Yes, those protection bars always did seem more well-worn (if not eroded) on the left hand side... As the trim is on the right it was the natural place to put that idle hand!
In general the canopy protection bars are a Dutch thing
AFAIK, but most of our K8's (we had 4 at one point) had them for some reason despite not having any Dutch provenance (as far as I am aware).
It was probably thought to be a necessary addition to protect the novice pilots from themselves on their first XC adventures. They certainly saved a few pilots from serious injury or worse during outlandings based on the stories told around the club house!
Inconspicuous she is not. Always fun to arrive at a different airfield.