Handlebar flip

[thefoolofemmaus]

This is probably a dumb idea, but I wanted to run it past you guys anyway.

I want a more aggressive riding position, not only for the look, but also the wind just blasts me sitting up straight. At first I thought about clip-ons, but with where the headlight bracket is, they seemed like way too much work. That lead me to looking into clubman bars, which... look a lot like my stock handlebars, but flipped upside down. And that got me thinking.

Have any of you guys tried flipping the handlebars upside down? How did it work out? It seems like the lollipop front turn signals might get in the way, but other than that I can't think of a reason it wouldn't work, other than just sounding stupid.

'79 GS750E for reference.

 

[Steve]

I'm glad that you are the one that brought up the idea that it sounds stupid. :-k

I don't have a 750 here to try this, but I think you will find that the bars will hit the tank. Even if you installed stops to limit the travel, you would find that the angle of the bars simply would not work. The last bend in the bars would make the hand grips angle downward, making the position very uncomfortable, and borderline dangerous.

You are looking for a "more agressive" riding position. What is your ultimate goal? Do you simply want to look cool (agressive) while riding? Are you looking for a bit of comfort by leaning into the wind? Or, ... looking at the bottom line, ... do you want to simply retain some comfort and reduce the wind blast?

Many here have changed bars to a Daytona or Superbike bend and enjoy them. Others have installed flat or Clubman bars and thought they were comfortable, but admitted that they were only comfortable at higher speeds, when the wind blast was helping to take some pressure off their arms. In town, at lower speeds, there is a lot of pressure on arms and wrists.

Another solution that is not so "agressive" is to install a small windshield. It allows you to remain in a more-upright position for comfort, but minimizes the wind blast. One example is the National Cycle Street Shield EX. You can see one mounted on a GS650L by clicking on the link in my signature. One nice feature is that, after the initial mounting, it takes less than a minute to remove, if you want to ride without it. (Takes about two minutes to put it back on when you decide it wasn't worth removing.)

Yeah, it's not as cheap as flipping your bars over or buying a new set of bars, but it really just comes down to WHY you are looking for a new riding position.

.

 

[Dogma]

Well, the only thing you have to lose is the time invested in trying it. You might need to figure out some funky cable routing, but try it out before you spend money on new cables. My guess is, they will be too low and hit the tank like Steve said.

I find Daytona bars angle back too far. Superbike bars or euro bend are pretty good for leaning on the wind at about 80 (for me). They only have a couple inches of rise. If you're playing with stock bars, I think you have 5 or 6 inches of rise, which is definitely too much unless you like windshields or fairings.

 

[Guest]

SUPERBIKE BARS:

https://www.denniskirk.com/emgo/black-satin-7-8-in-superbike-handlebar-23-12571s.p599828.prd/599828.sku?utm_source=google&utm_medium=csecid=203602477&aid=12756258757&keyword=%7Bpla%7D&kid=200309656597&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwIPrBRCJARIsAFlVT8-MDXOGNVdPZpgrRCQhcPWtjbhHwkhf8Bd5nZmK-abB6x7Gqs31MnkaAvDBEALw_wcB

What I have.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

I started with the OEM bars on my 1100G, not to my liking. I liked the look of the 750E bars, decided the BikeMaster Superbike bars looked the most like those. Enjoyed those for some years.
I bought a 550T and tried Clubman bars on that bike and liked them. Sold that bike with those bars on it.
Decided the Superbike bars were still too high, so I got clip-ons and have those on my 1100G right now, and I like those.
Had to keep finding new ways to position the cables to work with each handlebar change.
I tried all the bars upside down, nothing wrong with experimenting.
Had the bars upside down on my single speed kids bike too.

 

[thefoolofemmaus]

Thanks for the advice all! I am going to try it out and will post pics and a write up of how it works.

 

[wacky941]

Yes, you can flip the bars, this is my original '82 GS1100EZ that I bought in 82,

I put Super Bike bars on it and like you, wanted something a bit different so I flipped them.
That's my brother in law on my bike in 83, I think he was 12 at the time.

This is my new '82 that my wife bought for me in 2008. The original one was stolen in 87.

As you can see, the bars were flipped. The only thing that I didn't like about it was that because of the rubber caps on top of the fork tubes, the bars would be in contact with the rubber caps and set the bars back a little. The bars didn't hit the tank but it was close. The ride itself really wasn't that bad but, one thing to consider, you need to understand that when riding in this position with the stock seat, it can be like Steve said a bit uncomfortable at lower speeds because the strange angle of your body. What I did to get away from this on my original '82 was to acquire a second seat and took it apart so I could shave the foam down to lower the sitting position and then I sewed in a new panel and created new seams for the stitching. I was happy with that until the day it was stolen.

The new '82 I immediately removed the stock bars and put the same Super Bike bars on it as the original, I put a Corbin seat on the new one.
I decided to put a cafe fairing on my new '82 and that's when I found out that the flipped bars won't work very well with the flipped bars so, I bought some Clubman bars and really like them. I like them so much that I now wonder why I flipped the bars in the first place. My suggestion to you is, don't waste your time flipping the bars, just buy some clubman bars and you'll be very happy with them. The Clubman bars will give you the same look and feel that you're looking for except you'll be much more comfortable.

One other thing, when you change the bars, at first it'll take a little while to get used to but once you do I really think that you'll like the feel of it. It's just my opinion but I've always felt that I have much more control of the bike with it set up like this.

This is my new (to me) '82 as it sits today,

Hope this helps.

 

[limeex2]

With a stock seat I've always felt my GS1000S was the most comfy, perfect seating/bar/wind combo of any bike I've ever had. If someone can post spec's for a 1000S bar Im sure there's a bar that is close. Flipping them is almost like clubman bars which are only good at high speeds

 

[thefoolofemmaus]

Yes, you can flip the bars, this is my original '82 GS1100EZ that I bought in 82,
Hope this helps.

It totally does, thanks! The clubman bars I have been looking at are pretty cheap. Cheap enough to experiment with. Thanks!