Handle bar risers - do you like them?

[bikewanker]

I took Rox Risers off my Tiger 1050 cause I think I’m sporty. The juries still out as I need a Rally to determine my true sportiness.

 

[davidji]

Have they made a difference for you?

They have, but not always a positive difference. My FZ1 came with them, and I eventually removed them. I might not have minded them if they were aimed straight up along the steering axis, and didn't introduce a tiller effect. But I didn't need them so I removed them rather than play with angles.

I installed low risers on my Africa Twin after I swapped bars to regain lost height. Might go a little higher.

I've had a bike where I'd get neck pain and I think risers would have helped, but I never tried.

 

[bobl]

I put Convertibars on my GSXR 750 that were about up two inches, and back two inches, and lowered the pegs an inch. Much more comfortable for my old body. The Convertibars are pricey though, at about 350. Ended up selling it for an upright semi-antique Yamaha.

 

[mrmarklin]

I ride a BMW r1200rt so I’m not too bent over like a sport bike but I’m not in a straight upright position either. After an hour I start to get a pain at the base of my neck between the shoulder blades which could the the weight of the helmet. I just sort of put up with it but I’m wondering if handle bar risers might help. It’s a relatively cheap and easy fix. Who has ‘em? Have they made a difference for you?

Harley riders are famous for this. They're called Ape-hangers.
I like risers as they can help with comfort, particularly when riding behind a windscreen. Be sure to get a comfortable height, and if it's more than a couple of inches, the cables may need to be redone.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Harley riders are famous for this. They're called Ape-hangers.

I've ridden a Harley with ape-hangers - a springer softtail. My daughter's father-in-law owns that one and another Harley that you can barely turn without scraping stuff. If you're going to have forward controls, the high bars don't seem that strange. After riding that thing for a while, all I can say is that it really felt good to get back on my Ducati ST2.

 

[ST Guy]

What ever you do, don't go this extreme:

 

[sk8norcal]

I like this ergo

[YOUTUBE]spjftqLsNTE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[moto-rama]

I ride a BMW r1200rt so I’m not too bent over like a sport bike but I’m not in a straight upright position either. After an hour I start to get a pain at the base of my neck between the shoulder blades which could the the weight of the helmet. I just sort of put up with it but I’m wondering if handle bar risers might help. It’s a relatively cheap and easy fix. Who has ‘em? Have they made a difference for you?

People like the Ilium "Bar backs" for the RT.
Plenty of options, though! https://tinyurl.com/y4jcdgx4

My R1200R, was absolutely dialed in for me, specifically. Or so it seems. Lucky me.
I've done a few 500 mile days on it, and it has occurred to me that a nice big fairing would be nice to have, but the basic ergos are perfect.

Check out https://www.r1200rforum.com/ for other ideas. Great bunch of BMW owners, or bmwoa.org if you want the whole world of Beemerators to ask.

 

[cytocycle]

I added risers to my ZX14 and that helped a lot, the Heli Bars give you angle adjustments and height. The Rox as someone else posted lets you lift and or/move them towards you or away. Just remember to blue locktite everything and make sure your cables are long enough. I had to run some of my cables under the bar instead of over.

 

[greenmonster]

I’m going to go with the Ilium bar backs for my RT. Highly rated, fitment is good cable-wise, cheaper than the others , and they’re right up in Grass Valley so kinda local.

 

[ScottRNelson]

... it has occurred to me that a nice big fairing would be nice to have...

Yeah, when riding on the freeway I'm thinking that I could use more wind protection on my 790R. But off road I don't want anything getting in my way, so I haven't pursued it.

On the model specific forums on Adv Rider, there are always super long threads about adding wind protection for all of the KTM adventure models (I've owned one in each of the three categories) and they never seem to come to a conclusion.

 

[greenmonster]

I never even rode a bike with a windscreen before I got this RT about 18 months ago. It took a while for my eyes to stop looking at the top of the windscreen as I rode. Luckily this bike has an adjustable windscreen which helped.
It helps on the highway not be slammed around by turbulence but some of the “openness” that comes with motorcycling is reduced if that makes sense

 

[Maddevill]

When I was looking at my last bike, I checked out the Busa. I found the reach to the bars to be pretty long, even for my height. And adding risers is a pretty involved job. I ended up buying a ZX14 which allowed me to easily put a 1 inch block under the bars. No cable adjustments needed. They added quite a bit of comfort to an already comfortable bike.

Mad

 

[JimE]

Very subjective question. I've only found them useful on one of my bikes (Ducati S2R1k). It was painful to ride for very long and I tried them out. Helped a ton. Keep in mind I'm tall for the bike (5'11"), broken both collarbones in multiple places (the right one twice) and passed 50 years old. So YMMV.

 

[moto-rama]

Yeah, when riding on the freeway I'm thinking that I could use more wind protection on my 790R. But off road I don't want anything getting in my way, so I haven't pursued it.

On the model specific forums on Adv Rider, there are always super long threads about adding wind protection for all of the KTM adventure models (I've owned one in each of the three categories) and they never seem to come to a conclusion.

Oddly, some "naked" bikes are made worse by putting a screen on them. I found this to be the case with my BMWR1200R. I tried 4 different windscreens, and the only one that reduces wind turbulence is the tiny OEM "Sport screen", or nothing at all.

I think a well designed fairing can be a big help on the right bike, though. I had am FJR that I put a Cee Bailey touring screen on and it was like a British Library behind it. Quiet, and calm.
But I found that horsing around a 700lb Manatee was not worth it just for a little less blusterotal

As for my experience with Risers, I have only found a few that weren't an immense pain in the ass to install. The worst? Convertibars! OverPriced, and for the amount of agg I spent installing them, rerouting and replacing cables, they gave me a whopping .5" of lift. Best experience? Sticking VFR bars on my Superhawk. All the locating pins matched and I got an inch or more of height with 30 minutes to swap them.

It only took me 50 years of riding to realize that it's worth it to just buy the ONE THAT FITS YOU in the first place, rather than suffering, or trying to make your GSX-R in to a Virago.

 

[Surffly]

I took them off the last two bikes I bought

 

[ST Guy]

Is the Manatee a new cruser? Pix please.

 

[islemann]

I'm old, ganked up by osteo-arthritis and suffer from chronic back pain due to my large joints and spine failing. I've no intent of giving up riding. But...I found myself riding in pain quite a bit over the last few years. I was getting both discouraged about being able to keep riding but I was pondering if I would be able to ride what I want. Big ADV bikes, sport touring bikes and my 5th Gen VFR.

I was about to change out the handlebar on my '00 Triumph Tiger 885i. After taking a closer look, I rolled the bars forward in their clamps which not only raised the bar ends about 2 inches but changed the angle of the hand-grips in two planes. Result? Pain between the shoulder blades b-gone. Not just reduced - GONE. Which tells me that a more careful fitting of myself to the bike was called for before I took off on a 300+ mile day-trip with a couple of friends. By the end of that day I was barely able to pick my keys out of my pocket. Two days later, after adjusting the bars, I rode the exact same route in reverse and was amazed at how good I felt all day long.

I'm making adjustments to the VFR as I wrap up it's rehabilitation. Hopefully, those will result in the same pain reduction the adjustment to the Tiger made.

As to bar risers? Nope. Not a fan. I either fit the correct bar or pass on the bike as no longer rideable by my old bones.