Ba ba ba barbara.. bars

[80-85 husky]

interestingly I recently rode in a pony xpress and we used a yammie wr 450 2012 and my 85 wr husky 400. I did a lap on the yammie and was all at sea it hit me in arse all the way around, the bike was physically big, (fab brakes, stopped 100 yards before each corner) the forks deflected on tree roots something frightening and the sudden power was difficult in the greasy bits and it hurt to stand up all the time.

it occurred to me ive been back on the vintage bikes too long. my lap times were right up there with the yammie riders so was giving nothing away in performance. was a lot happier on the "Jason Recliner" as the husky is called.

[Mick D]

Just came back from a 2700 k trip to Wisemans ferry and back Mick. only highway stuff was from armidale to uralla. all the rest was back roads with Tight twisting corners and shredding the chicken strips on the Angel Gt and i never got sore. thats a grand well spent.

That sounds awesome Pokey.
How did you sleep? Swag or bed?

[pokey]

Pubs and hotels mate. took the camping gear in case we got caught short. Pubs so pretty good food and I dont have to cook or pack up a campsite so was an easy answer. I did intend on hitting the snowys and Vic but there was snow around and a few good roads were closed and i wasnt prepped for that kind of cold. maybe next year but I am saving to do Vietnam . Cheers.

[brent j]

With regards to handlebar position and such have a look at this.
I improved my XT500 and my wife's CRF230 a massive amount by changing to the specs listed

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/983931-handlebar-position-interesting-numbers/

[rocketfrog]

Interesting to read the opinions of others on this topic.

I found that bar risers (Ballards $30) on my 99 Kato 300 made a world of difference to my standing position and jumping confidence -  based on stock AFAM bars IIRC.

Note:  I am 194cm or 6ft in the old units.

I also found that too much higher was going to upset my comfort when sitting and cornering, yet I would like another inch when standing.

The solution was to drop the pegs 20mm. This gives me a general lower C of G standing, plus the added comfort and balance in standing ergos without making me feel like I could not get my weight forward enough and elbows high enough to corner when sitting.

The added bonus of bringing my knees in line with the sides of the very slim KTM300 seat when standing makes it better to control the bike when riding standing through greasy track conditions and provides better grip when accelerating in the standing position also.

A taller seat foam to compliment the ergonomics is on the cards also.

Most bikes are designed around a 5' 8" rider around 75 Kg - so most of us will need to tweak a few aspects to get the most from the bike and be at one with the machine.

7075 T6 Material used on high end bars is very strong and very susceptable to Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). The anodised finish is very good protection, if it is scratched or abraded the corrosion will set in very quickly in the right conditions. High cyclic loading and corrosion are all that is required for SCC to take root - It is the silent killer in the aviation world.