drummer's tattoo, and the air tears past you in a gale. In it's maddening dash through the swirling dust the machine takes on the attributes of a sentient thing... I tell you gentlemen: no man can drive faster and live!"

I can't find the entire preposterous quote; but I believe the ellipsis skips the part where he says something like: "your eyes are watering, your heart is pounding, and the wind whips your scarf behind you".

"The chest of a driver is forced in," he said later. "Average lungs can't overcome the outward force and the result is like strangulation. Blood rushes to the head, temporary but complete paralysis of mind over body occurs."

Drive it on Sunday, sell it on Monday, was these old racers' motto.

 "Men were white-faced and breathless, while women covered their eyes and sank back, overcome by the recklessness of it all."

=======================

Remove both fairing and screen, try 35mph, and work your way up from there. A naked front end offers the great advantage that it does not create turbulence, neither does it concentrate the wind. Listen, it's a murdersickle. It's sposed to be windy. I have ridden hundreds of thousands of miles on naked bikes sitting upright, nearly always in excess of thirty..... and lived! If the wind bugs you, slip on some sunglasses.

Now I gotta go ride my naked Indian Scout with the pull back bars to the office. Prolly hit  sixty five.

[RANDM]

I've always ridden naked too ……… oh wait that didn't come
out right  and given a calm day and a good road
on  tour I'll sit around 75 - 85 mph but that might not be
wot John wants to do.

I'm guessing that John uses an open face bucket (wind hits
him in mouth) sunnies without a visor don't help much with bugs,
like a grasshopper I met at 80mph. Couldn't see out the left
eye for 2 days. Visors kinda suck big hairy ones and a screen
negates the need so it's horses for courses and what suits John
best that's the answer, not what might be the most gung-ho.

Maurie.

[webmost]

Just yanking John's chain for giggles.

Tho I have to say, I've hit bugs & never thought twice about it. Other than the yellow jacket that whipped up my shorts.

[johnr]

I've always ridden naked too ��� oh wait that didn't come
out right  and given a calm day and a good road
on  tour I'll sit around 75 - 85 mph but that might not be
wot John wants to do.

I'm guessing that John uses an open face bucket (wind hits
him in mouth) sunnies without a visor don't help much with bugs,
like a grasshopper I met at 80mph. Couldn't see out the left
eye for 2 days. Visors kinda suck big hairy ones and a screen
negates the need so it's horses for courses and what suits John
best that's the answer, not what might be the most gung-ho.

Maurie.

In the early days of my riding a helmet was required at over 30mph. Mine was an open face as were they all in those days. I had no eye protection but would buy a pair of plastic safety goggles at the nearest garage if the weather was inclement.

Eventually I progressed to a proper set of motorcycle goggles. These were good and I still like them. Two layers of optical quality armourplate glass bonded together with a layer of plastic between them.  They could be flicked up onto the helmet when required and did not get scratched. I got whacked in the eye by a kicked up 1 1/2 " rock while wearing a pair of these. It cracked the outer glass layer before bouncing off my girlfriends knee and leaving a bruise that lasted for a week or two.

It took a long time for visors to even begin to equal these optically and they still haven't in terms of eye protection. I now have an open face with a visor. The visor is good optically but backwash from the fairing shoots rain water into the inside of it, and both sides of my glasses!

When full face helmets first came on the scene they were designed for use in race cars and those cars had head restraints. As a result the back of those helmets was far too low for motorcycle use  and quickly gained a reputation for breaking motorcyclists necks. Some full face helmets sold as motorcycle helmets are still like that.   No thank you. I stuck with the open face designed for use on motorcycles.  Besides, with a full face how was I going to light a ciggie on the fly?

The idea of some form of screen first arose on my BSA Rocket 3. This was a bike where you first got into the cruising range at 70mph (and was still cruising at 100mph, though I was not)  I was regularly doing 1000 mile trips on the Rocket from Auckland to Invercargill. I found on these trips that if I exceeded 70mph by any more than a few mph I got too tired and tended to stop for longer on my breaks. Overall trip times got longer.  For eg. One beautiful day I was droning happily along the Desert Road in the Nth Island in the first quarter of one of these Auckland to Invercargill trips.  I was getting seriously tired and was beginning to worry that I would not make it this time.   A glance at the speedo solved the mystery. Yep! 95mph.  A fairing would have been of huge benefit to that bike.

I tried a 'police style' screen on it. A full clear handlebar windscreen. Yes, I could cruise faster. But, at 60mph my beard was pointing straight out in front of me like a shelf you could put a cup of tea on and at 80mph it was flapping me in the eyeballs! The screen came off again.  I kept my eyes peeled for what might be the right screen/fairing  though.

The first bike I rode with where I felt it was me holding things up had a handlebar fairing.  It was a Moto Guzzi SP1000. I don't think the Rocket gave anything away to the SP in terms of handling or performance, but it was easier to ride the SP faster because of that fairing. I took the SP for a ride and was impressed by it. I would have bought it when it came up for sale but I wasn't ready to part with the R3 at that point.

Bythe time  the EVT found me I was older and not quite as keen to battle hurricane force winds for long periods of time.  The EVTs fairing then was a big selling point to me.

