Ducati Monster Forum

Not another how to or what's out there, plenty of that available.  More like an open talk so we can talk the pros & cons of the change from one to the other.

Currently, I ride a Monster 750 with TBR clip-ons.  There were on the bike when I picked it up.  The original owner had thrown it down, bending the orignal bars.  I've never ridden a Monster with standard bars.  After talking to a past Monster rider, I got to thinking it might be fun with the starndard bars.  I can't decide if it is worth the work & purchasing a handlebar & clamps (the original clamps & bolts are long gone) and converting it back to original bars.  My fiancée and I are discussing her riding as well which is part of why this came up.  Options amongst our riding group felt the 750 could be an ok road bike for her.  We're looking at the possibility of my buying a newer bike & giving her the M750 or picking up a GS500, Ninja 500 or possibly a Monster 600 (if I can find one) for her 1st bike and me keep my 750 ~

From what I understand:

Reasons to have original bars:  More relaxed riding position, more clearance over tankbag, more comfortable 2-up, more leverage on bars resulting in less effort to counter-steer and such, more new rider friendly (should my fiancée desire to ride the 750)

Reasons for clip-ons:  More aggresive riding position, more weight forward (I read somewhere Monsters needed more forward weight bias), body lower and out of the wind.

Ok.  Now, what else is there concerning why one is better than the other?  Please give me info/why to back up a reason.  "It looks trick" is not a valid reason.  I do 200-300 mile rides on a regular basis, so function is far more important that anything when it comes to the bars.

Things to know about my riding:  I commute, ride the twisties, ride 2-up and pretty much do everything but off-road.  I've never had any track time either.  I have no problem controlling the bike with clip-ons.  Just examining some options ~

JM

One is not better than the other, they are just different.  And "looking trick" is most definitely a valid reason!   [thumbsup]

I just installed a set of variobars  (http://www.oppracing.com/products/712-gilles-tooling-variobars-and-risers-clip-ons/)on my bike, and they're pretty awesome.

Adjustable through a wide range, so I can go from sit up to lay down with just a few minutes of tinkering.

Downside: European, so they cost a few $$$.

Or should I say € € €  [cheeky]

I was not impressed with the stock riding position on my S2R, so I swapped to clipons from Motowheels.  The difference is like night and day for me.

For me, it is an ergo issue, I am tall and need the extra reach.  I like the riding position much better anyhow.  My back hurts less when I ride, go down the list.

i swapped bars for clip-on's on my 900, and i found it much more comfortable. yes, more wrist-strain when riding two-up, but being able to lay down on the tank on the highway without my elbows turning into little orbs of pain made everything worth it.

i enjoyed the forward weighting on the bike, more aggressive position, and longer reach (for reference, i'm 6'2".)

Opinions are like assh*les, everyone has got one, so here is mine.  Being an old fart with a bad back I hated the riding position when I got my bike
back in 2000.  I went with taller dirtbike bars for several years with a Corbin seat.  When I upgraded to superbike forks I considered going back to the original bars to get rid of the dorky look of the dirt bars.  The originals and dirt bars would not allow access to the adjustments on the superbike forks. 
I considered a switch to clip-ons but when I determined the cost (already had $1k into the fork conversion) I simply purchased taller risers and went with the original bars.  I'm happy with the setup.  I love to tour and can do 300 mile days with tolerable pain and a bottle of ibuprofen.   

An unintended consequence of me changing to clip ons is that my posture when not on the bike has improved dramatically.  Stomach and back muscles have definitely strengthened since the conversion.

