[cityhippie]

short version: don't think i'll keep using them! they are fun, but unfortunately quite uncomfortable for me

long version: hey guys, thought i might as well put up a little review since a few others have gotten these. originally i kind of wanted just a cosmetic change, like putting some cool tracker bars on or something, but decided to go for something lower to make highway runs more comfortable, since i have to use the highway to get just about anywhere from my house. went for the fat swallows since i know someone who put swallows on another bike, and i saw a few people on here liked them. was really unsure about whether to go for them or the hurricane fat condors (less extreme change), but pulled the trigger because i hadn't seen anyone talk about the condors, and just went for it

pros
+ they look fantastic! even made me like the look of the stock mirrors a lot! i really wasn't a fan of how they looked on the stock bars
+ feels much more connected to the road, planted, more feedback
+ less wind buffeting at high speed
+ can use the kedo speedo bracket! original speedo location is horrible and i have no idea why it's like that. got the kedo one knowing i would need lower bars to fit it, but i just like the offset look so much i thought i'd take the gamble

cons
- low speed handling and stability is way down. maybe i could get used to it but the narrowness makes the steering much, much heavier and slower, i feel the need to take low speed corners much slower than usual. could have something to do with the weight distribution too? it just feels much clunkier. i knew this would happen, but didn't think much of it
- legs feel cramped! this one was a little unexpected, but something in the ergonomics does this i guess
- the biggest drawback for me is that the position being approx 120mm forward and 50mm down (according to hurricane) does not vibe with my back at all! the forward lean was very uncomfortable on my lower back even at high speeds with the wind pushing me up. and i'm only 23! this may be less of a problem for shorter people, who i imagine won't have to lean as much. i'm fairly tall, and fat too which might not help

overall, wish i had gone with my first instinct and gotten the hurricane condor bars, or some of the other ones i see like renthal street lows or whatever they're called
oh well!
i don't regret buying these, because i've learned a lot through the process, and it will be nice to have them if i ever want to try a change again later
i'll include some pictures i took when i first put them on, because what would this be without them? please note that this is before i adjusted the controls and everything properly, and before i secured the wiring. since taking the pictures i've also adjusted the angle to be much higher/closer to me at several increments, and even though it lessened the issues i had, i think the cons still outweigh the pros

hope this helps anyone looking for new bars. i know some people love them, and i thought i would too! i don't recommend against them at all, but at least for now, they aren't right for me

edit: i plan on trying them again at a point when i'm not having back pain, and will be thinking more consciously about my positioning then too. i suspect i may have been sitting incorrectly due to pre-existing back pain. i'd like to be able to use them! but for now, it's the stock bars for me

 

[prime07]

Nice review, thank you! I was interested in these bars until I found out that I can't use them legally in germany.

 

[cityhippie]

Nice review, thank you! I was interested in these bars until I found out that I can't use them legally in germany.

thank you! i always appreciate finding people's takes on stuff like this before buying, so thought i might as well be that person for someone else.
getting your response was very nice, i don't feel like i'm just putting it out into the void, lol

 

[KLX678]

Those bars, I believe, can also be flipped over to have a low dropped clubman style bar too. That's what was often done since back in the 80s. Not that it would make any difference with the OP since they felt too narrow and low.

I have a short reach. I rotated the stock bars back to get a shade more pull back. I would love to go with a flat track bend like the Pro Taper Murphrey bend, but I'm afraid they may not have enough pull back for my reach. I need to measure up the stock ones and do some comparison.

I recommend riders go to shops or shows to check out handlebars. Just picking them up and holding them in hand gives a bit of a feel for how they will have your wrists, some thought for the rise and pull back.

 

[Arvind Singh]

I have the same bars, could you post a link to the barends you have on yours? I believe our bars don't take just any same size barends

 

[cityhippie]

I have the same bars, could you post a link to the barends you have on yours? I believe our bars don't take just any same size barends

hey mate, i went for these from hurricane. they're out of stock right now but anything listed as fitting an inner diameter of 18mm should fit! these ones say "Φ18-19mm"

 

[Arvind Singh]

Thank you sir. I thought our Hurricane bars had a 'different' inner finish that required specialised Bar ends, not just any 18mm ones?

