Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories New Adjustable Risers

Hi all,

I've been spending a few days getting my speedy ready for another big ride north (Norther Hem travel south for the Winter) but wanted to show you some pics of my new risers.

Some history first. A few months back I bought these risers and bars.



I was pretty happy with them but the bars needed another 2 inches pull back so my elbows could be more relaxed and bent.


So my options were to buy new bars from New Zealand (where I got these) which would have been the cheaper option believe it or not, or buy some new risers again.

Considering the risers (the shorter ones) I had cost pretty big money and I liked them anyway so replacing them wasn't an option.

I then spoke to Fast Eddy about them and he pointed out a few options and then showed me a set of adjustable ones he could get for me.

Perfect. As you know, unless you can sit on a bike with the bars and risers already, how can we determine exactly if it's going to have that "just right" feel?

Sort of like we're having to fit into what we end up with rather than adjusting it once you have it. It pretty much can be like a lucky dip and an expensive one at that.

Which is why I opted for these adjustable ones.









Anyway, they can adjusted to numerous positions as you hopefully can see from the pics which has given me the perfect position for how I like it.

Btw, they also come in longer lengths if you didn't want to change your bars.

I also had to buy 4" longer Barnett Control Cables,(geez aren't they the ducks nuts) as with the extra pull back and higher position I knew the America length cables wouldn't fit.



Fwiw, I reckon they are the best control cables I've used. Smooth just doesn't describe them adequately. Real quality and they even send satchells of a light coloured grease for the dabbing onto the ends.



So I thought you might be interested in these new risers as I've never seen them here before and who knows, one of you guys might want a pr for yourself.

And yes, I'm virtually at the limit with the bar's wiring but turning the bars doesn't make them any tighter and there is some give there anyway. I've been planning on intenalising my cables for some time anyway and already have the led blinkers for the end of the bars and the relocation kit for the fuglings on the bars.

cheers
Staffo

Can achieve the same thing with a set of dog bones. That's the way we used to do that.

Nice looking Staffo, but are Dog Bones legal in ACT? as there illegal in QLD, and thats what the Qld department of transport would class them as Dog Bones

Dog bones... been a while since I heard anyone mention that! I had 'em on my '59 Tiger. The idea is GREAT and and those adjustable rises Staffo's using really look like the beez neez! Thanks Staffo for telling us about 'em. I'd love to be able to 'dial in' the perfect bar arrangement without having to go through the buy-try-sell cycle until I get it right!!

Are they legal you ask? if they aren't as implied I'll deal with it if or when it happens. In the meantime I'll be riding my bike being " Mr Extremely Comfortable " and knowing the position gives me better control with rather than without them. Half these idiots that determine what's legal and isn't haven't got a clue IMHO. They categorize us all as having the exact same dimensions and give no worth to what is actually the safest position for that individual.

To be honest, if I get stopped all I can do is demonstrate my logic and hopefully it'll be somone with a bit of common dog and who has been round the traps.

Worse case scenario is I'll get a fine, It'll take me 5 mins to take them off and I'll be on my way.

My experience is most the cops are pretty reasonable with someone who's just minding his own business and many times it's not what you do but how you handle it.

Now bring on tomorrow. I can't wait.

To my Canadian buddy Keith. Cheers. Yeah, pretty happy with how the position turned out so thanks for your comments.

I'll tell you one thing though Keith, your bike is outstanding and every time I see it I wonder what your latest improvement is.

Staffo

That's some nice lookin extensions. Cool design. I laughed when I saw the "dog bones"! That's really what they look like! I thought I'd seen all the custom chopper parts in my day, but I guess not!

I hope you didn't think I was being Narky Staffo, as I said I liked how they look, and yes I do understand how stupid some laws regarding what we can and cant have on our bikes are.

Staffo is right about most people who give the information about what's legal don't know half of it. Though I think you should be wary of bringing logic into it.

I was lucky with my risers. Fitted me fine with the stock bars on my 02BA. My 4 day trip to relocate from the tropics to Boganvillia near Newcastle was a joy. (except for the first two days of tropical downpoars)

Keith, Fast Eddy got them for me. Talk to him or if he can't get them he'll tell you where you can. Me living in Aus, he did me a special favour.

No offence taken Paul. In fact you had a good point and something I actually wasn't aware of. Like I said, the position is just too comfortable for me to even consider changing them unless I'm forced.

They look pretty trick, I can see where the adjustability would come in handy.

Hi again, I'm just back from my ride north and can say the adjustable risers were everything I was hoping for.

My main problem as I suspect others have had is not knowing exactly what position I prefered to ride with. I did buy the aftermarket bars having sat on a work colleague's TBA with them on and at the time thought they felt great.

On putting them on though and riding for a while I realised I still had to stretch my arms straighter than I wanted. I could have had another set of bars made, as they were cheap enough but even then I would have been stuck with whatever extra length I asked for compared to being able to tweak here and there with these new risers.

The only issue I can speak of came about on my 1400k ride I'm just back from. It was there after riding for some 200kms or so I just felt a bit of tweaking was in order. The only problem was, the allen key prevented me bringing back the bars just that little bit further to make the posi perfect.

I got round this by tightening the bars enough so they wouldn't move and then placing a lot of weight downward and forcing them to move that little bit.

Yeah I know, Sounds a bit anal but I know what I want and I like to have it right. Why not?

So now I'm going to cut off a spare allen key so it still fits under the riser. Here's a pic to explain:



You can see I can't actually insert the allen key into the bolt as the risers have been adjusted so as not to allow it to fit in, and the other side is the same. The cut of allen key will sort that one.

So yeah, if anyone is like me and a bit pedantic about getting that riding posi just right, these do the job very nicely.

cheers
staffo

You could use one of those ball headed allen keys that allows you to have it at an angle.

Can't get as much torque on these though.

I'll keep those in mind Ian but like you say, I'm not sure I'll be able to get them tight enough.

Thanks for the suggestion though mate. I appreciate it.

I do think cutting off a spare allen key, which I have, will sort out the issue.

Thanks for keepin' us in the loop there Staffo. It's good to know they're made so you can 'dial in' the exact position you need and want. One day when you have a chance, I'd love to see a pic of the bike from a further away position so I can kinda get a sense of how those risers actually make the bars sit on the bike. Thanks again!!

No probs Keith. I'll try and take a few pics for you tomorrow. So just to clarify, I take it you want to understand how they work or is it a " how they look thing "? I just need to know what to focus on in the pics that's all.

I did think the pics on the first page showed fairly well how they work but maybe not. Doesn't matter I'll take some more pics from different angles etc and hopefully you'll see what you're after.

Kinda cool.



http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/07/31/adjustable-dog-bone-handlebar-risers/

Quote:

---

So just to clarify, I take it you want to understand how they work or is it a " how they look thing "?

---

Yeah Staffo, I was just interested in a 'how they look pic.' I agree, you already posted some pretty good pics on how they work. I was hoping for more of a zoomed OUT shot of the bike with those risers.

Friar Tuck, sorry John, kinda cool you say? Mmm, I'm not quite sure on that one but each to their own I say?

Keith, didn't get round to it today. I'm still catching up from my time away. I will give you some good pics of the overall look as you ask though. It's just a time thing. :-)

Stacka, do you still have the missing photos from the original post?