I have never been happy with the narrow standard bars fitted to the stock V-max and have planned to evolve the setup for some time.
I feel the shortcomings can be summarized as;
1)They are too narrow to provide a proper bracing geometry between the rider’s arms and the front suspension.
2)They are set too far back from the upper fork yoke for the rider to experience the tactile feedback that allows a rider to ‘feel’ the road.
3)They don’t allow the rider’s weight to be directly transmitted to the front suspension under braking.
4)They force the rider to adopt an upright riding position, which causes the rider to act as a natural windsock at highway speeds.
My favorite riding position is to have the hand grips forward of the standard setup and lower than the standard setup. I also like the bars to be angled down like the down stroke of a bird’s wing. That is a more natural grip for me.
I tried a set of drag bars that I scored as a freebie.
They definitely improved the control, ‘feel’ and geometry issues but they were too low to allow the handlebar controls to clear the faux tank. To obtain safe clearance I had to either twist the bars up (like the upstroke of a birdwing) and sacrifice comfort or put handlebar risers on the crown and get rid the really cool V-max alloy that sets off the instrument cluster. Both solutions are unacceptable.
They were also black and that does not go with the polished alloy on the front of my bike.
While looking around for a set of chrome drag bars I came across these bars by Tommaselli. The mounting combinations are huge because you can adjust the bars at the fork crown and the slope of the hand grips.
The combination allows you to set them up to mimic the stock riding position or simulate clip-on bars.
I set mine up for the forward position I wanted, the height I wanted and the downward slope of the handgrips I wanted.
The difference in rider comfort, road feel and stability at any speed is dramatic. The riding position also allows the rider to easily shift a butt from one side of the seat to the other when cornering. Cornering can now be an active participation sport on my V-max instead of a spectator sport.
…and I think it looks pretty mad.
What do you think?
I feel the shortcomings can be summarized as;
1)They are too narrow to provide a proper bracing geometry between the rider’s arms and the front suspension.
2)They are set too far back from the upper fork yoke for the rider to experience the tactile feedback that allows a rider to ‘feel’ the road.
3)They don’t allow the rider’s weight to be directly transmitted to the front suspension under braking.
4)They force the rider to adopt an upright riding position, which causes the rider to act as a natural windsock at highway speeds.
My favorite riding position is to have the hand grips forward of the standard setup and lower than the standard setup. I also like the bars to be angled down like the down stroke of a bird’s wing. That is a more natural grip for me.
I tried a set of drag bars that I scored as a freebie.
They definitely improved the control, ‘feel’ and geometry issues but they were too low to allow the handlebar controls to clear the faux tank. To obtain safe clearance I had to either twist the bars up (like the upstroke of a birdwing) and sacrifice comfort or put handlebar risers on the crown and get rid the really cool V-max alloy that sets off the instrument cluster. Both solutions are unacceptable.
They were also black and that does not go with the polished alloy on the front of my bike.
While looking around for a set of chrome drag bars I came across these bars by Tommaselli. The mounting combinations are huge because you can adjust the bars at the fork crown and the slope of the hand grips.
The combination allows you to set them up to mimic the stock riding position or simulate clip-on bars.
I set mine up for the forward position I wanted, the height I wanted and the downward slope of the handgrips I wanted.
The difference in rider comfort, road feel and stability at any speed is dramatic. The riding position also allows the rider to easily shift a butt from one side of the seat to the other when cornering. Cornering can now be an active participation sport on my V-max instead of a spectator sport.
…and I think it looks pretty mad.
What do you think?
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