 

[cityhippie]

Thank you sir. I thought our Hurricane bars had a 'different' inner finish that required specialised Bar ends, not just any 18mm ones?

i think they are the same as any other non-threaded, 18mm handlebar! sorry for taking so long to respond, didn't see this until now

 

[cityhippie]

hey guys, thought i'd post an update on these!
after becoming a lot more experienced, using renthal street lows, becoming confident with faster cornering, and just being better than i used to be overall, i decided to give them another go
it all makes sense now! doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. certainly narrower but i got used to that because the lower body position is much nicer for me now
a few additional factors:

• i think as a beginner (a bit under a year of experience, not much actual ride time since i was unemployed and had nowhere to go), the change from the stock high position to the swallows was way too drastic. i thought if i just jumped in, i would get used to it. this was not the case
• i've lost a lot of weight since writing this review and am a lot physically (and mentally, which is nice) healthier, which helps against feeling fatigued and maybe even the weight feeling too far forward

some "negatives" maybe

• i might take a minute to get used to the low speed handling of these, but i am now a master of slow traffic from commuting daily
• i feel kind of funny about using these welded steel bars when i have the super high quality renthals
• i can't figure out how to adjust the right mirror to see anything other than the ground. this also is a positive because now i have an excuse to buy some cool bar end mirrors 😤

here's another picture of how my bike looks now. i wish i knew how to tidy the cables up a bit, but everything works just fine and maybe the race cockpit look is actually very cool and fashionable. who knows!

 

[hombacher]

Thank you for coming back to your own thread. Thanks as well for being spot on and pointing to the fact, that physical and mental fitness are the keystone for a healthy and joyful motorbike riding.


Regarding the cable, you shall go for a rerouting those. Both radius are far too small or tight. You may check if it is possible to swap the routings, clutch to the right side and throttle to the left side of the steering head when heading downwards.
The MT-07 are a little bit shorter, but this would be plan B, if rerouting does not work.

 

[cityhippie]

Thank you for coming back to your own thread. Thanks as well for being spot on and pointing to the fact, that physical and mental fitness are the keystone for a healthy and joyful motorbike riding.


Regarding the cable, you shall go for a rerouting those. Both radius are far too small or tight. You may check if it is possible to swap the routings, clutch to the right side and throttle to the left side of the steering head when heading downwards.
The MT-07 are a little bit shorter, but this would be plan B, if rerouting does not work.

thanks for the comment and tip! i'll see what information i can get about cable routing
edit: just so nobody worries, i have made sure the tension is just fine on both, so they function with no issues. however those huge loops curves might be stressing the cables as well as me whenever i look at them, which isn't great

 

[irl_biker]

I think I had the same issue with my mirrors when I first fit them. If I remember correctly there is a nut at the top of the mirror stem that's hidden by the plastic cover (you need to pull back the plastic cover where the stem meets the mirror and there is a nut inside). You can loosen this nut and then angle the mirror up or down.

 

[Ryk0z]

Hello everyone, quick question regarding these handlebars : do you know if it will work with the r6 throttle tube mod ? Also when i bought my XSR it came with heated grips looking like the "Techno globe gold premium" ones, would that be a concern ?

Asking this since "normal" handlebars are 22 mm diameter at the handles, while these are only 18mm.

From what i've seen the position and feel of these handlebars is exactly what i'm looking for, but i've tested a MT07 today and the throttle .... 0 to fully open is 1/4 turn, making it feel so amazingly punchy compared to mine where i have to regrab the throttle ...

Thank you for your time

 

[cityhippie]

Hello everyone, quick question regarding these handlebars : do you know if it will work with the r6 throttle tube mod ? Also when i bought my XSR it came with heated grips looking like the "Techno globe gold premium" ones, would that be a concern ?

Asking this since "normal" handlebars are 22 mm diameter at the handles, while these are only 18mm.

From what i've seen the position and feel of these handlebars is exactly what i'm looking for, but i've tested a MT07 today and the throttle .... 0 to fully open is 1/4 turn, making it feel so amazingly punchy compared to mine where i have to regrab the throttle ...

Thank you for your time

sure does mate, i am using these bars with an r6 throttle tube. feels much better. i did have to trim the tube down a little bit, but it is all good otherwise. not sure about the grips unfortunately! the mm diameter is internal, so all it effects is which bar ends you can use. just get some that are either for 18mm or include 18mm in their range. i like the big hurricane ones i got, heavy steel actually feels nicer than aluminium! i used renthals and some light rizoma bar ends for a while and this setup vibrates less. only "issue" i am having with these bars is that the cables are too long and look a bit weird, but that can be sorted.

might as well give a further update while i'm here: just got a service done yesterday and the mechanic noted zero issues whatsoever, which is nice. i'm even considering getting clipons since i've taken up cycling and even the swallow bars feel very upright to me now! here's a picture for whatever reason. i love this bike so much and i'm so glad i have it. i've been very satisfied with it and haven't changed anything in a while so haven't been active on the forum for a while. let this be a glowing review for the xsr700 and the fat swallow bars!

