What the heck are these for?

They are steering dampers by the looks of it. Should find lots of info on them

Steering Damper

The new Honda 1000RR comes with an electric one!!

helps stabilize steering, dirt bikes use them too:
i.e., hit a small rut with front tire it helps you maintain control

It's the best investment i ever made for my dirt bike (honda crf450)
saved my ass more times than i can count. i'm going to buy the scotts mounts for
my rr and just swap the stabilizer when i ride dirt or street.

Hey Sipo you have an RR? I see you live in Denver we're pretty close.

Yep, I'm in Denver, the Aurora suburb to be precise. Just picked up the RR new from the dealer a few weeks ago.

With the weather here being what it is, I have only been able to put in 60ish miles on the bike so far. Unfortunatly for my much abused wallet, this is has given me plenty of time to invest in some mods before the riding season really begins. :lol2:

Can't wait to hit the Rockies for some scenic riding.

There isn't a road with a kink in it anywhere near cheyenne until you get to Ft Collins that's where I do most of my riding farthest south I've gone is Loveland/Estes Park.