 So for me, on a touring bike, wind and weather protection is important, but so are ergonomics.  I need to put that bend in my spine to provide some 'spring', and i need to improve the effectiveness of the standard fairing.  Lower bars would solve the former, help with the latter and be cheap.  I would love to give Harpers a ring and order one of their fairings but that is beyond my means, and I would still have the back problem.

On an unfaired bike I would prefer a riding position akin to the 'British racing crouch' where I am lying, as it were, on the wind. That's never going to happen on the EVT+.

[Tom H]

I wanted a taller screen on the EVT's fairing. I went with these guys and bought the 21". I'm 5' 10" about and needed to take about an 3/4" off so that I could see over the shield properly. 21" was just at the wrong view for me, not below and not above the eyes, sorta bouncing between.

http://www.clearviewshields.com/motorcycle-windshield/moto-guzzi/touring-fairing-ev-stone-shields/

Hope this helps,
Tom

[Red Dog]

I had a Guzzi Black Eagle & really hated the stock bars they forced me into an upright position that was the pits.
I bought an early 7/8 mount & began trying different handle bars & realized this was getting expensive.

Finally bought a set of Dan-Moto adjustables. Perfection!

I raised the forks the exact width of the mount, installed the bars & controls then began playing with the adjustments.
Up, down, forward, back until I got it exactly right.
I could ride comfortably upright or lean forward with or without a windscreen.

Got them on ebay for about $150.00
Considering getting a set for the Grizz & the Mille.

[Sheepdog]

John: I had the same complaints as you with the really wide pullback handlebars on my Vintage. I replaced them with bars from an '03 Stone. They have the requisite 30mm diameter and are both lower and narrower than the originals...and much more to my liking. They are about 31" wide, have about a 5" rise, and a neutral bend. I had no trouble using the standard cables/electrical lines.

[Orange Guzzi]

The line of handlebars made by Emgo are narrow at the triple clamp mounting point relative to the holes for risers on the triple clamp.  I have a set of Eurobend bars with 1-1/2 inch risers.  They are lower that the stock Aluminium drag bars by about 1 inch.  The handle bar clamps are pinching right at the bend. 

[johnr]

John: I had the same complaints as you with the really wide pullback handlebars on my Vintage. I replaced them with bars from an '03 Stone. They have the requisite 30mm diameter and are both lower and narrower than the originals...and much more to my liking. They are about 31" wide, have about a 5" rise, and a neutral bend. I had no trouble using the standard cables/electrical lines.

Just the info I was looking for. I've just been out with my tape measure and estimated the hand positions. Sounds like Stone bars would work just fine.  Do you feel like you have better control too Sheepdog?

[johnr]

I had a Guzzi Black Eagle & really hated the stock bars they forced me into an upright position that was the pits.
I bought an early 7/8 mount & began trying different handle bars & realized this was getting expensive.

Finally bought a set of Dan-Moto adjustables. Perfection!

I raised the forks the exact width of the mount, installed the bars & controls then began playing with the adjustments.
Up, down, forward, back until I got it exactly right.
I could ride comfortably upright or lean forward with or without a windscreen.

Got them on ebay for about $150.00
Considering getting a set for the Grizz & the Mille.

Thanks for that Red Dog. May well be worth looking into.

[Sheepdog]

John: control is better due to a slight forward lean. The more neutral bend lends comfort and great leverage, despite the narrower width. I also like that it allows me to keep the stock handlebar clamps...

[johnr]

John: control is better due to a slight forward lean. The more neutral bend lends comfort and great leverage, despite the narrower width. I also like that it allows me to keep the stock handlebar clamps...

You wouldn't notice the change at a casual glance would you.  I've always felt control was better with a forward leaning position and your comment lends weight to this. 

It makes me wonder anew at the entire concept of 'Ape Hangers' and the like. What are they thinking?  (Of course, being behind a screen, clip ons wouldn't answer either.)

Now all I have to do is acquire the bars.

[Sheepdog]

Good luck, John. They are out there, but not as common as the pullbacks. A fellow Wildguzzi member helped me out when I was looking...

[RANDM]

Excellent photo Sheepdog, quality view to have even
Without riding anywhere. Looks like a good choice.

Maurie.

[kidsmoke]

Good luck, John. They are out there, but not as common as the pullbacks. A fellow Wildguzzi member helped me out when I was looking...

Harper's stocks them. Of course, NZ creates other challenges.

Good Luck!

[rocker59]

John,

Centauro, Cal Aluminum, Cal Titanium, use this setup.

Tall risers with step-tapered fat drag bars.  You should be able to source these parts, if you're wanting to use OEM:




Otherwise, as was mentioned, you can change to '02-back risers and use any 7/8" bar you want.

[makarushka]

Now all I have to do is acquire the bars.

Here you go; good price, too -- this is with VAT, which won't apply to you:

http://www.stein-dinse.biz/Complete-partlist/Unsorted/Lenker-Cal-Stone::211119.html

[Sheepdog]

Great price!

[kidsmoke]

Centauro, Cal Aluminum, Cal Titanium, use this setup.
Tall risers with step-tapered fat drag bars.  You should be able to source these parts, if you're wanting to use OEM:

that's not been my experience. I found on set through a WG contact but they were somewhat modified, and cosmetically heavily modified....otherwi se, nothing.

I like that setup