Unfortunately I now have a SBK without the performance/wind benefits.  Whoops!  :-\ :P

After reading this, maybe it is possible that a human could suffer from being born without an a**hole.  Who knows, it could happen.

http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/article/267/atresia-ani-no-anus-or-no-rectum (http://www.thepigsite.com/pighealth/article/267/atresia-ani-no-anus-or-no-rectum)

Clip-ons are not the same either.  Most have some adjustment forward and back.  Cycle Cats had one that you could also change the angle of the bar itself.  And... most importantly you need to figure out the "rise" height for your own comfort and sight clearance.  As an example, the Vortex is very cool but it will sit below the triple with no rise.  This is very aggressive but you will have to put the bike in neutral and stand up when you stop at a light just so you can see the light... yes, because you are leaned over that far.  Others will have a riser built in to bring the height up to various dimensions.

This is how my TBR clip-ons are, but the angle is adjustable.  They are nice, but I just wonder how the original bars might be ~

JM

the OE bars do a good job of keeping you upright, and it seems you hit alot of the major points in the OP

just going from stock to suburban machinery bars I noticed a loss of leverage, as subtle as it was.

I am also short, so I don't like overly aggressive clip-ons, as they tend to put pressure on my hands/wrists. but even for that, I mostly blame video games  [cheeky]

My $.02...

I went with clipons for comfort.  Got the motowheels clipons with risers and they allowed me to both stretch out (I'm 6 ft) and change the angle of the grips to relieve wrist pain caused by the stock bar.  Oddly enough the stock bar was swept back too much for my wrists. 

I commute about 60 miles round trip and the clipons are very comfortable around town.  With the risers I'm still upright enough that I can use the wind on the highway to help support me if I'm being lazy. Then again when I'm not being lazy it's sooo much more comfortable to hug the tank.

A friend of mine who's about 5'8" hates them though-too far of a reach for him.

Oh, and they look better....IMHO.

Well, it could happen but the prognosis of such a condition is not promising.  We should all be thankful for the little things that we have. 

I like both type of setup. That is why i keep one Monster stock and the other with Clip-ons. To tell the truth I enjoy both equally. Depending on my mood i'll pick one Monster over the other to ride for that day. Sometimes I really want that aggressive cafe  racer feel to the Monster. And sometimes i like the less aggressive standard position to ride around town.  Just my $0.02.

BTW: If you're going with clip-ons I highly suggest getting some new rear sets go along with it. The stock ons are too forward. They need to be set back some.

I had the originals bars and went to clip ons for style. I ended up with the Tommaselli Adjustable Clip-Ons from monster parts. About $200 after you get the adapters for the brake and clutch master cylinders. These are fully adjustable and take a while to get right but man they are so right!!!

My first time out the angle was too steep but my confidence on the bike increased 10 fold. After adjusting them a little more for comfort they are awesome as in 400+ miles in a day is cake. Yes you loose some leverage but I really feel like I'm working with the bike now not just pulling it around the road.

Wind protection is still crap as I run no fairing but, I am leaned into the wind instead of sitting up and looking at it head on so my neck does not get sore anymore after 90+ miles.

I'm 5-8 165 and 22 years old so some would say I can put up with the crouched over stuff better.

hope this helps

Dude, well of course you can put up with the crouched over stuff.  When I was 22 I was fine being stuffed in a box for a day.
Now at greater than twice that age I need a little more comfort.  But I think you have identified the variable that will best correlate
with ergonomic preference (age). 

When i put clipons on my 695 i actually found it more comfortable than the stock bars.  I guess my reach was a lot farther than i thought.  I had the motowheels with a 1.5inch rise

ride with the stock bars was ok.  good leverage and comfy/upright.  at slab speeds tho, me = windsail.   the only true gripe i had was with the angle at which my wrists were at.  seemed absurdly pointed out.  i switched to tomasellis.  love them.  i guess if i had to keep the stockers on, i would have tried flipping as some others here have tried.

From what i have heard flipping them causes a LOT of wrist strain

looks like i'm never going back then!  good luck with 1098!

For whomever was wondering what the variobars look like...

