TECH INSPECTION
Installing Clip-Ons
Author: K3 Chris Onwiler
Crash repair made cheap and easy
 If you crash, it's almost a guarantee that one or both handlebars will be damaged. You'll be shocked when you find out what your dealership wants for a factory replacement. The cost-effective alternative is to install a set of racing clip-on handlebars. Rather than being manufactured as a single cast piece, each clip-on consists of a billet aluminum fork clamp and a replaceable aluminum handlebar tube. Should you crash again in the future, only the bar will bend. By simply turning a few screws and sliding in an inexpensive replacement bar, you're back in business.
We snapped off the stock right handlebar of our Cranky Ape.com Penny Pasta Aprilia when we crashed it in June at Road America. A price check on the factory replacement part revealed that the cost would be $160. Checking with Woodcraft, we found that a racing clip-on kit to do both sides would set us back just $149.99. (Certain single-model-specific kits may cost a bit more). Since our Aprilia has brake and clutch master cylinder reservoirs that mount to the stock bars, we’d also need mounting brackets for them at $19.99 per side. The full setup from Woodcraft would cost us a total of $190, thirty bucks more than purchasing a factory replacement for the one side that was damaged. Still, we’d be money ahead should we crash again, since replacement bars for the Woodcraft clip-ons cost only $15.00 each. Had our machine not needed reservoir brackets, we'd have spent less for the whole Woodcraft kit than it would have cost to replace one side with a stock part. On its surface, the installation of racing clip-ons looks like a simple task. All the parts are right out in the open and there aren't many fasteners involved. Consider this though; aside from your rear brake and shifter, every other control for your motorcycle attaches to your handlebars or upper triple clamp. Get just one detail of this job wrong and you can create a potentially life-threatening situation for yourself and those you ride with. If you're not a confident, experienced motorcycle mechanic, you may want to leave this swap to a pro.
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