Had to go to Oxfordshire today for meeting and an oasis of good weather was predicted in a week of high winds and torrential rain so I gambled on doing it on the SD. Thought it was a good time to mix business with pleasure and I must admit that my mind was far more into planning the ride and being in bike mode rather than with the meeting I'd prepared for and the people I was meeting. I went from planning to wear a suit under my textiles and a full tank bag to opting for leathers and no bag at all, fook em, just took an A4 print out of map and a couple of blank sheets of paper for notes and a pen stuffed into the small pocket in my Dainese jacket.

Set off with no firm route in mind, just knowing that I wasn't going to do much motorways but stick to fast A and B roads and feel my way West across the South of England avoiding traffic and trying to get lost. Left three and a hours for a journey that was meant to be two and hoped for the best. Can't say what the meeting was about,(confidential and all that), but I was not in a really good mood and have been stressing for weeks about it. This ride was going to sort me out, I hoped, and let me forget about all life's problems until I got there. Cathartic riding, sometimes it can be just cruising around enjoying the scenery but today it was about wringing the neck out of the SD and putting it to work doing what it was made for.

Your last few lines say it all. Can we really have any more fun on a new SD costing £14K before even a few trinkets are added

Love the one you're with
Nice one Bic, enjoyed that!

Turn and burn Bic.
Turn and burn.

Bet you wish you had your SD when you were 18,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Been riding a family members FZ8. Going back to the superduke makes that bike feel so....anemic. Still nothing like dropping the clutch in 2nd, doing and rolling burn out that transitions into a wheelie I highly doubt, I'll be able to ride this bike to it's full potential for quite a few years.

I had one of those days last weekend... first time properly this year.

You honestly forget just how fun it can be.

Great post and what a great looking, sorted SD!
Definitely regret not replacing my SD with another one.

Bic I swear you have the meanest looking SD I have yet seen

Great read. Beautiful bike.

Ha ha! Skips OUTSIDE the gates mate, where those pikeys belong.

So Bic,,,what's the verdict on the bar's

Great read. Someone once said that "happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have."

As I said in write-up, the bars are just what I was hoping for in that they let me lean forward more over the front end and the angle of the grips is more comfy for me.

It's better for fast cruising because the wind resistance compensates for the weight on the arms and you get about perfect equilibrium at 90mph which.

It's better for fast A roads and focussed "making progress" riding because the bike feels more planted and precise. Any benefits of leverage and changing direction quickly with wide, high bars is not missed, (by me anyway, I never had a problem with the SD steering - it's very quick steering inherently.)

Not been on track yet so can't really comment on how they work ergonomically when you really hang off and move about on the bike. Can't see why they would be a problem and I expect that they are far better for track riding.

Steering lock is slightly less than standard but not as much as you might think. Thumb does get trapped when doing slow U turns so you have to be careful.

They look good and suit the bike I think - it's still a naked bike and it's not like I'm trying to convert it into a sports bike.

The risers I used are just right, any lower and you would have serious cable issues to get fitted and they would foul the top of the fork legs. Any higher and they stop being clip-on bars really, you might as well get some conventional bars with a bit of a bend and clamp them onto the top yolk.
Quality is very good - they are a seriously well made bit of kit.

Expensive though.

All in all it's a good mod for me. They are staying.

The handle bars look cool. I'm not sure if I would go so low in my area since having an upright seating position is handy when lane splitting in super crowded california traffic where most cars are massive SUVs. It's convenient to sit-up and see over most of the traffic. I was just looking at the specs of a Hypermotard and Dorsoduro. It's kind of incredible that the 990 with a little engine work has more power than a 1200cc Dorsoduro, and considerably more power than a Hypermotarded. In your case of truly fighting the street, the design of a Superduke is much better than a supermoto at 90+ mph.

The bar's are 2.5 inch rise

great to read that you take the time to enjoy the day. carpe diem

Maddog, yes the rise is 65mm, 2,5 inches. I originally bought the 50mm rise but they were not possible to fit as the bars fouled the top of the forks so I exchanged them for the 65mm risers.

I used to have a Kawasaki 400 with a set of genuine Jota bars. They were sooo adjustable and brilliant. I can't believe that no one is making something similar for todays market. I got them off a guy who's dad had a farm and I worked all day helping him to dig the foundations for a slurry pit. I got blisters and bruised feet from digging so hard but at the end of the day I had a those bars instead of getting paid. Bargain I thought!

When I look at this picture all I see is the then fashion of jacking up the clocks really high with clip-ons and those incredibly thin, spindly forks. How the hell did those bikes hold a tight line through corners and bumps and braking? Oh, I forgot....they didn't!

Kinda why I ride mine every day - Captain Sensible, complete with orange fluorescent jacket, most days but if the weather and roads permit or after a good/bad day.........

Bic, you need to start commuting on yours.

Funny thing about the Jota bar's is that even on the Jota you could never really get them in the "just right" position,,,my friend Wally's Jota's riding position proved this to be the truth when changing the position in all posible way's to find the magic position,,,nada good quality bars however, and I'm sure if you really wanted a set that Slater in the UK may be able to help or steer you in the right direction,,who know's, they may work on the SD,,,,,

[quote="bic_bicknell"When I look at this picture all I see is the then fashion of jacking up the clocks really high with clip-ons and those incredibly thin, spindly forks. How the hell did those bikes hold a tight line through corners and bumps and braking? Oh, I forgot....they didn't!

No excuses for the fashion crimes. Truly horrendous. All I can say is that I didn't go out looking like this. Must have been a Sunday morning blunder.

I really love the stealthy look of your bike Bic even though I'd stay with the stock handlebars, absolutely love them

That belly pan is the best looking one I've seen so far, completely in style with the angular SD looks.