Cafe rebel?

[jkersh]

I was wondering if anyone has considered putting on clip on bars and getting a smaller speedo? Take the whole riser assembly off and mount a small speedo and maybe a small tach. I really think this will look good but I have had trouble locating 33mm clip ons. I can special order but $200 is a little too much money to just experiment with. Is 33 the correct size for a 2002 250 downtube? Any ideas or comments?
Thanks

jkersh

[GearJammer]

When I had the '85 250 Reb in the shop, side by side with the chopped Trumpet, stood back to take a smoke break & was looking at the front-ends. Noticed that the fork tubes on the Reb looked real close in diameter to the stock 1970 Triumph tubes. Measured 'em & sure enough......33mm.

Clip-ons were used a lot on the old British bikes. A search for "Triumph clip-ons" might help ? (Later model Triumphs had larger diameter tubes, but I'd think there'd be sources for clip-ons more inexpensive than $200)

[jkersh]

Thanks jammer I called British Motorcycles and they had a set for $67. I am waiting until I get paid and then am going to consider doing this mod.

[GearJammer]

Ubetcha.....

Clip-ons have a very distinctive, classic look. There's another option to consider, being 7/8" Clubman Bars. Have seen 'em installed in the tradition way that we're used to, or reversed in the handlbar clamps to give a similar hand position as clip-ons.

It'd be wise to shop around as I've seen ridiculous prices for handlebars being offerred by the larger aftermarket companies....downright theft, actually, LMAO!

[jkersh]

Yeah they are getting pretty high. I gave $18 for my drag bars at my local stealer.

[cTc]

I have a set of clip ons for my old aprilia cafe racer, I just wish I still had a rebel to try them out on.

[GearJammer]

cTc, When my very close Brother passed away & his widow asked me to sort thru the bikes/parts for her (he was a wrench & had acquired a ton of stuff), found a vintage pair of clip-ons, an item that he also really dug. I didn't part those out for her like most of the rest of it, but stashed 'em in his shop for their son's later use.

jkersh, $18 isn't too bad at all. The over-priced bars I've seen have been upwards to $300! LMAO! Absolutely serious.........heck, I've paid that much for nearly complete parts bikes :wink:

[jkersh]

That is the problem with this mod. I really would like to do it to see how it looks and feels. But the more I think about it the more money I am going to have to put in. Clip ons, speedo, maybe new cables, ect. If I find a set on ebay for cheap then I will proceed. I really dont have a problem with the $67 but if it doesnt work... I guess it is like that with any mod.

[GearJammer]

jkersh wrote: "I guess it is like that with any mod"...

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If your choice is set on clip-ons, I'll always respect an owner's personal choices. If you didn't mind trying the Clubman Bars, you could probably check out the basic aesthetic & feel for cheaper, then decide if you wanted to go with a more expensive set-up that was more in line with your mod-vision.

The Clubmans should be available for cheaper than $67 & would put your hands in a similar riding position as the clip-ons. Stock components such a speedo, etc. should be a direct swap-out since you'd simply be using different bars. If you didn't like the feel or look of it, you could change back & only be out the cost of the Clubmans. You could probably even try this using the stock cables as the bars would be sitting lower & not higher, which sometimes require overstock length cable changes.

Edit: Just found this...1st hit result on www.google.com for "clubman bars"....

http://omarsdtr.com/cafe5.html

2nd Edit: The only thing I can think of to watch for is adequate side to side turning clearance between bars & gas tank. I'm not sure one way or the other is this would be an issue or not, but wanted to point it out just in case......

[jkersh]

My big thing in doing this is to get rid of the nasty riser assembly and huge speedo. If I could find a set of risers that come straight up about 2 inches then I would be in buisness with my dragbars.

[jkersh]

The bottom pic is the look I am wanting

http://kershj.googlepages.com/projectrebel

[HotShott]

love the lo-pro look of that last shot.

[GearJammer]

Agreed. That last pic looks GREAT! Clean lines, nice stance........looks like it's ready to rock!

[HotShott]

have you thought about ditching the stock seat and fender and going with a lower profile seat and a trailer fender mounted to the swingarm? that'd make it look real low and mean.

I thought about putting clip-ons on my bobber project, but decided they wouldn't fit the look I was going for, plus I wasn't sure if I'd like being hunched over that far. The Rebel does have some nice lines on it like that though.