Handlebars: Sweep or Straight?

[Psyclotron]

Which do you prefer on your supermotos, dirtbikes, and flat-bar street bikes for control and steering leverage vs comfort? Straight bars or sweeping?

(for example, a popular mod for the Multistradas is a handlebar with slight sweep for touring comfort. but isn't the point to keep your weight forward in a motard style bike for best handling?)

one motivator is whether to get handguards and heated grips if i have/want to change out the bars; i.e. will 22mm / 7/8" diameter bars be enough to know your grips and guards will work on any 7/8" bars?)

 

[gixxerboy55]

You will probaly want a bar with some sweep, maybe try sitting on differant bikes and see what you like. Straight bars are more for drag bikes.

 

[07chuck]

All European/Japanese bikes(except for a couple of cruisers) have 7/8ths controls...

 

[ST Guy]

Always go for comfort on the street. Unless there's a huge overriding reason to torture yourself.

 

[GAJ]

I have convertibars on one of my bikes and my wrists were aching when I had them too straight; a slight adjustment to give them a tiny bit more angle backward made a huge improvement.

 

[argentifa]

you need a bit of weight over the front to establish what exactly is going on with that front wheel...
you can sit straight backed and badass all you like...but you'll look more than a little uncool when that front end starts to go bye-bye...
unless of course you ride at 50%

 

[Sidewalk]

The bars are mostly about what I am trying to do. If I am spending most of my time on the street then I want more comfort, for the track more performance. What are your desires? 20 minutes of all out performance, or hours of comfort?

unless of course you ride at 50%

On the street I ride about 25%...

Not like a Tuono is the perfect high performance motorcycle, so hypocritical much?

 

[argentifa]

What are your desires? 20 minutes of all out performance, or hours of comfortOn the street I ride about 25%...

tbh....I don't ride every day...but when I do have time to ride, it's usually for about 250-300 miles....at a steady lick, (and by that I don't mean warp factor No5) the wind resistance will lift your weight of your wrists...and if you're lucky, you get into that perfect weight distribution zone...my guess is you'll know exactly what I mean by this...

Not like a Tuono is the perfect high performance motorcycle, so hypocritical much?

what's the performance of a bike got to do with this?

 

[Sidewalk]

what's the performance of a bike got to do with this?

Tuono's are known for being more upright sitting bikes, not down and on the bars with all the weight forward. So an R6 rider could come back and insinuate that your bike sucks beccause there is no front end feeling. And then the track star with rear sets, raised triples, raised rear, and 150/60 rear could come back and say the R6 has no feeling in the front end.

I corner faster on my wife's V-Star then most of the guys on sport bikes around me (always entertaining on freeway on/off ramps). Slightly more comfortable bars aren't going to kill much.

 

[argentifa]

Tuono's are known for being more upright sitting bikes, not down and on the bars with all the weight forward. So an R6 rider could come back and insinuate that your bike sucks beccause there is no front end feeling. And then the track star with rear sets, raised triples, raised rear, and 150/60 rear could come back and say the R6 has no feeling in the front end.

sorry...I seem to have got this all wrong..
I thought the original post was something to do with straight bars vs. sweeping.....???
I was unaware R6's came with those....I rather stupidly thought they used clip ons

 

[gixxerboy55]

you need a bit of weight over the front to establish what exactly is going on with that front wheel...
you can sit straight backed and badass all you like...but you'll look more than a little uncool when that front end starts to go bye-bye...
unless of course you ride at 50%

So what you are saying is when you ride a bike with an upright riding position, you can only ride at 50% So that means all the flattrack racers motorcross racers desert racers motard racers ect. are all riding at 50%, is that what your saying.

 

[argentifa]

So what you are saying is when you ride a bike with an upright riding position, you can only ride at 50% So that means all the flattrack racers motorcross racers desert racers motard racers ect. are all riding at 50%, is that what your saying.

no gixerboy, that's really not what I'm saying....
if your frame geometry is set up for flat bars, fine...they'll work with no problem....
however, take for example a cruiser with swept back bars...the further back those bars, the less front end feedback...to the point where things start to get a little vague
could you commit 100% into a series of turns not knowing what that front wheel is doing?
I know I couldn't

 

[Z3n]

I prefer a sweeping, big dirtbike bar on my streetbikes. I don't need perfect front end feel like I need on the track on the street, and the big bar with some sweep doesn't reduce feel by a huge amount, just a little bit.

 

[ST Guy]

With cruisers, it's all about style.

 

[ST Guy]

And you can get plenty of feedback with more upright bars. I remember way back when, when the Bostrom brothers were both running the old Harley 883 class at Laguna Seca. It was a way wet weekend and a lot of guys were crashing. Those Sportsters were set up with low, cafe racer like bars. Then, in one practice session, I noticed that the Bostrom brothers had switched to more upright flat track bars and were now sliding there bikes into the corners in the wet and rain and generally running circles around everyone else. I'm sure they had plenty of feedback and control. Probably more so than with the low bars.

 

[R3DS!X]

I prefer a sweeping, big dirtbike bar on my streetbikes. I don't need perfect front end feel like I need on the track on the street, and the big bar with some sweep doesn't reduce feel by a huge amount, just a little bit.

WINNAR!!!!!

cookie through fedex to you!
2-3days k?

 

[Aluisious]

you need a bit of weight over the front to establish what exactly is going on with that front wheel...
you can sit straight backed and badass all you like...but you'll look more than a little uncool when that front end starts to go bye-bye...
unless of course you ride at 50%

Yeah, what kind of jerk rides at 50% on the street?

 

[Z3n]

WINNAR!!!!!

cookie through fedex to you!
2-3days k?

I don't think I get to be a winner until I ride it. Should be complete in a few weeks though. I'll post pics of the buildup one day.

And you can get plenty of feedback with more upright bars. I remember way back when, when the Bostrom brothers were both running the old Harley 883 class at Laguna Seca. It was a way wet weekend and a lot of guys were crashing. Those Sportsters were set up with low, cafe racer like bars. Then, in one practice session, I noticed that the Bostrom brothers had switched to more upright flat track bars and were now sliding there bikes into the corners in the wet and rain and generally running circles around everyone else. I'm sure they had plenty of feedback and control. Probably more so than with the low bars.

I think that, more accurately, different bars give you different types of feedback and levels of control. I feel a lot more comfortable sliding a bike with a big bar on it, whereas I feel a lot more comfortable trailbraking deep on a bike with clipons. I get a better feel over overall front end traction through clipons and better control of the chassis with a big bar on there.

As always, YMMV.

(I considered throwing a comparison to hanging off in there, but I felt like I've fanned the flames enough recently. )

 

[R3DS!X]

well then can you return to sender the cookie?

 

[Z3n]

well then can you return to sender the cookie?

Yes, I'll return the golden cookie. Can you store it for me until I finish the bike? There's the thread if you're interested