Handlebar Question

[talon596]

Hi new (very happy) Bonneville rider here. Just purchased a 09 Bonneville and I want to change the bars to Norman Hyde M bars.

Recently I sold my 99 Triumph Legend where I had changed the stock bars to Thunderbird Sport bars. The OEM Legend/TBS bars had a small hole in them where a nipple on the throttle assembly and clutch assembly fit into to make it a perfect match.

Question is does the stock Bonneville handlebar have this hole/nipple thing, and if so do the M bars come with this hole pre-drilled?

 

[BlueJ]

No and no. No cables in the bars, and besides folks put their bars at all sorts of different angles (including upside-down M bars for some) and so the angle of the instrument cluster and levers will change. Welcome to Bonnieland and the forum, and let the modding begin!

 

[talon596]

Excellent!! Appreciate the quick response. Glad there is no "fitment lock position". The Legend (and Tbird, TBS and Adventurer I think) had cables just like the Bonneville, running outside the bars it was just this "locating" nipple thing that was a pain. Essentially you had to buy the OEM bars. Or you could file the nipple down or drill new locating holes in other bars (as I understood it). Bit of a pain really.

 

[Speed3Chris]

Its not that big of a pain...dremmel makes light work of it as many motorcycles have a little nib for control orientation. You said you have a bonnie. Stock bonnies come with 7/8 inch bars and T100 comes with 1" bars and the controls are different.
Once you order the M bar to fit your particular bike as BlueJ said, bar angle is personal, my suggestion is do not drill a new hole in your new bar. Remove the nib from the controls instead. You won't have to worry about the control rotating if properly tightened. Good Luck.

 

[fender]

If I recall correctly all Bonnevilles prior to 09 had 1" bars. My 05 non T100 has 1" bars.

I thought I heard that the newer 09 and later changed up the size to 7/8" bars when they got rid of the dog-bone clamp, but I'm not positive on that.

 

[Speed3Chris]

Quite right fender. If OP has a base '09 bonnie with alloy wheels, that means 7/8" bars and also different controls than all T100's with 1" bars. So OP, if installing M-bars, be sure you get 7/8" diameter if you have the base '09 bonnie with alloy wheels. Norman Hyde according to his site has M-bars available in 7/8" dia. by request.

 

[austat2]

my SE had the nipples on the controls, nothing a razor blade couldn`t fix

 

[talon596]

Thanks for all the responses!! I will likely get the bars and cut or grind the nipples off. Sounds painful doesn't it? Oh well no pain no gain. Have a great day all!!