1" Risers and Bars....the money shot

64bastagebomr

DCC - Supporting Whiskey Fueled Mayhem Since 2009.
DTT SUPPORTER
Guys,

We've taken on the entire Biltwell line. Fantastic stuff if you haven't seen it. http://www.biltwellinc.com

I've been looking around and have not been able to find 1" risers to fit the standard CB top trees so we're trying to determine what kind of interest there is from our demographic. Traditionally I know we run 7/8" bars but we're trying to think outside the box for our offerings as you guys know...

By going to 1" bars theres not only a host of other options out there but there's cool stuff like internal throttles and switch plates for the custom chopper market that we could begin to use on our metric builds. Not to mention that they just "feel" more substantial and commanding.

We're thinking if there is interest we mock up a set of hard mounted risers and ditch the rubber gasket idea for a strong, hard mounted surface and begin producing them.

What do you guys think? Opinons? Suggestions? Does something already exist that I'm missing?

Thanks!

J
 
one of the problems with 1" bars is the fact they are more rigid.
they will transmit more vibration, even if rubber mounted.
with direct/solid mounts you may find you hands going numb.

PJ
 
I hear you PJ. Keep in mind though, we're thinking more for the bobber crowd rather than the Cafe crowd. I can only speak for myself but my rigid only has a spring seat and I'm willing to sacrifice the comfort for the stability. Once you go hard-tail you kind of throw comfort out the window ya know. ;)

Back to the problem though for example, I have 16" Apes on the Black Bobber and even with everything shimmed and tightened down I still get movement at the tripple tree with the stock setup. On that bike I'm running 7/8" bars. It's most definately due to the height and leverage put on the fulcrom point.

The idea behind solid risers (1" or 7/8") is that they would eliminate the spongy feeling I'm experiencing now and others might when going with higher more "chopper" style bars. As we see the trend heading that way we're trying to identify ways to improve the offerings.

We're toying with the idea of making aluminum spacers to replace the rubber ones which would yield a much more stabil albeit, possibly rougher ride as another option for those wanting to stay with 7/8" caviar and the stock setup. I'll have more to report back on that soon...

J
 
With apes you need pretty ridgid mounting, the length of the bars provides flex to reduce vibration.
Larger diameter risers will be a good thing.
you know anything over shoulder height can get you a ticket in Florida?
just depends on how bloody minded the cop is.

PJ
 
crazypj said:
know anything over shoulder height can get you a ticket in Florida?.

Yep.. These are right about at the maximum. I'll get a photo in riding stance later this week..
 
crazypj said:
one of the problems with 1" bars is the fact they are more rigid.
they will transmit more vibration, even if rubber mounted.
with direct/solid mounts you may find you hands going numb.

PJ
I have to dissagree with you on that one bud... 1 inch bars have much more solid piece... in fact you will get more vibration with rubber than you will with poly. i have 1 inch bars on my harley witha 16.5 in rise on the apes, it is a rubber mounted motor, with a true track so it vibrates more than pretty much any harley, no vibartion what so ever in the bars... smooth as glass...

as far as the risers go... i have CNC's a few sets of these for people that wnat to run harley controls on their bobber projects.. mostly for CB750s and then a few for XS650's... we have also made riser blocks for 7/8 bars that fill in the riser on the 7/8 side and have a hole for a 1 in bar to go though... we do this alot now for the 08+ dyna line for harley as they all have the intrigrated risers in the top tree... i think it is a good idea man... I did 1 inch bars on my buddies shadow 750... but we use 7/8 to 1 in dog bones... looked pretty cool when we where done... but not the same as solid risers... whaver you make be sure you can get poly bushings for them pretty easy, rubber just suck and wear out super super fast... but polly last a bit longer and reduce the movement in the risers and bars... they also wear out... the higher the apes are the faster they go... i replace mine about every year... they are cheap for like 10 bucks... but SUPER important!
 
I know what you are saying Joe. This summer i rode a friends bike with some big ol apes just after getting off my bike with clip ons bolted directly to the forks without rubber. The apes felt a little 'rubbery' to say the least. I like the idea of the replaceable poly bushings Joe. Man that is what I love about this site. It rocks!

thewingdpiston said:
...Keep in mind though, we're thinking more for the bobber crowd rather than the Cafe crowd. I can only speak for myself but my rigid only has a spring seat and I'm willing to sacrifice the comfort for the stability. Once you go hard-tail you kind of throw comfort out the window ya know. ;)
Good point. Two different worlds! I couldn't agree more!
 
JRK5892 said:
I have to dissagree with you on that one bud... 1 inch bars have much more solid piece... in fact you will get more vibration with rubber than you will with poly. i have 1 inch bars on my harley witha 16.5 in rise on the apes, it is a rubber mounted motor, with a true track so it vibrates more than pretty much any harley, no vibartion what so ever in the bars... smooth as glass...

as far as the risers go... i have CNC's a few sets of these for people that wnat to run harley controls on their bobber projects.. mostly for CB750s and then a few for XS650's... we have also made riser blocks for 7/8 bars that fill in the riser on the 7/8 side and have a hole for a 1 in bar to go though... we do this alot now for the 08+ dyna line for harley as they all have the intrigrated risers in the top tree... i think it is a good idea man... I did 1 inch bars on my buddies shadow 750... but we use 7/8 to 1 in dog bones... looked pretty cool when we where done... but not the same as solid risers... whaver you make be sure you can get poly bushings for them pretty easy, rubber just suck and wear out super super fast... but polly last a bit longer and reduce the movement in the risers and bars... they also wear out... the higher the apes are the faster they go... i replace mine about every year... they are cheap for like 10 bucks... but SUPER important!

