[mrjkwik]

Ive been wanting to put dirt bars on my 04 zx636. this week i borrowed my brothers fz1 while he was on vacation. i feel like i have to muscle his bike in turns.

is this the difference in bars or bikes?

how much of a difference other than comfort, but in quickness in turn in and ect should i feel going from clip ons to dirt. i just moved them from below the triple to above. just wondering what to expect on the next step up.

 

[blensen]

I'd say it was a difference in bikes. Your 636 is a light race-rep, and his FZ1 is a sport-tourer. Of course your bike should have more aggressive steering geometry and you shouldn't have to work as hard to get it to turn.

I went from clip-ons to dirt bars on my old FZR and it was the best decision I made with that bike. I had a lot less weight on my hands, so I was able to use the wide bars to really throw the bike around instead of hold myself up, and steering effort went way down.

 

[theAndy]

i got the bars on the sv and will never go to clipons again

 

[ROBBO]

GO DURTY AND NEVER LOOK BACK

 

[DrJellyFingers]

Listen to these wise dudes

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[shinyribs]

I've never had clip ons before, but I did go from clubmans to dirt bars (superbike bars, actually) Pretty much the same thing. In my case, it made the bike a lot easier to manhandle. Slow speed maneuvers seemed a lot more balanced and comfortable, too. I dig high bars. Screw looks when it impedes with comfort. Comfort = seat time. :thumbsup:

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[Problomatic]

I went in the opposite direction. I went from high bars to clipons. I love it, as high bars would make my jacket pinch my elbows. I like the position and room more with clipons. But if I get lazy I'll start putting pressure on my wrist and they'll start to hurt; on the other hand my highbars with bar end weights would make my hands go numb from the vibration after a couple hours, never have this problem with clipons and no weights.

 

[ultimate fighter]

When i'm running clip ons i feel like i need to knee down on curves

when i'm running dirt bars i feel like i need to back it in, or drag a toe

Running with dirt bars is better for long highway rides with straits, more control at highway speeds and more leverage for whoolies.

Clips for me are more for looks and i usually go with a raised downward slant, or a zero degree clip on like "drag bar" clip ons

 

[Fate]

The feel of a bike is going to be dictated by so many things that aren't related to clipons vs bars, ie weight, geometry, suspension setup, rider style, etc that it's hard to make a judgment about your ZX by comparing it to the FZ.

 

[94yzf75fighter]

You can flip your clipons to give you the feel of dirt bars. I liked the feel of the flipped clipons it was more comfortable.

 

[Conrice]

I had 2 954's at the same time. One was stock form (which had clip-ons obviously) and the other was fightered out with dirty bars. I was always shocked when I'd switch back and forth.

The dirty bars make the thing feel effortless - You could feel every little input. I didn't feel like I needed move around on the bike, push my weight into corners - it would just go where I wanted it too. The clip-ons felt heavy. Really heavy. That's where the real shock came. When I'd turn out of the drive way on the clip-on bike after a couple of months of just riding the fighter, I'd catch myself saying "Whoa!" in my helmet remembering how different it was. It almost felt like a flat tire at first.


In fact, the first few times on the fighter with the dirty bars - I wasn't sure I really liked it. I liked the stance, or the ergos with dirty bars - but the steering felt so much different, I wasn't sure. After those first few rides though, I got used to it. And I love it. Riding clip-ons and dirty bars back to back now - I'd pick dirties every time on the street.

 

[mrjkwik]

thanks. glad to hear that it wont change "too" much. leaving for vacation for next week. hopefully when i get back i can start throwing some cash at a bigger change in the bike.

 

[Ruby Racing]

One thing that will happen if you lose the clip ons for dirt bars is that the feeling/confidence in the front end will be reduced as you have less weight over the front due to moving your body position back.

 

[punkrockish]

i did the LSL/spiegler handlebar conversion kit on my speed four. at least for street use, the superbike bars are WAY better than clipons. i pretty much bought them for comfort but you get more authority over corners and it really makes tight circles much easier. plus it's easier to wheelie

 

[CgMcKinney]

Just swapped my SV bars for ProTaper SE YZ Lows.

My fun factor just went through the roof. More confidence, more stability, just more awesome. Go for it.

 

[RRTEC]

I def like clip ons better, but I have only put about 1 hr of seat time on the dirty bars on my TL.. It feels like I am driving a VERY fast dirtbike, and I am not feeling the confidence to lean into corners like the clip ons.. Front end feels lighter for sure, but much less planted... It's not a super expensive swap if you want to try it but I am going back to clip ons..

 

[Nailhead]

I def like clip ons better, but I have only put about 1 hr of seat time on the dirty bars on my TL.. It feels like I am driving a VERY fast dirtbike, and I am not feeling the confidence to lean into corners like the clip ons.. Front end feels lighter for sure, but much less planted... It's not a super expensive swap if you want to try it but I am going back to clip ons..

sure you even know what you're doing there buddy?

 

[RRTEC]

sure you even know what you're doing there buddy?

As I mentioned, I have only put about 1hr of seat time on the bike with this setup, so maybe NO maybe I don't know what I am doing.... I have logged over 155,000 miles on motorcycles over the last 10 years so I do know what I like.. Dirty bars aren't that. I know all the cool kids are running dirt bars, but opinion wise, not my thing.

 

[really]

love my dirt bars on my rc. can corner it just as well as i could with clip-ons

 

[gsryder]

Me personally I like the clip-ons I have run with dirt bike style bars, clubmans, but once I switched my front end I put on clip ons.........but then again I am 6'5" and have pretty long reach I can basically sit up and ride one handed with one hand in my lap or on the tank very comfortably for a long ride and very easily tuck down if playing in the twisties.