Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Handlebar risers recommendations?

[Mellowman]

Don't laugh, but have just been on the longest trip yet on the 916 - 600 miles in one day...

Was less painful than I feared and I absolutely loved it! It's given me a hankering for longer trips, but there are a few favoured modifications, so recommendations for handlebar risers (or if anyone's got them for sale etc) would be welcome.


M

[rcgbob44]

I`d be also interested on bar risers for a 998s providing that the fluid reseviors do not foul the fairing or screen!

[Monty]

Helibars. Paul-Psychlist-has them on his 996, they look good-you wouldn't notice them unless you looked-and they have sorted the riding position for him. They are slightly raised but also flatten off the bars quite a bit.

John

[Edited on 13-9-2004 by Monty]

[Iconic944ss]

Yep, Helibars are good...cheaper alternatives such as Lucas (yes seriously) are sold on Ebay but usually its a full top yoke conversion.

Good luck - Frank

[psychlist]

They work perfectly on my 998 too :P Helibars are the ones that work best for me, look much the same as std clip-ons but with a one inch riser between the clamp and handlebar.
Just enough of a change in rider comfort to stop me going for a magimixer too all supplied FOC by my friendly local Ducati dealer

[BDG]

I've got them fitted on my 996 and recently did a 2000 mile trip around France and Spain and they were really comfortable ( despite having a dodgy wrist, with limited movement, that was broken in 6 places years ago).

Well impressed.

[Shazaam!]

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.)

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.

[jim flynn]

Give Spareshack a try. I got some bars of them via Ebay for my SS that are convertible from low to high using riser blocks. They may do them to fit a 916 too.