S90: Cafe Bars

I've come to admire the spirit of a cafe racer bike: light, lean, and good-looking.  The stock ergonomics on the S90 screams "commuter", so it would be nice to get things a little more aggressive.  Handlebars are an easy mod.  A lowered cafe-style seat will be pricey, but should also be an easy one.  Rearsets seem to be the trickiest of the basic mods, only because there's nothing out there that will just bolt on.  At some point, holes would have to be drilled for mounting plates.  So we'll see how things progress...

Handlebars first, though.  These are some cheap ones from BikeMaster called the "European".  Specs are as follows:

Center width = 4.8"
Pullback = 4.8"
Rise = 2.4"
Width = 30"

These were just $24 from Bike Bandit (free shipping since I'm a premium member).  I figured I had to get one set just to put a stake in the ground and give me a starting point to begin judging what I like for dimensions and geometry.

I have to say, these handlebars were a good start.  Turned "right way up", they keep the commuter ergonomics of the current riding position, just dropping your hands down slightly.  Turned upside-down, cafe style, they put you in a nicely forward position that is still comfortable.

The only thing is that they look and feel much too wide for the bike.  But I think some of that comes from the fact that they're still naked.  I'll need to add the grips, controls, and mirrors before I can get an accurate feel for the right width.


Here they are "cafe style"...

And here they are traditional...