Hey Scott. What is your impression in the change in ergonomics and comfort with your clip ons? If I recall correctly you mentioned that you had bad carpal tunnel? Have you been on any long rides with them yet? Did you go with the 1.5 inch rise or 2? Did it change the riding position significantly? They look great.
You also mentioned you changed the bar ends. Would the stock ones not fit? Or did they just look odd?
How long did it take to install for ya? I have done all the mods on my bike. Manipulating the controls and lowering seems a little higher on the difficultly scale. I have read quite a bit on the forum about doing it. Just curious how getting all the assemblies back on and the cables in right place scored on level of difficulty.
I love the clip-ons. I lowered 1.5" and used the 1.5" risers. The longest I have ridden it is to and from work (40 miles roundtrip). It's mostly highway with some highspeed freeway (80MPH) and I've had no headshake or tank slappers as some say could or would happen. It leans into corners very easy now and low speed maneuvering actually seems easier for me. I think most is due to not having both forks equal (headshake and tank slappers). Mine are equal at least withing about 1/32nd. Riding position is definitely a little more forward, but not SS low. I can grip the tank better so it's not any more strain on my wrists (maybe even less). Gonna order some stomp grip tank grip pads though. Install took a few hours really not too bad. I wanted to take my time and measured 100 times before committing to any setting. Lowering and install is not super difficult if you take your time. I was worried about getting the controls back together too, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'd say it was probably more difficult than my HID hookup and exhaust, but looking back neither of those was real difficult. Bar ends from stock bar are not reusable with the clip-ons since the stock are screw on type and the clip-ons aren't threaded. The ones I used are similar in size and weight, but are non-threaded.
Here's what I did in order:
1. Took off Bar-ends and grips (used air under clutch side after using a thin screwdriver under to release the glue and WD40 under the throttle after releasing) and controls (pay attention to the throttle assembly when you take it apart).
a. Leave the bar on because you will need to use it to pull the front up with a winch or come along if you lower it too much.
2. Lower by loosening the lower fork screw first (can do both at once since the top screw will be the one that causes the fork to drop).
3. Loosen one and only one top screw a little at a time paying attention to whether or not it's dropping. It can all of a sudden move quickly once you loosen it so far. Just be ready to tighten so don't remove allen wrench when it starts to slide down. (I went down maybe 3/4 on one side and tightened up and then lowered the other side to 1.5" and tightened that side. Then lower the first side down to 1.5" and tighten). Make sure to measure both sides to exactly the same height even if a little lower than 1.5" and then tighten top and bottom fully.
4. Remove the riser nuts which are underneath the triple and remove the entire handlebar assembly.
5. Assemble Woodcraft riser bar assembly (minus the bar). You can fully tighten the screws for that the bar attaches to and only start the ones that attach to the fork tube. Please pay attention to the right and left markings.
6. Place the riser on the tube and loosely put the bar in and loosely tighten the screw that holds it.
7. Tighten the riser screws (not fully tight but enough to hold) so that you can turn the bar and test lock to be readjust slightly once you mount the levers and control assemblies, because the lever or housing may not clear obstacles. I loosely fitted everything just to get an idea if I'd clear everything. This is why it took me so long, but it also ensured it would be correct.
8. You will need the housings on the bar to measure where you need to drill for anti-rotation holes. With my spider grips I drilled at exactly 4.25" from the end of the bar, but please measure just to be certain. I used the throttle grip (for both sides) as my guideline for location since it's bigger and slides on and off easy when the throttle is not connected on the bar. I lined up the grip so it came right to the black on the plastic ends on the bar (bar end side) and loosely put the throttle housing on to measure where the hole had to be drilled. It is the same on both bars so only need to measure one side.
9. You should have them drilled and mounted tight enough not to rotate now while you re-install the levers and housings. Make sure the hole is the right size to fit the nipple on the inside of the housing. The clutch side is much easier so install that side first. Check for clearance issues once reinstalled and move brake lever or rotate the bar slightly to clear anything that the lever may contact (tank or windscreen). Once your certain it's where you want it tightened everything on that side completely. To install the grip use extra hold hairspray or a glue made for grips ( at this point before I had that grip on and before spraying I removed the plastic plug on the end so I wouldn't damage the grip). Twist and pull with some channel locks and then get a screwdriver in between the bar and plastic and turn the screwdriver to pop it further out and finish with the pliers. They are hard to remove.
10. Install the front brake reservoir and the throttle assembly. Make sure to align the throttle cables properly underneath so you can get the plate back on the bottom. Pull the end cap and install the grip. Check that everything clears and fine tune adjustment before tightening down everything on that side. Install bar ends (if you use the ones I did I removed the spacer and added 2 washers on either side of the rubber expander so the bar end would flush mount to the grips. Obviously if you don't wanna do bar ends immediately do not remove the end caps.
I think I covered everything, but if you do this and get stuck a Neme and myself have done this mod recently and can help you. Good luck!