Thanks for the replies guys
I'm off work again today, and maybe tomorrow. I'm normally quite capable of keeping myself busy, but with the bandaged hand I can't do much physical (or even go for a ride), and the pain-killers kind of stop me doing anything too 'thinky' (like admin work) ... editing photos and chatting is possible though
@Serowbot - Yeah, the Superbars were too low! I really loved the look of my bike in that iteration and would have made some concessions on handling and comfort to stick with it, but after a few long-ish rides I just found that I was concentrating as much on staying on the bike as I was riding it - With the 4" FCs my feet tended to want to slide down the pegs, and my knees tended to want to drop outward (I have short legs). I put the pegs back to stock position, which was better, but the clincher for the bars was the lean caused at my lower back. Either my arms were just a bit too extended, or my lower back was taking too much weight.
Oh, also, those bars were cheap (I didn't know that, when I paid $70 for them online!) They had a very thin wall, cheap chrome, and they vibrated at high speed to point where the ends of my fingers would go white and numb on the ends. In fact the wall was so thin I had to wrap tape, a few times, around the inserts of the 1" bar-end mirror mounts in order to tighten them up.
@jcstokes - The conflict was mostly between my own preference for looks, and the quality of the ride
#2 was the 'style' I had been chasing, and I really loved it. I did a lot of work on the seat, and went through three sets of bars, two style of clamps, and experimented with custom risers. As for what other people thought of it, well, I'm not exaggerating when I say someone would comment, or come over and chat with me about the bike, 3-4 times a week when it was in that iteration! - sometimes 3-4 times a day, when out on a long ride! That was great fun.
But, as you said 'stay with your ideal ride'. #3 is the current iteration - flatter seat, higher bars, and stock position for pegs. The very first ride I took with this setup, I knew this was it - it was such an uplifting experience!
... I'm just lamenting, having to let go of the 'vision come to fruition' that was #2
@Ruttly - It's good to hear from you Ruttly! I've appreciated your perspective on style in the past
As I mentioned above, #2 was the 'vision' I was chasing for myself. I really liked the low curved lines. I even liked the way the FCs made the bike look a little more 'substantial', as a friend put it. I was delighted with the results (visually). I'm new to all of this, so it was my first 'project'. I know, by the amazing standard of projects on this site these are are relatively superficial mods that I've made. But for me the journey has been sheer joy! - from the learning to the tinkering, from the interactions on this site to the way friends have gotten involved, and from chasing my own vision to discovering that others appreciated my aesthetic choices.
However, I learned something about myself too. I love looking at the bike (and other bikes), and I also love riding! At the end of the day I had to choose one over the other ... and I chose the ride. #3 is the result of that choice. Not that I don't like the look of the bike now, in fact it's growing on me a lot! and the ride is just right
I've just been thinking out loud here guys. I feel fortunate to be in a position to ponder such non-critical things.
So, next is to begin to learn about the engine. That will come when I embark on the project of swapping to a high-comp piston, and all that goes with that. Luckily I have a couple of good friends who know what they're doing, and they're keen to give me a hand
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