Honda Hornet handlebar upgrade

[HenryDorsetCase]

Um why?

I guess it is personal preference, but, I find the more bent I am the better for long rides.

I find there is more weight on my butt with being more upright and I tend to get lazy and more weight goes on my wrists as a result. Also when you really get a jolt if you are vertical your spine gets a jar in compression, but if you are bent it gets absorbed by simply folding a little more.

my arms are short (I am short all over) and my extraordinarily large genitalia is squashed against the back of the petrol tank, AND my elbows are locked. My torso is also tilted a little further forward as well. if the grips come back and up, i reckon my riding position will be closer to the "Standard" riding position that a taller/bigger rider would have on a stock bike.

at speed, I will be able to shift my butt back on the seat and get torso lean that way to counterbalance the windblast.

I'll send you a photo of my genitalia if you'd like*





*not really

[The Stranger:Me]

my arms are short (I am short all over) and my extraordinarily large genitalia is squashed against the back of the petrol tank, AND my elbows are locked. My torso is also tilted a little further forward as well. if the grips come back and up, i reckon my riding position will be closer to the "Standard" riding position that a taller/bigger rider would have on a stock bike.

at speed, I will be able to shift my butt back on the seat and get torso lean that way to counterbalance the windblast.

I'll send you a photo of my genitalia if you'd like*

*not really

Ok some times you can give too much information you know.

[Kendog]

Any idea who stocks them in NZ? if not maybe we can order it from Aussy/US?

2 WHEEL WHOLESALE in Whakatana are listed as the NZ distributor.

I sent them an email and they said most bike shops will have at least a Renthal catalogue on hand.

I just need to get my A into G and go into one.

[Kendog]

I was thinking of changing the bars on my bike. I'd got as far as discussing it with the local dealer. T.A.G. and ProTaper (?) seem to offer suitable alternatives.

People who knock the little tits off can find that the controls then turn on the bar. It's probably better to drill holes of the appropriate size.

Let's know how you got on..

The fitting of new bars results in a lot of debate about the removal of the pins vs drilling holes. Most people seem to be against drilling holes in the bars, and the Renthal site states the following:
"Do not centre punch or in any way mark the handlebar. Physical marking of the handlebar can lead to stress raisers."

[pritch]

my arms are short (I am short all over) and my extraordinarily large genitalia is squashed against the back of the petrol tank,

You could always attack the back of the petrol tank with a hammer thus making a recess in which to place your (allegedly) oversized gonads. Don't damage the structural integrity of the tank, however, as this could cause an exceedingly uncomfortable burning sensation.

Or you could ride a Harley. Most Harley riders appear to be suffering from a severe dose of orchitis...

[HenryDorsetCase]

OK its done.

I hummed and harrrred about the whole drilling the bars vs grinding the pins and couldnt decide for days.

I read the threads about it on hondahornet owners forum as well and decided to start with the left side block because its wasnt mission critical controlwise. I filed off the plastic pin and shimmed it with a piece of bike inner tube as suggested and it all went together no problem.

the throttle side was more of a concern. I talked to some mates who were engineers and they said I "should" be OK if I drill the bars. so I followed the procedure which I got from 919.org which involves lying the bars on the bench and then transferring the mark across, centrepunch and drill. Except when I went to button it up the fucking hole is in the wrong place!! !!! !!! GAAAAAHHH !!! shit ! arse ! (these bars cost $160 by the way).

turns out that the stock bars have the throttle twistgrip overhanging the end of the bar by a bit and the stock bar weights have a shank on them that goes under the end. fuck knows why but nothing beats a partial assembly and an eyeball of where the bloody thing will line up.

so now I have to cut the pin off so its out with the dremel. Whipped the pin out and buttoned it up, used the same bike inner tube shim as the other side and bobs yer uncle. buttoned up nice and tight, housing doesnt rotate on the bars, no worries.

the brake line might be a little short, but I will see how it goes (the clamp is approx 15mm from the inner face of the throttle housing), and the throttle cables wouldnt want to be any shorter, but no issues with the wiring, and it certainly seems to have achieved my stated aim of moving the grips back a little and up a little.

ride test tomorrow if the weather holds.


here's some pretty crappy pix

[HenryDorsetCase]

Oh yeah, the bars are Renthal road bars, style is road "generic high"

http://www.renthal.com/applications.asp

then hit "road" if you want the dimensions.

