Renthal 613 bars and Acerbis guards

I wanted to raise the height of the handlebars as I am too tall to comfortably stand without being hunched over the bars: the Quasimodo approach wasn’t working. As higher bars were needed, it made sense to upgrade to a stronger than OEM bar. After A LOT (seriously: it was a stupid amount) of research, I determined that the popular “high” versions of CRF compatible Renthal and Pro-Taper bars (eg. the Ricky Johnson CR High or EVO CR High) were actually lower than stock. Not being a fan of bar risers and having Renthal 613 Enduro high bend on my XT660, even though they are a little wider than stock on the CRF, they ARE a bit higher (16mm) and they work very well on the XT. So, I took a punt. 

Despite the meagre gain in height (on paper); the actual feel of the bars is much better and more comfortable to stand. The small extra amount of width also seems to give better feedback.

This is a very useful comparison chart from Renthal: https://www.renthal.com/worksfit/

The stock wind deflectors (to call them hand/lever “guards” would be inaccurate) are for cosmetic purposes only. The upgraded bars needed proper guards. I had some Acerbis multiplo “e” which I salvaged from my old Aprilia Pegaso 650 before I sold it. As the cost of new barkbusters was a bit silly, they have been pressed into service on the CRF. Just needed to buy some new fittings.

As all this was going on, I picked up some Progrips 732 in black and red. Softer and more comfy than stock; and despite a personal aversion to “bling”, they do look very nice!

Soundtrack: “You shouldn’t do that” - Hawkwind