(http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v285/242/25/747898682/n747898682_618374_3325.jpg)

(http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v285/242/25/747898682/n747898682_618376_7007.jpg)
(http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v285/242/25/747898682/n747898682_619420_7618.jpg)

As far as position and angle go... well they don't call them vario for nothing... Angle's adjustable +/- 20 degrees, and I could raise or lower them a good 2 inches with the risers I got.

For those who mounted clip-ons above the triple, how did you end up with that much fork above?  I have my front end dropped a couple of lines down on the forks, and I fear that dropping it more would make the front too twitchy.  Are the showas on my bike not long enough to mount clip-ons above?

-Nick

Don't use my set-up as a guide. I've got SBK forks which are slightly longer, a slightly lower rear & aftermarket wheels. After all that it's not dropped as much as it looks.

I got tomasellis moutned under the triple, its TERRIBLE for me. 5'6 145lbs. My back hurts, my wrist hurts, and im a very flexiable guy. This weeks project is to move the forks up enough to get the triples to bite.this will make it close to stock bar height. which was great for me. I switched becasue i bent my bars

If you do get a handlebar, dont try to get an OEM Monster bar.  They put my wrists at bad angles no matter how I rotated the bar.  Ow  :(  Big pain after only ~50 miles

I ended up getting a BikeMaster Superbike bar.  They are great - very comfortable and I can now ride 300+ mile days without my wrists screaming bloody murder.  Plus, they are only $20 shipped  [thumbsup]

I'll probably keep the clip-ons for now and watch ebay for a cheap stock bar & clamps and maybe worry about it this year.  I'm 30 and have no problems with the crouch.  Rear-sets would be nice, but pretty spendy at $300+ it seems.

JM

I've got a set of the TBR clip-ons mounted above the Triple on my M900ie (dropped the triple so the fork tubes are flush with the top of the bars).

I find the riding position pretty comfortable (when not stuck in NYC traffic) and the handling is excellent - no noticable twitchyness from the front.

Oh, it looks great as well (I second this as a valid reason)

I was looking at the Rizoma clip ons that come with the triple for my bike, but I have a top mount Bitubo steering damper.  I don't want to replace that piece so am i basically screwed into staying with the stock handlebar?

No, you're just screwed into keeping the stock handlebar clamps.  [evil]

i put clipons on about a month ago. Had to mount them below the triple. It took me a while to get use to them. There is some good things and some bad:

Bad:

I have a hard time seeing the light when i come to a stop light.

My back hurts after about an hour.

I can feel every bump in the road now.

My legs start to hurt after about an hour, definitely need a rear set.


Good things:

Right off the bat, more control and better handling.

Dive into the turns, i can take turns alot quicker with more control.

Looks cool.

It took me a while to build up the strength to be able to do a longer ride with the clipons. In the beginning, after 30 minutes i had to pull over to give my back a break. Now i can go about 2hrs then i HAVE to pull over and get off for a while. My neck gets tired as well, with the clipons under the triple you have to arch your back and keep your head up as far as you can stretch it just to see, ive come to hate stoplights now.  I am going to keep them now that im use to it, ask me a day after i first put them on i would have wanted to switch them back. I would suggest a set of clipons with a riser on them if your mounting them under the triple. But like i said, even without a riser you get use to them and i wouldnt go back!

part of the problem with clipons and the monster (for a lot of ppl) is the shape of the tank.  if you look at hte other bikes that come with clipons (900ss,sbk) the tank is "humped" where your stomach goes so you can support your upper body with your gut.  not so on the Monster.

maybe look into a tank pad and support yourself with it. 

also, many people have weak lower back and stomach muscles.  time to do some crunches?

Shortie (5'2-3/4") and light (maybe 100 lbs) chic w/back and neck "issues"=hubbi wants to put his old stock Speed Triple Bars on my '09 696-get me more upright/comfortable. Will this work?
(am I thread jacking, btw?)

How will you mount the S3's bars? 

I doubt it will fit without machining some risers or making a new top triple. 

The 696 has risers on the triple.  See if someone makes a spacer to make them higher.  Best use what you have.

