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Help? T-bird Bars/clip-ons

8K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  sonnyhashmi 
#1 ·
I'm looking to find clip-ons or straight bars for a 98 T-bird sport. Any ideas? How big a pain in the ass is this going to be? Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Aloha,

I've put Speed Triple bars with lower risers on my TBS. The Triumph OE bars are expensive (130.00 at the time)

Other options are:
Flanders (USA) Clubman bars
Norman Hyde M bars M Bar on New Bonneville

Clip-ons, which attach to the fork tubes would require a new headlight bracket. A member of the Yahoo Groups Triumph Thunderbird Sport Riders put the clip-on from a new Daytona on his but had to lower the forks in the clamps to accomplish it. One could have Forking by Frank do up a new set of longer tubes to accommodate. I'd also suggest drilling and taping the top clamp for the fasteners used on the Dayton to make sure things are held in place.

There are also some nice bars @ Suburban Machinery

Have fun!
:-g
 
#4 ·
Your bike uses 43mm tubes which means that clipons from a variety of japanese sportbikes (R6, CBR600, etc), and the TT600 will work.

There are three routes to pursue:
1. Drop your forks an inch and mount the clips over the top clamp. This will noticibley quicken up your steering. Whether you find this to be too much is all in your preference. If you do the next step is to fit a steering damper. Around town it will be fine so its a really inexpensive way (go on ebay and land a set, bet it won't cost you more than $30) to see if you like clipons.

2. Mount the clips below the top clamp. This entails sawing off some of the tube (EDIT: Not the fork tube, but rather the sheath that goes around it), the thickness of the clipons, which the headlight mounts to on each fork leg (between the clamps). Regular clips may feel too low and/or have clearance issues with the gas tank. You can get a set of taller clipons, helibars, LSL, etc., which may be the happy medium. Taller clipins will have the added benefit of a less severe angle.

3. Use lubman bars, these will be the most direct route. Hardly any modifications are required as the mount in place you your existing bars. The downside is that if there is a clearance issue with your tank there isn't a lot you can do about it. Unlike being able to rotate clipons outward as much as you need.

I have a set of LSLs mounted over the triple tree and I don't find too much of an issue with the ergos. They are a bit of a reach, but nothing too bad. They doo look smokin hot though. :D

[ This message was edited by: TBSstunta on 2004-06-15 10:48 ]
 
#5 ·
I went the drop the forks through the triples and add the bars above route. This made a huge difference to my steering, but then I had already raised the tail and changed the triples (which resulted in less trail) so my case was severe. I added a steering damper but it was still not quite the ride it was before.

I did not persue this route any further as I realized that the TBS pegs are not really rear-set enough for clipons so you end up quite cramped with your thighs very close to your torso. This was uncomfortable for me so I swapped back to my original speed 3 bars and Thunderbird triple trees in the end - much more comfortable.

I would recommend the lower bar route to anyone - it's a lot less work and less headaches, it also produces a more comfortable riding position. As TBSstunta said though the clip-ons "doo look smokin hot".
 
#10 ·
On 2004-06-15 21:41, vonbonds wrote:
On 2004-06-15 15:46, 2trumpets wrote:
I went with the Tommaselli Condor bars. Infinate positioning. No tank clearance problems. I have them in a more upright positionclicky
That seems really slick! Do you have any pictures of your bike?

Tom
PM me and I'll send pics. :cool:
 
#11 ·
Resurrecting a dead thread!!!!

I would really like to try some clip on as i feel the stock tbs bar risers combo too high and close.

Does anybody know some decent quality clip ons that are reasonably thin on the clamp. I would like to drop the triple on the forks as little as possible/ affect the steering angle as little as possible.

Any pictures of clip ons? ie cable/hose routing tips?
 
#13 ·
Resurrecting a dead thread!!!!
......... I would like to drop the triple on the forks as little as possible/ affect the steering angle as little as possible.......

Your comment on the steering angle is good question. To put mine in perspective, I went to 17" rims front and rear, replaced my fork tubes with the longer ones (1"?) as they were for my year, but ended up dropping the tubes 1" as the front sat too high and was too light in steering. I've also went to gold emulators, springs for my 220 lbs, and a ZX9-R rear shock with the same weight spring. So, while I like the steering geometry I have now, your result would/could be very different and you would need to work into it gradually, determining what is working best for you, etc...

You asked about wiring and cable routes, when you get ready to do this mod, just PM me and I'll try and send pics, suggestions on where to route them. If that'll help?
 
#14 ·
great thanks! I found a set of nice used clip ons from a tt600 for cheap so im going to try them out and if i dont like it I will either switch back or possibly add a steering damper.

My TBS with the 17's already has a decently quick steering but it should be fine as long as there is no wobble...
 
#15 ·
I installed the TT600 clip ons and it went far easier than i thought. Took about 15 minutes or so. nothing needed to be re-routed and the controls lear the tank at full lock. I still might machine down the spare bolt hole on the clip-ons but for now they work great
No noticeable change to the steering. Having more weight over the front makes the turning feel much more controlled. I can also still keep my back straight and the reach is only about 1 inch farther lower and wider.


 
#16 ·
Nice job there, Nick. Pretty cool.
Your bars appear to have come down maybe a little lower than my clubman bars did, but not as far forward. And your clipons bolted up right on top of the top clamp. I ran my forks about an inch above the top clamp without any bad effects. It quickened the steering up. I really liked my clubmans. But I like what you did with the TT600 clip-ons.
 
#17 ·
Thanks Charlie, the quicker steering feels much better, I wish these bikes came from the factory like this. Took it up past 80 and had no wobbling or head shake. I would definitely encourage anybody considering going this route to go for it! The riding position is still quite upright but you can tuck down much easier, I use a magnetic tank bag and like to lay on that on the highway to get out of the wind.
 
#19 ·
Did you remove the tubes that the headlamp mounts to?
 
#21 ·
Clipons are easy, just get any that fit 43mm forks. You can find taller ones for sport tourers; mount them under the top clamp and just remove that much height from the fork shrouds the headlight mounts to. I'm running S3 forks, which are longer so I just have them mounted over the top clamp.
 
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