What should I do ? change the bars or get bar risers?

fig

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I am so confused. I have changed my seat, tried to level it and still I am shoved into the tank let alone my ass hurts no matter what I do. SOOO I think I need to change the rach by changing the bars to a bar that is not so flat so it will be raised and I can also roll back. Or should I get ROX risers and how many inches. any Ideas would be welcome.
 

TenereGUY

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What seat did you change to? How tall are you and what is your reach? Sit comfortably on the bike without grabbing the bars and then without tilting your torso bring up your arms and see where they are. Are they above the bars? Are the bars to far forward? If so by how much?
I have an aftermarket seat (Corbin) and it was not good on a 250 mile jaunt even with an airhawk seat pad. So the stock seat is going back on. Ultimately the fix for my bum will be next summer and a Russell Day Long saddle will be ordered. Just the front though. I just put on Helibar setback/risers and it came with the brake hose extension. Back and up byb1.5 and 1.25 inches or vice-versa.
 
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fig

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Thanks for reaching out.
I am 5'9" woman rider and I have changed the rubber stops which did not seem to do a thing. I have tried air hawk, gel inserts, sheep skin cover, a different type foam, and I even changed the seat to Sargent seat.. I did what you asked and sat on seat and found that I would have to lean forward about 3-4". I will attach a pic. I am also looking to go to Russell Day Long seat but unfortunately they are booked until end of Sept. Can you send me pic of your bar risers and tell me what you think.
 

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TenereGUY

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Ok, being a woman you naturally will have a longer inseam than a man of your same height and that's why you can ride this bike and touch the ground... but in general your reach is shorter than a 5'9" man's reach. You may have to use a combination of setbacks and different bars that come back further. I know some people have swapped out the stock bars for ProTaper bars.
This is a start. At the bottom of the page they have the different measurements. Not sure if these are the right diameter... just using as an example. https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/pro-taper-evo-adventure-handlebars-1-18?sku_id=1072309
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This is sitting straight up and about 2" of seat showing between me and the tank. I'm 6'3 with a 6'wing span. With a slight lean forward or without slouching back a bit my hand is fully on the grip.
 

fig

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Thank you !
Can you tell me why you chose the Helibar risers instead of the Rox risers ?
 

TenereGUY

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Thank you !
Can you tell me why you chose the Helibar risers instead of the Rox risers ?
1. I have Helibar risers and bars on two other bikes. Nothing but effective well thought out products that a very good quality.
2. Reviews of Helibar products... I don't think you'll find a bad review. Sure they must be out there... just like Bigfoot!
3. I read reviews on this forum and other places on the Rox Risers and some of them were not excellent and some people had problems with them and I agreed that those problems (leverage and movement) could be true. There were many favorable reviews too. But I point you back to #2.
4. Helibar kits come with everything you need and good instructions too. They come with an extension for your brake hose so you do not have to replace the whole hose with a new one.
5. The silver finish matches the bike perfectly.
 

cyclemike4

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Thank you !
Can you tell me why you chose the Helibar risers instead of the Rox risers ?
Hello fig. I know you asked TenereGUY why he chose the Helibar risers and all his points are valid and true. As a matter of fact I think if the bike goes down the Helibar risers would be stronger than the Rox risers. With that in mind I am 5'10" and really needed to move my bars back to me. I have a sergents seat as well that is leveled just like i did the original seat. I put Rox risers on there and they are very strong and solid. I think there are some cheaper units out there that have copied Rox that may not be strong. O.K. the reasons i chose ROX. I do not like high bars on anything. Just what works for me. With the rox risers I used them to move the bars back without the lift that the Helibar units would put on the bars. With the ROX the further you roll them back the closer to the stock level the bars are. Also it takes a two inch ROX riser to even get them to roll back closer to you. The shorter ones will not roll back very far because of the way they are made. Too short to clear the original camps. I do not like wide bars either and narrowed my bars by 2 inches. Talk about getting a reach set up for me. Now i can do full lock turns and be balanced on the bike and still have enough movement in my arms to change my positioning if i have to. Before i was reaching leaning forward and nothing was there to hold me up except to lean on the bars. that is the very worst thing for me to do. I like to use my legs and core to hold my body in the position i need and leave my arms loose. Even changing directions in faster corners are WAY easier! It was almost impossible to do left right left type corners for me with the stock set up. Some more info for you. All I can say is I should have put those risers on there the first day I bought the bike.
 

TenereGUY

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Hello fig. I know you asked TenereGUY why he chose the Helibar risers and all his points are valid and true. As a matter of fact I think if the bike goes down the Helibar risers would be stronger than the Rox risers. With that in mind I am 5'10" and really needed to move my bars back to me. I have a sergents seat as well that is leveled just like i did the original seat. I put Rox risers on there and they are very strong and solid. I think there are some cheaper units out there that have copied Rox that may not be strong. O.K. the reasons i chose ROX. I do not like high bars on anything. Just what works for me. With the rox risers I used them to move the bars back without the lift that the Helibar units would put on the bars. With the ROX the further you roll them back the closer to the stock level the bars are. Also it takes a two inch ROX riser to even get them to roll back closer to you. The shorter ones will not roll back very far because of the way they are made. Too short to clear the original camps. I do not like wide bars either and narrowed my bars by 2 inches. Talk about getting a reach set up for me. Now i can do full lock turns and be balanced on the bike and still have enough movement in my arms to change my positioning if i have to. Before i was reaching leaning forward and nothing was there to hold me up except to lean on the bars. that is the very worst thing for me to do. I like to use my legs and core to hold my body in the position i need and leave my arms loose. Even changing directions in faster corners are WAY easier! It was almost impossible to do left right left type corners for me with the stock set up. Some more info for you. All I can say is I should have put those risers on there the first day I bought the bike.
All very good points too! Did you have to extend any hoses or cables?
 

