Hawk GT bars on a VFR...?

So I was looking at my new VFR and my Hawk the other day, when I got a silly idea... what would happen if I swapped their handlebars? I could use the more upright Hawk bars on the VFR for longer rides, and the more aggressive VFR bars on the Hawk, which is my city-bike...

Does anyone here use Hawk GT bars on their VFR? Any clearance problems with the fairing? It looks like it would be close... And any trouble using the stock cables & hoses?

 

Or alternatively..

Why not buy some risers which give the best of both worlds and can be easily swapped on and off in about 5 minutes, instead of having to mess about with changing over the throttle, brake and clutch every time..
see details in my signature .

Rod

 

Hawk Clipons for VFR

Hello,
Did you ever try the swap? I was interested in doing the same just wondering if you had any suggestions.

Thanks,
Joe

 

My daughters Hawk is 41mm & the vfr bars works great until I just put on the Woodcraft clip ons for the track for her.

My modified '05 VFR has clip ons, & my Daughter likes the position of the stock ones on the '04 VFR for her.

I don't know if the Hawk bars will hit the fairing or not on the VFR, but you should try it & let us know.

It will only cost you grips, vs more expensive risers:wink:


Let us know :biggrin:

 

Who needs risers? Just raise the bars and re-tighten. All the genmars do is make it look a bit prettier. I and several friends have done this on a few VFRs. I just turn the steering to the lock, raise the bar as far as it will go without hitting the fairing, then match the right bar to the same height.

 

It's your bike, do with it what you wish, but in my opinion, Honda engineered those engagement tabs on the bars for a reason. The single pinch bolt may be enough to keep the bar in place when seated normally, but a drop of the bike while stationary will be enough to rotate the bar around the fork leg causing damage to be more severe than it would otherwise be - also, under severe pressure the bar may move while riding - not my idea of a safe mod.
Other replacement bars have no engagement tab, but then they also have two pinch bolts, and grip the leg over a wider area.

Risers are inexpensive, do the job safely and may prevent excessive damage in the event of a parking lot drop..

Rod

 

Yeah, I've abandoned the idea of the GT-bar conversion. My Hawk isn't ridable at the moment (needs new fork seals...), so I've been riding the VFR exclusively. After about a week, I realized that I actually like the VFR's clip-ons more than the Hawks!

If anything, I might put a set of VFR bars on the Hawk... Probably not, though... my Hawk looks (mostly) stock and I like it that way.

 

I'm just sayin, many many people over the past 10 years have just raised the bars, and there have been NO problems. Yes, Honda engineers things for reasons. In this case, liability reasons, I'm sure.

You have a valid point--be as safe as you think necessary, of course. Damage caused in a drop is a concern--possibly more damage could be caused.
I choose to save completely unnecessary expenditures like risers.

)

 

oh yeah, and another reason the tabs are there is so when you put the bars back on after removal, they are located properly and evenly. At any rate, I'm just speaking from years of experience-- I've also put a lot of pressure and impact on the relocated bars, and they have not moved.

Cheers