[grego]

i was exactly in the same posy a few month back with my suzi gs 500. would have bought a brand new hornet 900 but the seating posi was the same as on the suzi.
You might find that to change the handlebars will not be the fix you expect.
there is much more to riding position than height and lean of the handlebars. both the 900 hornet and the 500 gs have a footpeg posi AND a forward sloping seat that forces you into this seating position. If you have the time and chance to visit a Kawasaki dealer go have a sit or even better a ride on a ER6n. the very first moment you will sit on it you will find a difference: No weight on the wrists.the handlebars are virtually identical to the ones on the hornet or the suzi but the seat does not force your "precious ones"
into the tank and make your upper body "fall" forwards"

Please don't get me wrong, i am not trying to sell you an ER6, I loved the little gs 500 to bits and the local dealer was offering me a real "buddy deal" on the new hornet but I ended up buying the kawasaki instead. No more pain in the wrist, arms back and balls.

best of luck to ye...........

[HenryDorsetCase]

my list of Hornet mods also includes a seat upgrade at some point.

the next stuff is the big money: Ohlins shock, fork springs and revalve, and if I can swing it, bafflectomy and PC3 + dyno tune.

I sold a SV650 to buy the Honda and dont regret it. all the 6N reviews I've read say its a fantastic bit of kit, but for me the 919cc of grunt just can't be beat.



I am keen to take a 6N for a whirl though... wonder if the local guy has a demo?

[Kendog]

We have a modified seat on the wifes hornet, makes for a very comfortable and different riding position, I want one now.

I will do a little write up soon of our mods with pics (I can't take photos while the bikes are dirty, but never seem to have time to clean them)

The gold bar looks good on with the black bike

[grego]

my list of Hornet mods also includes a seat upgrade at some point.

the next stuff is the big money: Ohlins shock, fork springs and revalve, and if I can swing it, bafflectomy and PC3 + dyno tune.

I sold a SV650 to buy the Honda and dont regret it. all the 6N reviews I've read say its a fantastic bit of kit, but for me the 919cc of grunt just can't be beat.



I am keen to take a 6N for a whirl though... wonder if the local guy has a demo?

With my age, and advanced stage of "decrepitness" 72 hps of the ER6n is all I can take. It does 160km at 7000 revs and there is another 4000 revs to go to the beginning of the redline guess I am getting chicken in my old age.
best of luck with your "personalisation" of the hornet.

[skelstar]

Looks good mate. So you ARE advocating the pin-removal method? Ill be replacing my first attempt at the AM bars shortly.

Have done the bafflectomy and am happy to report a 300% improvement in sound. Was bloody awesome on the track on Sunday.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Looks good mate. So you ARE advocating the pin-removal method? Ill be replacing my first attempt at the AM bars shortly.

On balance yes. Renthals site say "dont drill our bars" and its a 5mm hole in a 22mm OD tube. (its double wall thickness where you drill though, and not on a bend, so it shouldnt be too stressed, was the thinking of the engineer types I talked to. I also smoothed out the hole as much as possible etc).

The toss up is what is more mission critical: the thought of a crack in the bars propagating from the hole and having the things snap, or the throttle body rotating on the bar. Given you can shim it and it gets tight, AND the throttle cables and maybe the brake master cylinder tend to hold it in place, and its easy to tell if its too loose, on balance I think filing the pin is the better option.

I just wish I had taken my own advice, still, thats what the interweb's for, right?

the gold is exactly the same colour as the brake calipers though.

[skelstar]

Yeah. Wondering about the colour of the next bar (Im such a girl). Black is cool, but maybe silver?

Took the time to clean my calipers before my trip the other day. Man they come up nice once the brake dust comes off.

[WickedOne]

Hey Guys, check out this site...

http://www.rizoma.com/english/en_honda_hornet.html

Some Hornet specific accessories and some universal mirrors etc that look awesome!!!