Centurion stock handlebars
 

I'm not sure if I want to re-use these on the restoration I'm doing. However, all my experience with drop bars are newer or anatomic bars paired with STI. (I LOVE the FSA compact bend bars...best purchase I've made next to my Brooks!)

I can't help but notice on all the "classic" drop bars the downward angle on the ramps is quite severe...about 25 degrees down. How does one find a comfortable perch on these? That, and the stock brake levers don't look like a usable perch at all.

Forgive my C&V ignorance. I think I may just get some Nitto Noodles bars and pair them with Cane Creek brake levers.

Any words about those Sakae handlebars, and why they're like that or proper setup of them is appreciated before I make some different handlebar purchases.

Cheers!

I tend to install bars with the ramps almost level, and the drop portion angled down. I think that is actually more traditional, in my mind, than a downward ramp and drops being horizontal.

In fact, I think the traditional rule is to point the bars at the rear axle. The new bars with horizontal drops look uncomfortable to me. :)

my centurion super lemans came with "sakai randnner" "road champion" bars. they are very similar, though narrower) to the nitto randonneur bar in terms of ramp and of course the nitto rando bar is very similar to the noodle. I tell you this to suggest that you could use the nitto rando bar without being too far out of line, asthetically, if it met your needs.
I'm actually considering putting the ritchey biomax bar on my old sekai touring frame, so I know what you're going through. It'll be a real ******* with big honkin tiagra shifters and that crazy bar, but boy it'd be comfortable.

Also, I like the cane creek levers with the gum hoods, but it depends on what you're going for.

My Centurions came with a variety of bar styles. I like a bar that is flat, leading into the brake levers, but some of the old bars do have a "dip" just behind the brake levers, which makes it feel like your hands are sliding forward.

A partial cure is to move the brake levers up an inch or so higher than the factory setting, and then tilt the bars so that the "plugs" are pointed at the rear hubs. But, the REAL solution is the Nitto Noodle bar, which combines comfort with classic looks.