Should I try Riser Bars on my bike?

PuffyG · 01-21-2009, 08:14 AM

Just curious if anyone has put riser bars on their sportbike for regular riding and how is it? Not doing any stunting. Would this make it a more comfy ride kind of like a Monster or Speed Triple or would this just ruin the ergo's of my CBR F41 01? Any thoughts....

BikerRob · 01-21-2009, 08:37 AM

I've put Heli-bars on my Hayabusa, and they make a huge difference for comfort. I used to have a CBR F4i, and I considered putting a set of Heli-bars on it. Never got around to it; though from the research I did, the F4i Helibars supposedly made the rider positioning very close to an Interceptor -- at least for the upper body.

I haven't noticed any handling problems with the Heli-bars on my Hayabusa. The change in ergos has only improved my own comfort, and not upset the balance and handling of the bike. I'd suspect similar results for the F4i.

RayOSV · 01-21-2009, 10:54 AM

I went in the opposite direction on my old sv650 (naked). It had more upright bars and I put aftermarket bars that brought the grips down and forward about an inch. That was the best handling upgrade I did to that bike. Made a huge difference in how connected I felt to the front forks.

After moving the grips, I also got sv650s pegs (plus shifter linkage) which were up and back about an inch compared to the naked bike. That completed the "package". The bars and foot pegs needed to be done together.

If you raise and bring the bars rear-ward on your f4i, you might want to also look into moving the foot pegs forward and down a bit. Try the bars first and see how happy your legs are with the change.

TalkofDC · 01-21-2009, 11:16 AM

Ray when you swapped out the bars on your naked did the aftermarket bars fall to the spec of the SV650S stock clip on's? Or were they even lower/comparable to any other SS?

Reason I am asking b/c if you switched out the heli bars on your naked for the sport bars and you got good results...I wonder what would happen if you swapped out SV650S clip ons for SS ones and put aftermarket rearsets on a stock SV650S? I'm worried about the seat height however b/c most SS seats are lower...

satxbiker · 01-21-2009, 01:40 PM

I actually had the genmar risers on my 01 F4i. It did not ruin the ergo's at all and made them better for longer riding. You really can't just put a new bar on like the naked sv650 - those are actual bars and not clip ons. Check out genmar risers and also see if convertibars are available - those are adjustable and will let you drop back down to a more aggressive position if you want.

edit - i just found out there are convertibars for the 01 F4i but they are pretty expensive -it is the price you pay to be able to switch back and forth - plus you need longer brake lines. If you are going to keep your bike for a long term I think it is a very worthwhile investment.

RayOSV · 01-21-2009, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TalkofDC

Ray when you swapped out the bars on your naked did the aftermarket bars fall to the spec of the SV650S stock clip on's? Or were they even lower/comparable to any other SS?

Reason I am asking b/c if you switched out the heli bars on your naked for the sport bars and you got good results...I wonder what would happen if you swapped out SV650S clip ons for SS ones and put aftermarket rearsets on a stock SV650S? I'm worried about the seat height however b/c most SS seats are lower...

I got type 2 bars:

Suzuki SV650 Handlebar

I was concerned that the type 1 bars would be too aggressive. It looks like the type 1 are about the same as svs clip-ons.

I know others who have swapped svs clip-ons for others (gsx-r maybe) with less of a rise from the attachment clamp. On my '05 sv1000s, the clip-ons are attached just under the top triple clamp. It looks like they could easily be lowered about an inch down the fork tube without the grips hitting the fairing or tank, but I haven't tried it. How the pegs and seat would interact depends a lot on your height and proportions. YMMV

buddy8771 · 01-21-2009, 03:48 PM

I have bars from the same company that Ray had. The 650r bars look identical to the type 2 that he had and I experienced similar results. It handled much better in the twisties. However, it is not nearly as comfortable for longer rides.

PuffyG · 01-21-2009, 04:29 PM

cool, I may have to give it a try this summer. thanks for the info guys

r64l · 01-21-2009, 08:52 PM

Just surfin the net and came across these. Might be too much of a rise for you tho. All joking aside, is this rediculous or what!

buddy8771 · 01-21-2009, 08:57 PM

I laugh everytime I see that picture. I don't know if the bars or the pipes are the best part.

r64l · 01-21-2009, 09:17 PM

yeah, i dig the fringe. lol

PuffyG · 01-22-2009, 01:07 AM

Oh brother! trying to blow dry his arm pits maybe.

TalkofDC · 01-22-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayOSV

I got type 2 bars:

Suzuki SV650 Handlebar

I was concerned that the type 1 bars would be too aggressive. It looks like the type 1 are about the same as svs clip-ons.

I know others who have swapped svs clip-ons for others (gsx-r maybe) with less of a rise from the attachment clamp. On my '05 sv1000s, the clip-ons are attached just under the top triple clamp. It looks like they could easily be lowered about an inch down the fork tube without the grips hitting the fairing or tank, but I haven't tried it. How the pegs and seat would interact depends a lot on your height and proportions. YMMV

I looked at the aftermarket type 1 and 2 bars. The stock clip ons on my '05 are just below the triple clamp as well. So the aftermarket bars is not what I am looking for. I've just noticed by sitting on some of my friends SS bikes that the pegs are higher, seats are lower, and the handle bars are slanted down at a more aggressive angle (however that last condition may just be a mental image and my SV clip ons maybe at the same angle...just higher up on the fork tube than the others). who knows?

big_slacker · 01-22-2009, 08:47 AM

I'm suprised that someone would want to put LOWER bars on a naked SV. I felt the SV actually handled better (super easy turn in, more leverage) with the with the real handlebar. I can see raising the legs because it was easy to have lazy foot position and drag your feet, but the bars?

RayOSV · 01-22-2009, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big_slacker

I'm suprised that someone would want to put LOWER bars on a naked SV. I felt the SV actually handled better (super easy turn in, more leverage) with the with the real handlebar. I can see raising the legs because it was easy to have lazy foot position and drag your feet, but the bars?

The upright bars on the naked sv were comfortable and the bike handled OK. Moving the grips forward and down allowed MUCH more leverage on turn-in. It was a whole new bike similar to an svs.

Before you ask why I didn't simply buy an svs in the first place, they weren't imported to the US until the 2001 model year and my bike was a 2000. This caused more than a few 1999 and 2000 imports from Canada.