cyclemike4

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All very good points too! Did you have to extend any hoses or cables?
All wiring and cables were fine the brake and clutch lines should have been replaced with longer ones. Especially the brake but both are doing ok. Of course i narrowed my bars by 2 inches or that would not have been possible. I could not get longer lines when i did this mod but i am planning on putting longer lines on it sometime in the future. It would be best.
 

Pdrhound

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So I wouldn't trust that adapter offroad much. If your only riding the street it would surfice. You can do a 2inch rox riser that has a ton of adjustability and keep your stick cables. I have a fixed riser on my bike now but it is vertical not set back like the Heli one. Rox has a better riser for a fixed setback as well. With the 2 in adjustable risers I've done 60,000 miles with a few BDR,s and the CDT with no issues including many bike pickups and a few good wrecks.

I have a 2 inch riser you could test but I'm in Colorado. With the 2 inch rox, you can always sell it If you don't like it as well. They are very universal and easy to sell. Look on ADV rider and you will usually find one.

The seat is another thing all together. Most of us have to play with both to get comfy. (Any bike really)
I wouldn't count on a very expensive seat to make all the difference over the sergeant.
 
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Pdrhound

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Not sure where you are located but if you look around you can usually find someone close to check their set up.
 

fig

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Thank you all for the info. Well now you have given me another thing to think about. So I cut the bars? I am still unsure which way to go. I am looking to get me to sit back and not shoved into tank and find a way for my ass not to hurt which I thought from reaching forward it is making me sit in a bad position and causing pain. this is quite a puzzle.
 

cyclemike4

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Thank you all for the info. Well now you have given me another thing to think about. So I cut the bars? I am still unsure which way to go. I am looking to get me to sit back and not shoved into tank and find a way for my ass not to hurt which I thought from reaching forward it is making me sit in a bad position and causing pain. this is quite a puzzle.
Just another note. If you decide to narrow the bars I didn't cut the bars. I just moved all the controls in one inch on each side. I did have to cut off the locating dowel on the switch controls because there is no hold for them to go into. Not a big deal. I have not had any issues with that. It was a easy mod and you can put them back wide if you like it better that way.
 

AusTexS10

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Just another note. If you decide to narrow the bars I didn't cut the bars. I just moved all the controls in one inch on each side. I did have to cut off the locating dowel on the switch controls because there is no hold for them to go into. Not a big deal. I have not had any issues with that. It was a easy mod and you can put them back wide if you like it better that way.
Wow, I wasn't aware the controls were not at the end of the bars. Good to know they can be moved inward slightly. I may have to try that, but first I'm mounting my Helibar that i bought last fall and haven't taken the time to install. Lots of good info in this string.
 

AEF

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All very good points too! Did you have to extend any hoses or cables?
It seems like on the ‘12 or ‘13 ST 10 you can use Heli without extending any cables. I installed these yesterday and can go full lock on both sides. I did unclip the hoses from the bar but may just wrap them down low. I just could not understand what the instructions wanted me to do at the point of attachment to the frame with removing grommet, etc. I assume it was to give a bit more slack. Very confusing. I’m almost 6’1”, 32” inseam, with a Saddlemen with flat seat mod. I like it on the higher setting but as it moves you back I felt I was reaching too much. Hope this works. Thanks for taking a look. How does one know if perhaps the bars are too high? Thanks again.
 

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AusTexS10

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It seems like on the ‘12 or ‘13 ST 10 you can use Heli without extending any cables. I installed these yesterday and can go full lock on both sides. I did unclip the hoses from the bar but may just wrap them down low. I just could not understand what the instructions wanted me to do at the point of attachment to the frame with removing grommet, etc. I assume it was to give a bit more slack. Very confusing. I’m almost 6’1”, 32” inseam, with a Saddlemen with flat seat mod. I like it on the higher setting but as it moves you back I felt I was reaching too much. Hope this works. Thanks for taking a look. How does one know if perhaps the bars are too high? Thanks again.
Thanks for your post, I thought I was the only Gen 1 person that couldn't get the instructions, even with their photos. I tried doing what they said and it's workable but doesn't have the slack I'd like in the cables. I may try the unclipping idea you mentioned to see if that helps.
 

AEF

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ha! yeah, and everyone keeps saying how good the instructions are! I bet those are for later generations. Interestingly, compared with other bikes, once unclipped, the hoses seem to lay pretty well without much need for binding. That might change over time, but if you unclip from the bars you should pick up the slack you need without dealing with a big mess of hoses...or bind lower down. Good luck!
 
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