This is my second bike and I am just now getting familiar with it and reading the forums on a daily basis. A few of my friends that have owned CBRs in the past mentioned that the clamps on the top of my forks dont look stock to them. Here are some pics if anyone could clear up the confusion and let me know if these are stock or not:

 

edit the first IMG to img to use the image code photobucket etc generate.

And yes you have aftermarket clipons

 

does anyone have any idea what they are and what are the advantages of this?

and thank you playfulgod

 

advantages are, they look better, better adjustability, and in event of a crash you can replace the handle bar n not the whole clipon.

YW

 

not sure what brand, but they look a lot bigger than the stock ones, which means that the fork has to stick further out from the triple, which means that the front is lowered, which affects handling. if you dont care about bling and would like to go back to stock height, you can replace those with aftermarket ones that are smaller (vortex, woodcraft, etc.) or go stock.

 

how would it affect handling, good or bad?

 

you wont be able to take turns as fast or as sharp. Your ground clearance is altered you will grind foot pegs and such. If you just use it for daily riding and you are a easy go-er i don't think you really have a problem. If not you have a higher risk of laying it and falling off if you go too fast

 

Wouldn't a lower height shorten the wheelbase making the bike turn in faster?

 

Lowering the front, in general, will give you a faster turn in. If you lower too much you will upset the bike (a couple mm's won't hurt). If you lower the rear you might have problems with your foot pegs but lowering the front a little won't cause any issues.

 

yea it wont affect it too much, but it does change it a little bit. if you like it as it is, dont change it. it could be better/worse for you if you raise/lower it.