This weekend I finally had a chance to go on a long ride with my new bike. I was making a 120 mile run at about 80-95MPH and got handlebar shakes. I did a search for clip-on's and found that the clip-on's could solve this problem.
I am interested in clip-on's for my 2009 GSF but don't know where to go or what to look for (companies/part numbers).
I think after reading the thread I would like the euro's better than the 89 Katana's but not sure. Too bad for me because I love the position of my stock bars as I do have issues with my back.
Can anyone help me?
Woodcraft makes some 37mm clip-ons as does vortex. I think ebay has an off brand that are 37mm you can buy. just do aearc for 37mm clip-ons and you'll get what you need.
Did you remove the heavy bar end weights or replace them with light weight aluminum thingies that simply look pretty?
Bar end weights are very important, a are good grips and good gloves.
Shakes? Are you talking about headshake, or vibrations through the bars?
If you're experiencing headshake, the problem is either major mechanical issues that clip-ons won't fix, or you, the rider.
If you're talking about vibration through the bars, what suggested that clip-ons would fix the problem? If anything, I would expect to feel more vibes through the bars with clip-ons installed.
The handlebars would turn back and forth from left to right very little.
What mechanical issue would that be???
Feels like riding on slush or mud, swerving back and forth a little, not able to easily keep a straight line?
Low tire pressure
defective tire
riding on grooved pavement
lose bolts on front end
Handlebars won't solve that problem.
Ok so I went out and checked:
tire pressure - good
bolts - good
riding in a groove -no- check
bad tire - maybe. It is a new left over 2009 model with 3 miles when I got it, so I'll check with the dealer on that.
It didn't feel like I was riding in mud or slushy, it just had the wiggles. I could keep it in a straight line, but like I said it had just the slight back and forth movement.
I was sitting far up and laided over on the tank. Could of ben hanging on the bars a bit tight too. Could that have been the cause?????
Quote from: ghostrider_23 on April 25, 2011, 07:32:08 AMI was making a 120 mile run at about 80-95MPH and got handlebar shakes. I did a search for clip-on's and found that the clip-on's could solve this problem.
That is pretty close to the top speed of the bike, so probably a combination of toofast+badposture. Head shake is usually caused by worn stuff or loose stuff. I had a Yamaha Radian that would go 200km/h, but it wasn't happy at that speed. I've always found the GS reasonably stable even at top speed but it doesn't feel rock solid either.
I've run my GS500 at 103, GPS confirmed (easily 110 on the stock speedo) with no issues. I've done nearly that speed with my elbow a few inches off the deck. A GS500 in good working order is 100% stable at those speeds.
I've had my GS up to what was supposedly 115mph, although I'm sure it was actually closer to 100mph given the crappy speedo. Either way, clipons are just more stable than 1 piece bars, there's no way around it. A bike shouldn't be all over the road regardless, but having upright handlebars is never going to be as stable as clipons at speed. Even if you tuck into the tank your arms are still gonna be up next to your head and you're not going to be able to get as much weight on the front wheel. On nice smooth pavement you can ride either, but toss in some rough pavement and a bit of wind and you'll start to feel the difference. Even if people don't think it'll fix anything, I've switched back and forth between 1 piece bars and clipons a few times on the GS and there was a pretty big difference in how it would ride at speed. If clipons weren't more stable you'd see guys riding motoGP bikes with renthals just for the leverage you get from a wider bar.
My favorite thing to do when I'm on bikes with normal handlebars is get over 60mph, and shake the bars back and forth a little bit. The whole bike starts to wobble a little, I think it's just a neat feeling, kind of like riding on ripped up roads or metal grate bridges. It's much harder to upset a bike with clipons doing the same thing.
Of course it's harder to upset the bike with clip-ons - you have a lot less leverage than you would with bars. By that same argument, the bike is even more stable if you ditch the clip-ons alltogether; controlling the bike with two hands on the fork tubes.
I've owned plenty of bikes with both. At the track, I'd take clip-ons over bars any day of the week. On the street, bars for me please. Much better control of the bike - much easier to lean it over from an upright riding position (where we spend most of our time on the street,) especially at high speed.
