Short HandlebarRisers for 2001 Standard

[GBCruiser]

I have a 2001 GL1500C Standard with the stock bars and risers. I have long arms and want to push the bars down and forward.  Not sure I need a big change and am thinking some short stubby risers might do the trick. Has anyone changed their risers out for shorties? Will the risers from an older VTX work? Any suggestions?  Thanks all.

[Jess from VA]

Just so you know, stock risers are 3 1/8" tall.  I've never heard of anyone wanting shorter.  Of course, you can loosen the riser bolts underneath (after padding the tank), and swing the bars down a bit with the OE risers (but turn the bars lock to lock to check for tank and other clearances). 

Other than that, I'd look around on Ebay or Pinwall Cycle or bike salvage yards for risers shorter than 3 1/8".  No reason to spend large for them.

You might want some handlebars with less rise and pullback too (one inch bars) (and leave the risers alone), but that is a trickier proposition.

Just so you know, the Valk handlebars officially have 6" of height, 33" of width (interstates are like 32.5" width), 14" of pullback, 9" center, with a 3"X 5" clamp area.

This site has lots of products, but is also a good source of handlebar study and comparison too.

http://www.sideroadcycles.com/index.html

Before I gave up entirely (too many variables, and too much chance of getting things like bars and cables that didn't fit and not be able to return), I would sit on my bike with my eyes closed, and put out my hands where I wished they were, then I tried to measure the differences from stock position to my desired position..... and tried to change up both risers and bars to get that movement.

It was just too much guesswork, and I gave up. 

[Harryc]

I have long arms, but am also tall. I used straight 4" risers. The stock risers are bent towards the rider...too close for me. If you go with straight risers, the bars will be further away.

[old2soon]

Somebody here couple years ago had some 1" block risers that work Perfect for me. I am on an I/S with stock bars and stock grips. And with my Kury wide non adjustable levers-brake and clutch-took a bit of sortin out but I now have Her set fer Me. Pad up the tank and loosen all 4 hold down bolts and play with the angle a bit and see if you can find yerself a better sweet spot for the bars. Are you on a stock seat? RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Dennis, those 1" riser spacers are added to the existing risers, making them appx 4".

He want's shorter, not taller.

[old2soon]

Dennis, those 1" riser spacers are added to the existing risers, making them appx 4".

He want's shorter, not taller.

        As I reread the post I smacked ma forehead and said-DUH!  Well to broke ta pay tenshun I guess!  RIDE SAFE.

[GBCruiser]

Thanks for the input guys.

I definitely want to move the bars forward, so a straight riser helps. And since the upper triple clamp is pitched back toward the rider, the lower I go, the bar moves just that much further forward.

The shorter straight risers from a VTX1300 look like they might work, but I don't know if the mounting stud length and diameter are a match for the holes in Valk upper triple clamp. I'd like the swap to be as simple as possible without making any changes to components that would prevent me from going back to the stock configuration in the future.

I looked at some stubby universal "keg" style risers on the J&P Cycles website that have a 1-3/8" rise.  They would bring the bars way down and would look pretty good too.  However, they are "universal fit", are made primarily for Harley applications, and there is almost no detail offered by customer service on how to adapt them for use on the Valk.

(It's much easier to figure this stuff out when I have the parts in hand to look at and measure.)





 

[Jess from VA]

OK, a few more pointers.

Riser spacing is 3.5" on Hogs and Kawis, and 100mm (4") on all other Japanese bikes, and Honda.

But so long as you are using individual risers (and not a drag bar with welded risers attached) this does not matter.

However, Hogs use SAE risers and bolts and Honda uses metric risers and bolts (the exact sizes escape me) (Hog is 1/2 inch, Honda is ?).

It only takes drilling out the Valk triple tree riser holes a few thousandths to use SAE risers and bolts (a mere shaving of metal), and you can always return to metric bolts/risers with no worries at all about stability or strength.

However, there are conversion riser bolts available which allow you to use SAE bolts and risers on metric bikes with no drilling required.

And here they are:  https://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/1182/index.html

(It is not surprising that Valk is not listed under fitment, since no Valks were produced after 2003, but I'm 99% certain these will work.  But call anyway.)

I am not sure a simple riser change is going to give you want you want.  Shorter risers will give you a bit more forward reach, but also a shorter height bar.  I'd still try rolling the bars down in the existing risers first.

It might also be possible to take the OE risers to a machine shop, and have them cut off the bases and extend the internal threads...... maybe.  Cost may be as much or more than new shorty risers though. 

I'd give you my old OE risers, but already gave them away years ago.  They're not worth much. 

[GBCruiser]

I'm definitely looking at individual risers, and will try rolling the bars for height as suggested.

Sure looks like that kit will do the trick.  There seem to be plenty of short straight riser options out there for 1" diameter bars, and all seem to use Harley/SAE mountings.  I'm sure I'll find one that works.

I'll give Barons Custom a call, and will let y'all know how it works out.

Thanks again for the help!

[vanagon40]

Any possibility of reversing the OEM risers?

At least it would be inexpensive to try.

[hubcapsc]

these were on my bike when I got it:



I don't know if the PO bought them that way, or cut down a regular OEM
set and threaded the body for riser studs... I sent them off to another
too-tall VRCC member long ago...

-Mike

[GBCruiser]

Thanks for the photo . . . that's exactly what I imagined when I started this post.  They look like metric OEM risers. Honda, Yammy, Kaw . . . who knows.  It looks like the big Valk riser cap still fits though, which does suggest they may have been cut-down stock risers.

As to flipping the stock risers around, that would certainly move the bars forward. I would need to find individual riser caps so the one-piece Valk riser cap didn't look like it was on backwards. It's a good idea to try it and see if I really want the bars that far forward.  I can adjust the height by rolling the bars down.

Thanks for the great feedback guys. 

 

[Jess from VA]

It's likely if you get a set of risers (aftermarket or OE), they will have individual top clamps.

It is unlikely the valk riser bridge will fit on any of them.  (But I would hold onto the OE risers and bridge clamp.... you never know).

A lot of guys have mounted all sorts of stuff to the Valk bridge clamp (velcro and phones or GPS, yada).

[GBCruiser]

I looked at my stock risers alongside the photo of hubcapsc's old risers.  Sure looks like they could have been stock units that were cut down and machined.  Unfortunately, I don't have the right tools to do that job with enough precision, and would need to enlist the talents of a good machine shop.  At least it's an option if an aftermarket solution doesn't pan out . . . . and I'd get to keep the bridge too.