Throw this in Never-Ending...hope this helps someone if they do a search.
On my 3rd FJR and have held off on installing risers. Either age, or the height of the Russell seat addition, has made adding risers a necessity. After many searches, and advice from people here, I bought the Helibar. While the instructions are good, as FJReady said "everybody interprets instructions differently". I would agree. I think some of the instructions were vague. So the project took me about 4 hours. Just a guess as I stepped away many times in frustration or for help and came back another day to work on it more. I also torqued the steering head bearings while I was in there. I could do it again in 2 hours easy. I spent a lot of time analyzing the first time around, and got stuck up on a few things that make sense now. So, I'll list a couple of points that may help others if they decide to take on this project. I thought there was a decent write-up earlier but the photo-bucket pictures no longer show up. Also, BIG thanks to Redfish and FJReady for their private message advice and FJReady for taking a few pictures and sending them to me during install.
1. Do this at a tech day. If you can land someone that has already done the install then this becomes a ton easier. An extra set of hands helps too. I did the full project by myself and there are a few areas where someone to help would have been most helpful, or in my case, another opinion on what the instructions are trying to say.
2. Get the phone number of someone that has done the install so you can call when you get to a questionable area.
3. Have decent tools. I found out the hard way that Harbor Freight cutting discs won't cut through the wire loom, and wasted a lot of time. A trip to Ace and "Dremel" brand discs cut through it no problem.
Install tips:
1. Remove wire looms: I thought a cut on each side and the wire and cables would fall out the bottom and leave behind sharp wire edges. It's more like a loop on the left and a loop on the right. I got caught up on where/how to cut the loom so sharp edges didn't interfere after the project was done. You only need to cut the loom on the left and right to get the slack of the cables out. The wire loom is attached to the handlebar mount points and this all gets removed for good later. So don't worry about leaving the wire loom in any kind of good condition.
2. I missed how the hydraulic brake hose was lined up when I disconnected it, then fretted on which side of the black "tab" to reinstall it. Take pictures with your phone before you do the work (I did, but this didn't show up in picture).
3. Reposition throttle cables: I took the two screws out of the throttle housing and it stayed together. While I put the tools down it popped apart, everything fell out, and I didn't see how it all lined up. I had a bugger of a time figuring out how to get it back together. Easily preventable. I had never had this apart before. New to me.
4. Remove the top triple clamp: Know they are taking the pressure off the clamp, but no idea what the instructions meant here (thigh on front wheel means I'm kneeling and trying to reach around to the triple clamp?), but from other threads knew this was the hard part. Followed the rest of the instructions, and then FJReady told me to put a jack under the headers (like changing the front tire) and jack up the front a little. The triple clamp came right off and went right back on. Turns out this was the easy part.
5. Install the Heli bridge and bars: Stuff towels under the work areas so they catch the washers and nuts you drop when trying to put them on bolts. There is very little space to work and it's difficult to see what you are doing....mostly going by feel. I was very careful and still had to make a trip to the hardware store for another washer. This part is not difficult, and people with smaller hands or any kind of coordination may skip this advice.
6. Index Marks for Adjustment: Mine did not lineup. Undid everything and put back on thinking I did something wrong. Don't know if it is machining variances or what, but my left handlebar had a different range of movement from the right handlebar when looking at the "index marks". I just put both handlebars full forward, pulled them back a bit equally, and tightened them down.
I've learned a lot over the years from this forum, so hope this helps someone. I would not be afraid to do this again, but the first time was definitely a challenge.
Good luck.
Don.
On my 3rd FJR and have held off on installing risers. Either age, or the height of the Russell seat addition, has made adding risers a necessity. After many searches, and advice from people here, I bought the Helibar. While the instructions are good, as FJReady said "everybody interprets instructions differently". I would agree. I think some of the instructions were vague. So the project took me about 4 hours. Just a guess as I stepped away many times in frustration or for help and came back another day to work on it more. I also torqued the steering head bearings while I was in there. I could do it again in 2 hours easy. I spent a lot of time analyzing the first time around, and got stuck up on a few things that make sense now. So, I'll list a couple of points that may help others if they decide to take on this project. I thought there was a decent write-up earlier but the photo-bucket pictures no longer show up. Also, BIG thanks to Redfish and FJReady for their private message advice and FJReady for taking a few pictures and sending them to me during install.
1. Do this at a tech day. If you can land someone that has already done the install then this becomes a ton easier. An extra set of hands helps too. I did the full project by myself and there are a few areas where someone to help would have been most helpful, or in my case, another opinion on what the instructions are trying to say.
2. Get the phone number of someone that has done the install so you can call when you get to a questionable area.
3. Have decent tools. I found out the hard way that Harbor Freight cutting discs won't cut through the wire loom, and wasted a lot of time. A trip to Ace and "Dremel" brand discs cut through it no problem.
Install tips:
1. Remove wire looms: I thought a cut on each side and the wire and cables would fall out the bottom and leave behind sharp wire edges. It's more like a loop on the left and a loop on the right. I got caught up on where/how to cut the loom so sharp edges didn't interfere after the project was done. You only need to cut the loom on the left and right to get the slack of the cables out. The wire loom is attached to the handlebar mount points and this all gets removed for good later. So don't worry about leaving the wire loom in any kind of good condition.
2. I missed how the hydraulic brake hose was lined up when I disconnected it, then fretted on which side of the black "tab" to reinstall it. Take pictures with your phone before you do the work (I did, but this didn't show up in picture).
3. Reposition throttle cables: I took the two screws out of the throttle housing and it stayed together. While I put the tools down it popped apart, everything fell out, and I didn't see how it all lined up. I had a bugger of a time figuring out how to get it back together. Easily preventable. I had never had this apart before. New to me.
4. Remove the top triple clamp: Know they are taking the pressure off the clamp, but no idea what the instructions meant here (thigh on front wheel means I'm kneeling and trying to reach around to the triple clamp?), but from other threads knew this was the hard part. Followed the rest of the instructions, and then FJReady told me to put a jack under the headers (like changing the front tire) and jack up the front a little. The triple clamp came right off and went right back on. Turns out this was the easy part.
5. Install the Heli bridge and bars: Stuff towels under the work areas so they catch the washers and nuts you drop when trying to put them on bolts. There is very little space to work and it's difficult to see what you are doing....mostly going by feel. I was very careful and still had to make a trip to the hardware store for another washer. This part is not difficult, and people with smaller hands or any kind of coordination may skip this advice.
6. Index Marks for Adjustment: Mine did not lineup. Undid everything and put back on thinking I did something wrong. Don't know if it is machining variances or what, but my left handlebar had a different range of movement from the right handlebar when looking at the "index marks". I just put both handlebars full forward, pulled them back a bit equally, and tightened them down.
I've learned a lot over the years from this forum, so hope this helps someone. I would not be afraid to do this again, but the first time was definitely a challenge.
Good luck.
Don.