Quote from: burning1 on April 25, 2011, 11:34:37 PM
By that same argument, the bike is even more stable if you ditch the clip-ons alltogether; controlling the bike with two hands on the fork tubes.
The arguement isn't really about the width of the bars, it has more to do with changing the weight distribution on a bike. The lower bars get more of your weight on the front wheel, and get you out of the wind. The clipons don't need to be as wide because you've got the ability to put more pressure on them.
Does my description sound like the problem was me or the bike????
Quote from: tt_four on April 26, 2011, 07:00:45 AM
The arguement isn't really about the width of the bars, it has more to do with changing the weight distribution on a bike. The lower bars get more of your weight on the front wheel, and get you out of the wind. The clipons don't need to be as wide because you've got the ability to put more pressure on them.
It's not just the width which reduces leverage, it's the position. With clip-ons, If you're sitting upright on the bike as most of us do on the freeway, you're using your deltoids to steer the bike, whereas with bars you're using your pectoral muscles and triceps to steer. Not only do those muscles give you much better leverage with which to push the bars, but they also give you much more control.
When you tuck down onto the bike or hang *way* off, you bring your pecs and triceps into play with clip-ons. With bars tucking in or hanging off takes the pectoral muscles out of the picture and forces you to rely almost completely on the tricepts. Even worse, when tucked in with bars, you are outside of the triceps normal range of motion. Again though, most of us do *not* hang off or tuck during normal street riding.
Also, I don't really buy the whole 'weight on the front wheel thing.' If moving weight forward on the bike was that beneficial to steering, bikes would be engineered with a more forward weight bias. 49/51% is pretty typical weight balance, putting perhaps 5-10 more pounds on the front wheel than the rear on a modern sport bike.
I can say both from personal experience (and from citation if necessary) that putting a lot of weight on the front end (in isolation) can make the bike harder to turn. When we brake weight shifts massively onto the front wheel, dramatically increasing the wheel traction, and adding some pneumatic trail. At the same time, the front forks compress, dramatically reducing rake angle/trail, and offsetting the increased stability (and resistance to turn) caused by weighting the front end. Depending on your bikes setup and tires, your bike can be somewhat harder or somewhat easier to turn under braking.
My BMW is probably the most interesting example of how weighting the front end can affect the bikes stability, as it doesn't dive under braking. The long and short of it is that stability on the BMW is neither improved nor compromised while weighting the front end significantly (via brake action) during turn in.
Ok, so I obviously don't know what the answer is as to why a bike feels different with clipons than with handlebars, but I can tell you that from riding a GS with both handlebars and clipons, the same 600cc sportbike with clipons and dirtbike bars, and even a number of bicycles with all kinds of different bars.... having a more aggressive riding position will make your bike feel more stable. As far as Ghostriders question, clipons would most likely make his bike feel more stable and have less 'handlebar shakes', regardless of what the explanation is.
i've learned some good info in here
but was hoping we get more in-depth about installing clip ons(mounting[above/below triple], rake angles, adjustments, types of bars, etc..)
looks like i've got some more googling to do haha
I don't disagree with you that clip-ons will make the bike feel more stable. My point is that it feels less stable because you have less control over the bike. Modern bikes in proper mechanical order are inherently stable. Our job as riders is to destabilize the bike in such a way as to make it around a circuit or road. The bikes are quite happy to ride over some really rough terrain with no rider on-board. Witness how many guys crash hard, only to watch their bike roll along just fine without them (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_yQXEgBYw).
Most stability problems are rider induced. Yeah, if you're tense on the bars, or twitchy, reducing your leverage on the bike is going to make handling problems go away. But I strongly believe that fundamental rider errors should not be corrected by mechanically modifying the bike.
I say this as a guy who can out-ride most 600cc sport bikers at the track on a 650lb hyper-tourer with hard bags, sport touring tires, and upright bars.
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/ctbarbour/Z2%20K1300GT/IMG_8182.jpg)
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii63/ctbarbour/Z2%20K1300GT/NM1U9794.jpg)
LOL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ewqeheLL_I