Anyone here fitted straight bars to convert their Blade into a 'bit' of a street fighter? As much as I love my RR7 I'm thinking of getting a more upright bike such as a Fazer 1000 or similar. If I'm honest it would suit the type of riding I do better than the Blade. But I'd love to keep the Blade if possible and am having increasingly crazy ideas of doing something like this.
Miby worth a look into Helibars? Or similar? Don't think either option of hi rise clip Ons or new machined top yoke and bar would be cheap!
Ive done it to my sp and bmw s1000rr before that it's the only way I would bother with a sports bike for the road now , not everyone's cup of tea of course.
Way over the top for my tastes too but it's the 'bars' I'm concerned with. I'd prefer straight bars to helibars also. There are two aspects to this, 1. It's more comfy for long rides, and I mean all day rides and touring, and 2. does it handle better? Why is it whenever I jump on a trailie bike or some naked bike I can chuck it about far better than my Blade? If I'm on my mates Transalp I can turn on a sixpence and manoeuvre through traffic effortlessly.
I can't do a comparison as I hadn't even ridden it before it was converted but it handles just fine, it's more of a comfort thing for me.
My recent first ride on my R7 confirmed all your comments about low speed handling and balance. The bike is just not designed for stop/start, heavy traffic. Little mechanical trail, inclined bar angle, weight on wrists, all adds up to a difficult experience at low speeds. They're a thing of beauty and in their own environment are unbeatable, but traffic isn't it. Having said that, I'd be loathed to change it as the racer fantasy is a big part of why, purely on a whim, I bought it.
Yep, as well as looking as sexy as hell, on the right roads sports bikes are addictive. They're also brill' long distance touring mile munchers. But something like a Fazer 1000 (not a CB 1000 as suggested, naked's are shite for touring and higher speeds) is arguably better but nowhere near as sexy.