Bear in mind that raising the bars may mean you'll have to swap out the throttle cable and brake/clutch hoses for longer ones.

Hubbi's Speedie is a 2006 and says his bars are about same diameter as the 696's....so should work, he thinks. He also says the 696 has a LOT of "extra" brake cable, so should not be a prob, but MAY be tight w/clutch-I could be wrong tho.  One thing he mentions he is concerned about tho is clearance and for steering lock with Speedie bars. Hmm.  SOOO grateful for input guys, btw, also!! 
Thinkin gonna wait for Pazzo Shorties, ride it bit n see how all feels before making any other changes.  Step at a time, eh?   [beer]

Standard bars sucked.  I have tried various clip-ons and clubmans.  Tommaselli, Harrris, Cycle Cat to name.  Besides being ultra cool my Monster is caffinated with rearsets, contis reps and etc.  Clipons are way better for me.  I have a good BEER muscle that makes resting on the tank fine,  I will do 400 plus miles  a day and not suffer worse than my friends on less extreme machines.  I have ended up with bars above the riser for easy changes (spotbike forks) this also makes them the same height as on my 78  Bonneville (also caffinated).  I am 200# 5'5" and over 60 years old an old skool Rocker. [moto]

I recently flipped the bars on my S4rs as well as taking off the fairing. For me, having spent my biking life riding sports bikes I felt the bars where too high standard and didn't give me enough feedback as to what the front end was doing. Now, it feels much better and I am more confident to push the front. It does, not surprisingly put more pressure on your wrists but to a degree, the removal of the fairing helps (which I found buffeted my head too much - now I get an even blast). Even so, it is still much more comfortable than my previous 748. All of this is rather annoying as I bought a set of Tommasellis that have not been used and will now not be needed....Any takers?

I put Tomassellis on last winter.
I am 5'10" and find it really comfortable, you have to grip the tank more with your legs and take a
litlle weight off your wrists. Two other pluses for me are the look - real cafe racer, and the handling -
the front feels much more planted now.

which tomassellis?

i have some old school adjustable tomaselli's on a pantah, i love them.

old topic but I wanted to add my thoughts...

I originally switched to Suburban Machinery bars but they got bent, to be honest I bought those bars because the cost of clip ons and a triple was too much. Fast forward a bit and I ended up getting the clip ons and triple anyways.

After having new holes drilled in the Suburban bars I think they were ideal for my comfort, probably similar to clip ons with a riser. Currently I have woodcraft clip ons mounted under my speedy moto triple, it looks awesome but not always as comfortable as the stock bars or the Suburban set.

I am 6ft and currently 230lbs, I am evenly distributes but still I very much want to lose 30 pounds, I think if I lose some baggage the clip ons will be more comfortable. I don't think it's uncomfortable enough to complain of back or wrist pain, I just think the stock position was very relaxing, with the stock bars I could lean back and crouch like a fat guy on a cruiser. I liked lounging on the stock bar setup, it was very relaxing, however I hated the look of the stock bar. For me that's it, I will sacrifice some comfort for good looks, I just think clip ons look that good. We are all human, I see woman wearing $500 heels and you can tell they are not comfortable, to me a Monster with clip ons is the same thing. The decrease in comfort is worth the improvement to the aethetics of the machine.

I will also say the performace is better with the clip ons. It's like the bike feels faster because of the positioning, just on the long rides takes a little more stamina than the original bars.

i have the bagster (or dp) bra and tank bag, which i lay on to take weight off my wrists at high speeds in a low crouch.
my grandfather has mentioned he does too

im 6'2 with above triple clipons and as others said. i definitely need the reach. i feel very strange on a monster with regular bars

Fast forward from MY last post.  Still love the Rizomas, except on the track  [bang]
along with lack of rear-sets and being too lazy to remove sidestand which, btw, WILLLLLL scrape in T8 ooops  :o