 

[KLX678]

Asking this since "normal" handlebars are 22 mm diameter at the handles, while these are only 18mm.

I will speculate a bit on this subject without seeing the bars...

18mm is about 3/4" and would be the inside diameter of the bars should you want bar ends. If they are fitting the controls from any standard bike they are 22mm, which is 7/8", outside diameter of the bars.

I'm pretty confident of what I say, since I've never seen 18mm (3/4") bars on any motorcycle in about 50 years riding, selling, and working some with motorcycles.

 

[Ryk0z]

@cityhippie thank you so much for your update man ! Actually as we speak i gave it to a mechanic in order to make the swaps : hurricane swallow bars + r6 mod

Can’t wait for the work to be finished, tbh your post has been the inspiration and the review i needed. When he asked « how about the incline on the bars ? » i looked up the pictures you posted and asked for a parallel to the floor setup like yours

@KLX678 Thank you as well for your reply, actually you are 100% right i was mistaking the inner diameter (18mm, but really 19 on mines) for the outer diameter (22mm)

Bar end wise i’m going with highsider’s bar end that match hollow bars with 12-21 inside mm and some montana 2 round bar end mirrors, will maybe post a picture when it’s done. I’ve considered rhinomoto bar ends because they are fairly high quality and heavy (less vibrations) but shipping US to France nowadays is complicated and expensive

To talk a bit about clipons, from the start they appeared appealing to me but since this is my first bike, i went the safe way with hurricane fat swallows because they do not seem « too too » aggressive from what i read.

Someone on this forum is rocking tommaselli 41mm clip ons and it looks dope, if you’re interested i may also suggest you look at @xsr700oosaka on instagram. Hurricane Clip ons with bar end mirrors, really dig his setup.


@cityhippie If you go that route i’d love to hear about it, maybe if you have the time do a similar review and compare them with the hurricanes ! Really wonder how different they feel position wise, cornering etc

Thank you again both for your help !

 

[cityhippie]

@cityhippie thank you so much for your update man ! Actually as we speak i gave it to a mechanic in order to make the swaps : hurricane swallow bars + r6 mod

Can’t wait for the work to be finished, tbh your post has been the inspiration and the review i needed. When he asked « how about the incline on the bars ? » i looked up the pictures you posted and asked for a parallel to the floor setup like yours

@KLX678 Thank you as well for your reply, actually you are 100% right i was mistaking the inner diameter (18mm, but really 19 on mines) for the outer diameter (22mm)

Bar end wise i’m going with highsider’s bar end that match hollow bars with 12-21 inside mm and some montana 2 round bar end mirrors, will maybe post a picture when it’s done. I’ve considered rhinomoto bar ends because they are fairly high quality and heavy (less vibrations) but shipping US to France nowadays is complicated and expensive

To talk a bit about clipons, from the start they appeared appealing to me but since this is my first bike, i went the safe way with hurricane fat swallows because they do not seem « too too » aggressive from what i read.

Someone on this forum is rocking tommaselli 41mm clip ons and it looks dope, if you’re interested i may also suggest you look at @xsr700oosaka on instagram. Hurricane Clip ons with bar end mirrors, really dig his setup.


@cityhippie If you go that route i’d love to hear about it, maybe if you have the time do a similar review and compare them with the hurricanes ! Really wonder how different they feel position wise, cornering etc

Thank you again both for your help !

parallel looks cool hey! i've found tilting them back/up a touch feels more comfortable than totally flat, and i think the way it makes the bars look angled down from the front is really cool. i'll definitely write a new review if i try clipons. i was looking at the hurricane ones like @xsr700oosaka has, or maybe some daytona ones i think? which had an angle adjuster which seemed cool. from what i can tell, the top of the forks on the xsr are quite low compared to other bikes so the hurricane ones with the rise seem pretty good. i just had to buy a new helmet since my old one was way too big and rattling around, so i think i'll put any new purchases off for a while though
my only problem now is how much more do i really want to spend on this bike vs saving for the next one when i have my full licence in 2 years (or a house!)

 

[Ievel]

Which gauge mount are you using?