bigdog
Active member
For me, motorcycles are like shoes: Fit is the most important thing, especially as we get older, followed closely by function
My unique challenge comes from my 5'8" 160 pound frame, but with T-rex arms (seriously, I can barely reach the change in my pants pockets) and relatively long torso.
I have learned in my 45 years of riding that I love taller bars with some pull back, and then I simply lean out and over when I hit the faster stuff when I really need to feel the front end. I ride at a spirited pace and live in Western Colorado
Old school Sports Tourers have been a problem: ST1100/1300, FJR, etc. I have tried them before and always sold them. I used to turn naked bikes into sport Tourers, but along came ADV bikes and viola! bikes that fit me pretty well, although they tend to be kinda top heavy and either too tall, or way too fricken tall, especially the over 1000cc category which I like because I travel a lot and love power.
I have cured that with a 2024 Tiger 900 GT PRO. It has all the great touring things like cruise, heated Grips (and seats), and OK windprotection. The 2024 gained about 13 ponies, is much smoother and that triple engine is a treat. But Gearing is a little short out west for big days, and weather protection is not ideal, so I decided to one more time try a dedicated sports touring bike: Picked up a 2016 FJR1300ES with some nice addons when I back east (SC, riding just ahead of Helene, and hitting some great roads before getting on the interstate to beat the storm) and rode it back to Colorado.
Great trip, bike did fine, but even with the most recent Helibars set-up it caused me great pain in my upper back and across my shoulders. I was leaning over too far and then lifting my head to see.
I was gonna sell it, but have decided to give it one more try. I really want a big comfy bike in addition to the Tiger
Here we go:
*I removed the stock bars from the HeliBar "Bridge" that came on the bike
*My bike came with the Helibar Brake hose extension, but not the clutch
*I Purchased 1 1/8th bars risers from Amazon ($25) with adjustable height, and attached these to the Helibridge using thru bolts (hex head) and lock washers and nuts.
*I purchased the ATV bend RMATV Tusk Fat bars ($47)
*I Used a 2" set of Rox risers I had lying around and I went to work.
I removed the triple tree, cut a bunch of zip ties, worked stuff as free as possible, including detaching a screw holding the Clutch hose. I relocated all the wires and clutch hose on left side under the Triple tree. On the right I think I only needed to put the wiring under it, not the brake hose (it has an extension) and the throttle cables my work in their original position as well.)
I removed the dash cover, gaining access to the left side wiring, and trimmed a bit off so the wires had more give. (you’ll see this if you start pulling the left side wires, they are bit bound up )
Preliminary results look really good in terms of fit for me:
I gained about 3 inches up and 3 inches back
The pictures are not perfect because I have not tightened everything up yet, but full bars turns lock to lock show no binding
If I want a bit more height and pull back, I could purchased the clutch hose extension, and go with 3.5 rox risers and shown in this post https://www.fjrowners.com/threads/photos-of-abm-tube-handlebar-conversion-with-extension.157384/
If you already have the Helibar set up this is a pretty low cost way to get w higher and more pull back bars. If not you can go with an ABM set, as seen in the link above. His is pretty slick in all black, but frankly I am OK with the looks, as long as it works. (I’d do the all black ABM if starting from scratch, and they come with bars and risers, etc)
My unique challenge comes from my 5'8" 160 pound frame, but with T-rex arms (seriously, I can barely reach the change in my pants pockets) and relatively long torso.
I have learned in my 45 years of riding that I love taller bars with some pull back, and then I simply lean out and over when I hit the faster stuff when I really need to feel the front end. I ride at a spirited pace and live in Western Colorado
Old school Sports Tourers have been a problem: ST1100/1300, FJR, etc. I have tried them before and always sold them. I used to turn naked bikes into sport Tourers, but along came ADV bikes and viola! bikes that fit me pretty well, although they tend to be kinda top heavy and either too tall, or way too fricken tall, especially the over 1000cc category which I like because I travel a lot and love power.
I have cured that with a 2024 Tiger 900 GT PRO. It has all the great touring things like cruise, heated Grips (and seats), and OK windprotection. The 2024 gained about 13 ponies, is much smoother and that triple engine is a treat. But Gearing is a little short out west for big days, and weather protection is not ideal, so I decided to one more time try a dedicated sports touring bike: Picked up a 2016 FJR1300ES with some nice addons when I back east (SC, riding just ahead of Helene, and hitting some great roads before getting on the interstate to beat the storm) and rode it back to Colorado.
Great trip, bike did fine, but even with the most recent Helibars set-up it caused me great pain in my upper back and across my shoulders. I was leaning over too far and then lifting my head to see.
I was gonna sell it, but have decided to give it one more try. I really want a big comfy bike in addition to the Tiger
Here we go:
*I removed the stock bars from the HeliBar "Bridge" that came on the bike
*My bike came with the Helibar Brake hose extension, but not the clutch
*I Purchased 1 1/8th bars risers from Amazon ($25) with adjustable height, and attached these to the Helibridge using thru bolts (hex head) and lock washers and nuts.
*I purchased the ATV bend RMATV Tusk Fat bars ($47)
*I Used a 2" set of Rox risers I had lying around and I went to work.
I removed the triple tree, cut a bunch of zip ties, worked stuff as free as possible, including detaching a screw holding the Clutch hose. I relocated all the wires and clutch hose on left side under the Triple tree. On the right I think I only needed to put the wiring under it, not the brake hose (it has an extension) and the throttle cables my work in their original position as well.)
I removed the dash cover, gaining access to the left side wiring, and trimmed a bit off so the wires had more give. (you’ll see this if you start pulling the left side wires, they are bit bound up )
Preliminary results look really good in terms of fit for me:
I gained about 3 inches up and 3 inches back
The pictures are not perfect because I have not tightened everything up yet, but full bars turns lock to lock show no binding
If I want a bit more height and pull back, I could purchased the clutch hose extension, and go with 3.5 rox risers and shown in this post https://www.fjrowners.com/threads/photos-of-abm-tube-handlebar-conversion-with-extension.157384/
If you already have the Helibar set up this is a pretty low cost way to get w higher and more pull back bars. If not you can go with an ABM set, as seen in the link above. His is pretty slick in all black, but frankly I am OK with the looks, as long as it works. (I’d do the all black ABM if starting from scratch, and they come with bars and risers, etc)
