Helibars/risers
 

As a follow-on question to my luggage question, does anyone know of the best way to relieve the good old wrist ache and make the boring bits more comfortable?

Did see a link that mentioned helibars, but I am not sure how good they are or where to buy them.

Thanks

BDG has just bought some direct from the states and has use them before on 916 type bikes to cover some big distances, to Spain etc.

http://www.helibars.com/ducati.html

Always loved 748/9** bikes but my knackered wrist didn't. I have Helibars fitted and they work superbly for me, longest trip being around 2000 miles in a week around Europe.

I bought mine direct from the USA from Helibar themselves,

www.helibar.com i think, or a search on google for helibars.

Quick, effecient and pretty cheap with the exchange rate at the moment, around £170/£180 inc shipping and import duty.

Thanks guys

Hi, the Helibars I found to be a lot better for long distance stuff, I did 2700 mile in 8 days with mine and my wrists were fine. If I did it again I would fit a higher screen as they do make you sit up into the wind a bit more. I am 6ft 5 ish so it may have been more of a problem to me than most. I am also a fan of the ventura system for luggage as it is so simple to load and unload. They only downside was that at high speed the bike developed a very slight weave nothing too scary just enough to make you concentrate a little more! Has anyone else found this? It may have been a combination of Helibars/ventura pack/my height? It was not too much of a problem as we pretty much avoided motorways and stuck to the backroads.

Also by taking the weight of your wrists it does place a little more on your arse and lower back. Probably not really a problem as such but on that trip many of the miles were in temperatures of about 37c which on the 996 means a very uncomfortable rear end especially going slowly through towns where there is little air flow to cool you.

Another plus of the Helibars and ventura combination is very easy wheelies! I am no wheelie merchant but it is so easy with the higher bars and a bit more weight over the back.

Martin,

I've had the same helibar/higher screen/Ventura combination on a 996, but am only 6'3" and had no problems with weaving and that included 160mph.

I did fit new tyres before the trip, so wonder if your slight weave may just be down to part worn tyres if they weren't new, or possibly 2" does make a difference. Ask the ladezz on that last point:devil:

I wonder if it had anything to do with the rear ride height? I raised mine quite a bit when I first got the bike. I cannot remember for sure but I think it was maybe 2 or 3 turns of the adjuster. I got the settings out of performance bike a few years ago when Trevor Franklin ran the same bike as mine (996s) The rear ride height was noticeably higher than standard if I parked it near another 996. I suppose that would make it a little more likely to weave? The trip I mentioned was with some lads on Hayabusas and suchlike so you can imagine the scenario! It was noticable to anyone behind me and I swapped bikes a few times with one of the lads who had exactly the same thing happen to him. As I said it was not a violent weave just a gentle sort of thing which was quite comical at the time.

All this talk of 996 has got me hankering after one again! Anyone want a black Multistrada?

I've raised the handle bar height on my 748 at no cost. I took both of the bar assemblies off the bike, turned them up-side-down and swopped them over. Then I'd refit them back on to the bike this way and after alot of fiddling about, it worked. It took a while to get used to the new bar height because now, the bars are much higher and flat.

Do try Cycle Cat .... mine look great, feel great, and when it stops snowing I can tell you about the ride. High quality piece of kit. I bought from Spareshack, but you can probably buy direct from the States, and get a bit of a steal.

The customer service I have recieved from both Spareshack, and particually Cycle Cat, has been brilliant.

Keep in mind that the position of your body on the bike affects the overall weight distribution. Sportbikes are designed specifically to have a more forward riding position to place the center of your body weight lower and further forward, to better balance the bike and improve handling. But certainly for street riding it isn't the most comfortable position and the heads-down orientation isn’t the safest.

I installed Helibars on a 916 mainly to provide a more comfortable upright sitting position and to take some of the weight off my hands that helped solve a problem with numb fingers. However, after making this change I have mixed feelings about the new riding position. I prefer the factory handlebar position for more aggressive riding, but I like the more comfortable neck position and posture with the Helibars. Further, during certain riding conditions the angle of the bars just don’t feel right to me.

If I was to do it again, I’d buy bar risers with some range of adjustment. The Helibars can be slid down the forks and rotated front-to-back but they always keep their less-extreme tip-down bar angle. I’d recommend instead a riser bar similar to that sold by Cycle Cat that are quite a bit more adjustable (but quite a bit more expensive.)

Also, they allow you to switch back to a better position for track days.

http://cyclecat.com/home.htm

For street riding and touring, bar risers won’t change the handling enough to be concerned about. Most of us would rather have a bike that handles slightly different than stock, but tailored to allow you to ride longer and sharper without physical fatigue (fatigue being a HUGE enemy of handling), rather than a bike that folds you into a full-race position meant for the track.

I know that some riders have moved/modified their stock bars to raise the bar ends but this also sets the handlebars at an arbitrary downward angle that I find to be weird.

[Edited on 3-11-2005 by Shazaam!]

Nothing beats cyclecat simply transform the bike

:bouncy::bouncy::bouncy: