Flipping Norman Hyde M bar on Bonneville

[roadmanbo]

The Norman Hyde M bar has been my favorite handle bar for my Bonneville. After using this for several years, I tried to flip the M bar while expecting more cafe-racer looks. It turned out to be excellent combination with Norman Hyde rear set kit (“back-step” kit) especially for winding roads!

Related Thread

 

[strokerlmt]

Roadmanbo….thx for the excellent photos as well. I have tried 9 different bars on my Bonne AND I am going back to the NH M bars. Bar none the best bars I have ever had.
LMT

 

[bluesforchallah]

roadmanbo, I just want to say your bike looks fantastic. I always enjoy the photo's you post. A great talent with great subject matter.

Myself, I cycled thru 7 different sets of bars on my 08 T100 before settling on my Flanders narrow clubman bars; which I absolutely loved. However, my second favorite set were the Norman Hyde 'M' bar. Nice compromise between the cafe looks with standard comfort.

Now with my Scrambler, I'm about to try out my third, and hopefully last, set of bars. I've got a set of Biltwell Moto bars on order and should be on my doorstep Tuesday afternoon. Looking forward to trying them out.

 

[roadmanbo]

strokerlmt-san,
Nine different bars on Bonneville! I guess that, when it comes to selecting the handle bar, a try-&-error is the only way to find out.

 

[roadmanbo]

bluesforchallah-san,
Thank you. I have been enjoying to take photo of the scenes with Bonneville since I got this great motorcycle 5 years ago.
I did tried previously using Flanders wide bars as well. It is always nice to find out that the riding touch could be significantly affected by the handle bars of choice. Sometimes it feels good, the other it turned out to be unexpected. Selecting the handle bars may be endless journey...

 

[drlapo]

the first photo shows the M bars in the proper orientation, not "flipped"

 

[roadmanbo]

drlapo-san, thank you for letting me know of this. I was beginning to think that this (the above picture) should be the correct orientation for M bar after installation.

 

[fender]

I've been meaning to try my bars that way. Guess it's time for a flip and put them in the correct orientation.

By the way roadmanbo your bike looks fantastic and I enjoy the picture you post of your travels.

 

[YellowThruxgirl]

Cafe style on your Bonnie is quite becoming RoadManbo. You are going to have so much more fun on the twisty's with the new Cafe stance. Enjoy!

 

[D9]

+1 Roadmanbo could do a coffee-table book... his photos are that good and
that Golden Bonneville is distinctly gorgeous...

Interesting observations re M-bars... I always thought the "high" position on the M-bars was the
primary orientation, and that "low" was the flipped position... either way,
great that the geometry works so well for so many. I love mine

 

[roadmanbo]

fender-san,
Thank you! I would love to post pictures that are taken while traveling in Japan from time to time, letting you know that there are Bonneville-riders enjoying this fantastic motorcycle in Japan as you guys do all over the world!

 

[roadmanbo]

YellowThruxgirl-san,
Yes, indeed I feel like a !mini-cafe racer" with this style. It is a bit surprising to learn that just the handlebar style make such a significant change on riding.

 

[roadmanbo]

D9-san,
Thank you! Yes, I was also assuming that the high position is the standard orientation, since the product photograph on Norman Hyde web-site show that orientation. I guess that both orientations are correct, and we just pick the one that make us happy. Anyway, this may be one of those “buy-one-and-get-one-for-free” type products.

 

[aboutaminute]

roadmanbo I've just bought my MBars and I've installed them the standard way (as in your photos), but no matter the angle I try the controls keep touching the tank and still far from full turning lock.

I saw your post about the Motone risers. Do you believe if it's the only solution? The guys at Notman Hyde say that we shouldn't have any problem even without risers! :S

Here some pics of mine.

Cheers!

PS: your bike looks awesome!

 

[rbirkey]

I could be wrong, but I think "roadmanbo" has an early Bonneville with the 790cc engine and 3.9 Gal gas tank. Triumph upsized the gas tank with the larger 865cc engine, which may be the reason for your clearance issues. If this is the case, you will need to either raise the bars with risers or add some type of mod to the front headstock turning stops to limit the travel, left and right.