Pictures of your Norton 961

Stephen_Spencer said:

Hi Tony,

No dealer over here anymore, so all maint is down to me. I’m ok with that but my current front stand, although great for moving the bike around, holds the front end rigid/compressed. No option for removing the front wheel, accessing forks etc. The Oxford stand offers full access. Also great for cleaning that front carbon wheel.

As for fitting the ABM bars - I shouldn’t need to touch the lower triple tree or move the forks, but will be able to do so with the Oxford stand if it becomes necessary. A useful bit of kit.

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Oh see now.

Finally got around to fitting the ABM Multigrip sports bars - time for a test ride!

Slightly less pronounced drop, 2.5” (approx) higher set. Should do the trick. Final tweaking to be done, along with repositioning the resevoirs.

The good news from the outset - neither front brake lines nor throttle cables need elongation (to adopt this positioning). Happy days! If I need to make further changes the brake lines may need to be lengthened.

Quite a task; not as simple as it looks! I’ll post a thread outlining the task should anybody else want to reduce the torture rating of their Cafe Racer. Should stop others standing on the same landmines.

Stephen_Spencer said:

Finally got around to fitting the ABM Multigrip sports bars - time for a test ride!

Slightly less pronounced drop, 2.5” (approx) higher set. Should do the trick. Final tweaking to be done, along with repositioning the resevoirs.

The good news from the outset - neither front brake lines nor throttle cables need elongation (to adopt this positioning). Happy days! If I need to make further changes the brake lines may need to be lengthened.

Quite a task; not as simple as it looks! I’ll post a thread outlining the task should anybody else want to reduce the torture rating of their Cafe Racer. Should stop others standing on the same landmines.

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Looks like they came up at least 1 in . Is the angle different ? I can’t tell from the photos. Great job !

TonyA said:

Looks like they came up at least 1 in . Is the angle different ? I can’t tell from the photos. Great job !

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Drop angle slightly reduced Tony, with a slightly flatter profile, but bar height is approx 2.5 inches higher - I wanted to maintain the clip-on aesthetic whilst reducing that reach. Should make a huge difference. Yet to test ride it, lots of rain.

The other aim was to try and fit the bars without having to lengthen the brake hoses or throttle cables. The configuration you see in the image is the ABM bars zeroed out - height adjustment at its lowest, bar rotation at zero. Fork clamps rotated to mirror the OEM bars. This position requires the minimum reach for the hoses and cables.

If I want to make any more significant changes the hoses and cables will need to be elongated. With this configuration though, I did’nt need to disconnect cables and hoses at all, just slid the OEM bars out and the ABM bars in.

Stephen_Spencer said:

Drop angle slightly reduced Tony, with a slightly flatter profile, but bar height is approx 2.5 inches higher - I wanted to maintain the clip-on aesthetic whilst reducing that reach. Should make a huge difference. Yet to test ride it, lots of rain.

The other aim was to try and fit the bars without having to lengthen the brake hoses or throttle cables. The configuration you see in the image is the ABM bars zeroed out - height adjustment at its lowest, bar rotation at zero. Fork clamps rotated to mirror the OEM bars. This position requires the minimum reach for the hoses and cables.

If I want to make any more significant changes the hoses and cables will need to be elongated. With this configuration though, I did’nt need to disconnect cables and hoses at all, just slid the OEM bars out and the ABM bars in.

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Looks good Stephen.
Are the bars wider overall over the oem bars?

NorTriDuc said:

Looks good Stephen.
Are the bars wider overall over the oem bars?

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Same length. They may appear slightly longer because of the increased height and slightly flatter drop.
Also you can see the whole bar length on the ABM configuration, were the OEM bars disappear behind the top triple clamp.

Summer has arrived at last - yippee!!

Shakedown run for the ‘comfy ass cafe conversion’ today. Delighted with the outcome. The ABM bars, in the zeroed position, provide a ride changing upgrade to the usually torturous (for me) cafe racer.

Zero discomfort with the neck or upper back which was a real problem for me, usually after about an hour; putting me off riding it on occasion. Some weight remains on the wrists obviously, as with any clip-on bars, but it is drastically reduced.

Took me a while to realise why the front suspension felt more compliant - it had way less of my 95 kg bulk bearing down on it.

All up a significant improvement in comfort for the cafe racer, whilst still retaining the cafe aesthetic. Easier and I suspect cheaper than converting to the Norton high bars. Lots of further adjustment available. May be a bit of a game changer for those of us wanting to continue riding the cafe racer as we get (even) older! Result!!

135 MPH @ 8000 RPM (Indicated) Stay tuned , more to come.

TonyA said:

135 MPH @ 8000 RPM (Indicated) Stay tuned , more to come.

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As Fast Eddie once said : let that sink in .