sbk fork clip on advice

[pitbull]

I rebuilt my 01 900ie last year and did a sbk fork mod.

I'd like to add clip-ons and get rid of the bars.....but, I don't want a too aggressive riding position as I do a number of multi-day trips each year.

I have about 3/4 " of fork above the top triples.

Any suggestions on clip-ons would be much appreciated.

[Raux]

woodcraft 2-3"rise

[The Bearded Duc]

woodcraft 2-3"rise

This


Or motowheels.com make a billet set that should fit with that much space above the triple.

http://motowheels.com/i-6922767-mw-billet-clip-ons-w-risers-monster.html

And now they're available in black!! They weren't when I first bought them

[Raux]

woodcraft also available in blakc with black bars  too 

[pitbull]

Thanks guy.......both options look like they would do the job.


The advantage I see with the 2 piece woodcraft design is the ability to raise or lower the clip-ons above or below the top triple clamp with the removal and replacing of a few bolts. Does that sound right, or am I missing something?

[Raux]

Yep that's the case.  no need to remove the triple clamp

[pitbull]

nice ...........looks like woodcraft is the way to go

thanks again

[Speeddog]

Some of the 2-piece clamps have bolts located such that they'll hit the frame, restricting turning.

Not sure if that's the case on the Woodcrafts, but early Monsters were a bit turning-impaired already.

[junior varsity]

I'm using a set of the 50mm riser IMA Special Parts adjustable clipons (for 53mm diameter forks - 998 Showa TiN forks) on one Monster (just bought 'em), and the Ducabike riser clipons (nonadjustable) for 53mm fork diameter (916 Showa forks) on another (picked them up used last year from the .MS classifieds).   No interference issues with either on my setups BUT if you are using the OEM 93-01 shaped upper triple, some (err... most) riser clipons will run afoul with the pinch bolts of those top triples if mounted beneath the top triple - no interference issues if you mount the clipons ABOVE the top triple though.

[pitbull]

thanks for the additional information guys.......again, much appreciated.

[suzyj]

Woodcraft clipons mounted above the triple definitely do reduce the amount of lock you'll get, as the threaded ears hit the tank.

I found I was able to get most of the steering range back by cutting the offending part down, as shown:



You can see it more clearly on the left clipon.  It looks silver, but that's just a reflection in the freshly black anodised aluminium.

[Roaduser]

i use the apex clip-ons, no interferance at all, i had full lock left and right until i put on a lsl steering damper.... that made me move the bump stops a bit.

http://www.apexmfg.com/products
you can see that the through bolt that holds the bar to clamp is what actually holds that side of the clamp together. they are angeld bars so rotating them easily adjusts the angle, they have a key in the bar to give you i think 4 different angles, and they also have an adjustable riser version for upto 4" rise!

EDIT: i also have the 3" riser version here, i couldnt use it as is with the 999 masters as the block on the end of the bar interfeered with the fluid reservior. the spacer sold by monsterparts.com would most probable solve that. monsterparts also sells these clip ons.. and the replacement bars at $20 is fair and a good thing to keep in mind for that unfortunate incident.

[junior varsity]

i use the apex clip-ons, no interferance at all, i had full lock left and right until i put on a lsl steering damper.... that made me move the bump stops a bit.

http://www.apexmfg.com/products
you can see that the through bolt that holds the bar to clamp is what actually holds that side of the clamp together. they are angeld bars so rotating them easily adjusts the angle, they have a key in the bar to give you i think 4 different angles, and they also have an adjustable riser version for upto 4" rise!

EDIT: i also have the 3" riser version here, i couldnt use it as is with the 999 masters as the block on the end of the bar interfeered with the fluid reservior. the spacer sold by monsterparts.com would most probable solve that. monsterparts also sells these clip ons.. and the replacement bars at $20 is fair and a good thing to keep in mind for that unfortunate incident.

Beware some angled-bar designs where the 'angle' of the bar is fixed only by the pinch bolts - these can swivel upon crash, causing more damage.   The other problem with angled-bar for adjustment is that once you drill the bars for the locating pins of the controls, you are stuck: Further adjustments to the angle will have the controls rotated into odd or unnatural positions.    That's the genius of the CycleCat and IMA Special Parts designs - you can adjust the angles without affecting the rotation of the bars.   The CycleCat design, however, like the SpeedyMoto design, uses only the pinch bolts to secure the angled bar for angle-adjustment.    The keyed design of the Apex fixes this problem, it appears (no FHE), like the notches that IMA is using.


