I rode the bike to work on Friday. I hated the new riding position.
On the road, it felt too far forward and constantly bending over even at higher road speeds. In the twisties, the bike felt less coherent and did not seem to be as connected as it was before the install. Hard turns felt a bit better, but the bike didn't seem to be as well put together as stock.
Friday and Saturday was spent scratching my head and trying different things to make it work for me.
First off, mounting it
above the triple clamps will not work. The bars hit the front fairing.
I then lowered the forks in the clamps so they were even with the tops of the triple clamps. That minute change seemed to help. it did raise the forks ever so slightly and it did feel as if the reach had been reduced. I also made sure the bars were adjusted to point as far back as possible. The setup allows you a few degrees of rotation and bringing it back as far as it could helped again in a very minute amount, but noticeable.
The last thing I did was to adjust the bars in the clamps as far out as they can go. That brings the bar end farther back as they are mounted at an angle in the clamps. With all of these changes, I can sit on the bike and it feels a great deal more comfortable for me. The reach is still long, but it is tolerable. Better still, I now feel like a part of the bike instead of feeling like I was sitting on something totally foreign and uncomfortable.
I've not ridden the bike yet with the adjustments.
Some feedback on the bars themselves. In the twisties, I noticed when the cornering was extreme, the bike felt very good with the forward sitting position and the head over the tank positioning. If you intend to use the bike for high speed track work, this is a definite improvement over the stock setup. I will go as far to say that I imagaine combined with a set of rearsets at the track, the bike would feel superb.
For a more street oriented bike or for shorter riders (I'm 5'7"), the bars might prove to be too much. I'll have to ride it and make a decision. For taller riders looking to "stretch" the bike a bit and gain some room, I think this is an excellent way to "open up" the bike if you don't mind the forward stance this requires.
For me, I'm hoping the small adjustments have added up to more cohesive ride. I like the "attack" position the bars put you in for the twisties... I just didn't like the feel of them on the road.
Lesson learned... even though it may not seem like it, small adjustments make big differences with this kit. Spend some time to set it up properly for you. They are adjustable... use that feature to custom fit it to your desired stance.