[Eastonboy99]

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on the Rethal Medium Road bars? I'm looking to replace my stock bars with something similar. With the (rough) measurements I took of my current bars, these seem to be fairly close.

Thanks

 

[krukster86]

I have them on my CB360. I like them a lot (considering my previous configuration had eBay "clubman" bars). I know a lot of folks here recommend CB400 bars, which come pre-drilled for routing cables through them though. Otherwise you will need to dremel out a hole in your controls to route cables on the outside of the bars.

 

[ancientdad]

I'm sure the Renthal bars are quality, but it seems crazy to me to pay twice as much for a set of bars that you also have to make modifications to use, one that would make the bike look less clean at that, with wires running on the outside of the bars unlike the bike was originally built... but that's just me. The CB400F replica bars are half the price (but they are chrome, if that's a deal breaker)

 

[Richard_Pitman]

The Renthal Medium bars are much taller than the CB400 bars, which are pretty much the same dimensions as Renthal Ultralows.

I had Renthal Low bars fitted to my Hornet for a while, but found them too high and wide for high speed riding, whilst I find the Ultralows ideal.

The Renthals, in thick alloy tubing, are much stronger than chrome plated steel tube handlebars, but should not be drilled for internal wiring.

 

[Rscottp]

Richard, which bars are on the Hornet in the left photo(black bars)?

 

[Eastonboy99]

Thanks for the replies! Does routing the cables outside the bars look too bad?
And I'm trying to move away from chrome because just about all of the chrome pieces on my bike are rusted and chrome won't go with the final look I'm after. I think the ultra lows might be too low because you sit pretty upright on the CL350 with the stock bars and I like that. But I do appreciate the input!

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[Richard_Pitman]

Richard, which bars are on the Hornet in the left photo(black bars)?

Those are the Renthal Low bars. Pretty much the same dimensions as the stock Hornet bars.

I've removed the brace from my Ultralows, didn't like the look, and I doubt it adds much extra rigidity.

How it looks now. Modified somewhat, Ultralows, later headlamp from 599, Aprilia Tuono mirrors, aftermarket nose fairing, span adjustable levers, Koso instrument cluster, Oberon led indicators, Scott E Oiler chain lube device, Ohlins front springs, Ohlins rear shock, Gilles rearsets, BlueFlame exhaust, VTR1000 front wheel, Triumph Street Triple calipers etc etc

 

[ancientdad]

Wow Richard... I had no idea you'd done so much to it. Very nice!

 

[Rscottp]

Thanks Richard, leaning toward trying those bars on my CX500. Current bars are similar to the ultra low renthals and I would like to be slightly more upright.

 

[83XLX]

Thanks for the replies! Does routing the cables outside the bars look too bad?
And I'm trying to move away from chrome because just about all of the chrome pieces on my bike are rusted and chrome won't go with the final look I'm after. I think the ultra lows might be too low because you sit pretty upright on the CL350 with the stock bars and I like that. But I do appreciate the input!

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You'll have to file or grind openings in your control housings for the wiring to pass through. Exposed wiring on low bars doesn't look too bad, as long as the wire sheathing is clean and in good condition. If it were me, I'd just buy some black superbike-bend bars and drill them for internal wiring, or buy the CB400 replica bars (or the slightly higher CB550F replica bars) that are already drilled and either paint or powdercoat them black.

https://4into1.com/chrome-handlebars-53100-377-000-honda-cb400f-1975-1976/

https://4into1.com/chrome-handlebars-53100-390-000-honda-cb550f-super-sport-1975-1976/

 

[krukster86]

Thanks for the replies! Does routing the cables outside the bars look too bad?
And I'm trying to move away from chrome because just about all of the chrome pieces on my bike are rusted and chrome won't go with the final look I'm after.

That is why I went with the black UL for my bike. the fenders were already powdercoated black, so some extra black trim looks much better than chrome.

Zip ties for tucking away cables/wires goes a long way towards making it look better. It won't be as clean as internally routed wiring, but it doesn't look too janky.

 

[DieselKrampus]

I have the Renthal 754's on my CL350. They are the "road-low" bend. I did have to mill a small notch in the back of each side control housing with my Dremel to allow the wiring to pass through externally. I kept the wire harnesses tight to the bars and followed the OEM routing as closely as possible with the exception of running through the bars. I don't think it looks too bad, especially considering the "resto-mod" style of my bike.

I have back issues though, and I eventually added 30mm bar clamp risers to bring the bars up a little bit. Much more comfortable for longer rides now. A higher bend bar would have accomplished the same thing, but personally, I actually think the lower bend with risers "looks better" than a higher bend bar like the stock CL bars... to each their own, I guess.

I have used Renthal bars on the majority of bikes I have owned over the years and have no complaints with them. (Pro-taper, on the other hand.... )

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[DieselKrampus]

Just gave her a bath, figured I'd snap some pics of the bar setup. (Don't laugh at my anti-vibration GoPro mount... it works! )

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[Eastonboy99]

That looks amazing! What year is it?

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[krukster86]

Nice! Looks very clean that way, you can barely tell the cables are routed externally!

 

[DieselKrampus]

Thanks! It's a '71 CL350.

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[Rscottp]

Bars look good, I just ordered a set of low renthals for my CX500.

 

[ancientdad]

I like it, nice color combo and accents. Clean job of running the switch wires outside and the black bars help disguise it too. You should take the upper bar clamps off and paint them satin black so they match... and you should also turn your clutch cable adjuster so the slot is down in case you get caught in the rain - with it up like it is now, it invites water right down into the cable. BTW, that's why I put my GoPro mount on my helmet... I know it moves with my head and it can be an annoyance, but there's nothing worse than jello in your videos when the mount is too tight and vibes are transmitted. I had to modify the mount for my drone as well to keep the jello out of my videos too, and it's mostly successful (didn't want to spend the big bucks on a decent gimbal and then have to modify my controller to even use it, as little as I fly my drone out here in the woods with trees everywhere)

 

[DieselKrampus]

Yeah, with the rubber mounted handlebar clamps on the CL350 + my little piece of radiator hose underneath the camera clamp, it eliminates essentially 90% of the vibes from the video. Only really notice anything in the video when engine is close to redline.

Good point on the clutch cable adjuster, I will definitely flip that around.

The top clamps actually were satin black originally, but the 45+yr old finish was chipped and looked like crap. When I was prepping/sanding them for paint along with the lower clamps, I noticed how nice the aluminum underneath cleaned up, and made the decision to just "brush" them by hand with steel wool, and clear coated them to seal the aluminum surface. Just little silver accents to complement the odd chrome and stainless pieces elsewhere on the bike.

If you look closely you can see that I did this same thing to my upper triple clamp about 3-4 years ago during my initial build. The clear coat on the triple is still holding up well.

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[83XLX]

The '68 and '69 350s came with polished aluminum trees, controls, and risers. They look pretty nice when they are all polished up...