I personally despise the overly complicated hinged or two-piece fork clamp designs of Woodcraft and SpeedyMoto.   Removing the top triple takes less than 15 min. on even the most complicated setups and those extra pinch bolts (Woodcraft) or hinge (SpeedyMoto) often interfere - if they don't contact some part of the bike, they DO block access to the drilled/tapped reservoir bracket mount holes on many aftermarket triple clamps (like my IMA setup, so I pulled off the woodcrafts and got different bars).

The Ducabike riser version is non-adjustable (and I don't like the angle-bars for adjustment), but is otherwise just like the DP / FBF / NCR 916-era clipons with a riser from the clamps to the pinch bolt.  They work very well, but as noted: its such a simple design you can't screw it up.   Like my IMA clipons, I got the Ducabike clipons with the "longer" bars so there's more leverage available to muscle the bike around (afterall, the monster at one point had a MX-type handlebar and LOTS of available leverage...).   I really can't speak highly enough of having a slightly longer bar on a monster because, even if you don't use the extra leverage by mounting grips and controls farthest out, you can use that extra space for mounting the CRG-type mirrors that many of us equip without resort to buying this or that bar end...

That's my experience with various setups - should be read in appropriate context - I've changed my setup a lot and often have disregarded budgetary concerns in changing from one "workable" setup to a potentially better setup. Here's the short list of clipons I've used, noting fork diameter next to it:

• Vortex 50mm (gold clamps and bars, no riser, nonadjustable, filthy cheap)
• Woodcraft 53mm (black 2-piece clamps, silver bars, can mount or remove riser, nonadjustable, moderate-spendy) (stupid clamp design)
• IMA Special Parts 'Raised' 53mm (black, 50mm riser installed below top triple, adjustable, spendy)
• Ducabike 53mm (black, 45mm riser - installed below top triple, nonadjustable, moderate-plus-spendy)
• Cyclecat 50mm (titanium-gray, raised - installed below top triple primarily, moved to above top triple for cross country road trip, adjustable - pinch design, possibly available in 53mm, moderate-plus-spendy)
• NCR Titanium 53mm (actual titanium bars, ti-gray aluminum clamps, uber spendy, nonadjustable, no rise, i better not f*cking crash the shit out of these)
• SpeedyMoto Tallboys 50mm (black, adjustable - pinch design, raised, moderate-plus-spendy, SM refused to make 53mm version even when i made request in official capacity as parts mgr at major duc dealership) (stupid clamp design)
• There's at least one other clipon setup I've used, but only for a single riding season, and I can't remember what it was.  I was going to purchase the Ducabike adjustable raised clipons, but for the price - the IMA part was only a few bucks more and i like the notched adjuster better

On the 'tourer-setup' monster, we've got superbike forks, and simply used handlebar riser spacers to let the relatively 'low-rise' Rizoma handlebar clear the taller forks' caps and get the bars to a comfortable height.  (The 'tourer' setup has 98-99 style front fairing with dubble bubble windscreen, the conventional handlebar as noted, regular ol' rearsets + the mandarina duck leather saddlebags. its milli's, and its the ultimate grocery-getter i'd say.)

[Roaduser]

Damn u have been through some clip-ons!! haha

while im a fan of IMA and run their hybrid triples like you, i think the clip ons look too chunky and i rather a 2 peice clamp for the quick swap from city to highway i could move them from below to above the triple no time. The apex design works great for space by using the bar mount to hold one side of the clamp removing the issue you had with 2 piece clamps interfering.

IMA being double the price of the apex, a 1 peice clamp, and chunky looking, i chose to use the apex and not drill the holes for the controls as many people do with clip ons. but if u wanted to drill the holes, you could buy 3 spare pairs of bars and drill them all to suit the different angles for the same price as the IMA set.

[pitbull]

wow.......just when I thought I had it figured out......more information and options.


thanks again to everyone who responded. a lot of stuff to think about.