I'm not sure what your saying and I dont think you understood what I meant.
The rubber/polyurethane/whatever is there to dampen vibration from engine and road, if you have bars rigid mounted direct to top yoke they had better be pretty wide to allow them to flex.
One inch bars don't flex as much as 7/8" bars so need more 'leverage' to provide same 'comfort' level (its subjective)
All bars will resonate, its why manufactures fit heavy weights to bar ends, narrower/more rigid mounting usually has heavier weights depending at what rpm the resonance occurs, its trial and error for the rest of us.
I'll edit when i'm not so tired

PJ
 
Risers for top tree that has riser hole? Or for the old cast in units? Last shop I worked at generic 1" made in Japan risers were all of $7.95 a piece, made back in the early 70s for converting your metric to bigger bars. I think Emgo is still cranking them out by the shipping container load. Both styles at that. And I know you can buy 7/8 to 1" inch adapters from the dirt bike catalogs for the cast in type of top tree.

And if you run apes, you ought to consider pinning the bar through the riser caps. Modern bar knurling is crap to start with, then it gets chromed. Pretty slick, and will definitely move if you lock up the front brake or pull back after hitting a pothole, expansion joint or such with a decent amount of speed. And forget the rubber bushings. I'm replacing mine with bronze this spring.
 
Hey scruffy, these will be completely new drop in units that work with the sloped hole on top an bottom. Machined from billet aluminum with a single top bar clamp as an option for more clamping power.

As for pinning the bars...we've got a solution to that as well.

Jason
 
thewingdpiston said:
Hey scruffy, these will be completely new drop in units that work with the sloped hole on top an bottom. Machined from billet aluminum with a single top bar clamp as an option for more clamping power.

As for pinning the bars...we've got a solution to that as well.

Jason

Sounds like the Protaper Adapters for DirtBikes


But they are for 1 1/8 bars. I have a set here I was gonna fit on my CX500, but raise up the bars a little too much for my taste.
 
N30N said:
Sounds like the Protaper Adapters for DirtBikes


But they are for 1 1/8 bars. I have a set here I was gonna fit on my CX500, but raise up the bars a little too much for my taste.
Got any pics? I might need a set for my SR500 - might be running protapers or Flexx bars by Fasst Co.
 
Hey guys, no pics just yet. Running a little behind with all the other stuff going on. I have everything back from powdercoating with the exception of the bars we were using for the mock-up. It's gonna be a few more weeks... At least.

The risers are for 1", not 1-1/8" bars. The idea here is that it opens up the range of controls, grips, etc...to some of the stuff available in the HD market.

As soon as we get stuff back and on the bike we will post up the pics.

Jason
 
i just wish handlebars from flanders or biltwell or whoever weren't $100 and up. It's ridiculous the charge for what you get, considering a very slightly thinner wall bicycle bar can be had for dirt cheap and can work on our bikes.. I'm sure for the bobber guys excluding myself, that many would be interested in 1inch risers, but I really don't see the necessity.
 
pawn said:
i just wish handlebars from flanders or biltwell or whoever weren't $100 and up. It's ridiculous the charge for what you get, considering a very slightly thinner wall bicycle bar can be had for dirt cheap and can work on our bikes.. I'm sure for the bobber guys excluding myself, that many would be interested in 1inch risers, but I really don't see the necessity.

Pawn...is anything we do on these bikes really out of necessity? ;)

I hear ya though...keep in mind those bars are all CNC bent from cold rolled high quality steal. The 1" Emgo bars we sell definitely will do on a bike but they're not the same high quality as Biltwell or Flanders.

On another note, we're working with Baxter to produce these exclusively for our beloved Honda's. What do you guys think? Again, not a neccessity, but they're damn cool. And different.

BaxClamp.jpg
 
Not to rain on anyones parade or idea. But something to consider is that you can buy shims to run 7/8 bars on 1" risers.
They are not expensive and work very well. You wouldn't notice they were there unless really looking for them.
And it solves the issue between 7/8" or an 1"

So it might just be a fruitless effort to go ahead and make 7/8" risers when 1" will do just fine with shims....


http://motorcyclesmusicandmayhem.blogspot.com/




thewingdpiston said:
Hey scruffy, these will be completely new drop in units that work with the sloped hole on top an bottom. Machined from billet aluminum with a single top bar clamp as an option for more clamping power.

As for pinning the bars...we've got a solution to that as well.

Jason
 
Billy Slicks said:
Not to rain on anyones parade or idea. But something to consider is that you can buy shims to run 7/8 bars on 1" risers.
They are not expensive and work very well. You wouldn't notice they were there unless really looking for them.
And it solves the issue between 7/8" or an 1"

So it might just be a fruitless effort to go ahead and make 7/8" risers when 1" will do just fine with shims....


http://motorcyclesmusicandmayhem.blogspot.com/

Billy, I think you're mistaken. This kit will allow the use of 1" bars on a CB...which cannot be done with shims. I believe you're thinking the reverse.
 
Understandable.
But everything that is available for 1" is around for 7/8 if you do some digging.

Metric weren't the only motorcycles to run 1" bars.
Most Brits ran them as well, which means if you're looking for cool toggles and levers and things of that nature you can look towards the brit after market stuff.

It's only the newer Triumphs that are 1"

And having ridden both sizes in both configurations (chop and cafe)
It's not so much the risers as it is the bars. A good quality set of bars that are weighted properly will do the trick no matter what diameter.
Most people are content to bitch about vibration and such, but are also running either stock or cheap ass bars to begin with.

If you buy a proper set of bars that are made with thicker tubing and come weighted or weight them yourself you'll notice a world of difference no matter what configuration you're running on your yokes.

I'm just pointing out it seems like a lot of work on your end, when there is going to be people still bitching about vibes and such....

I do understand your point and your wants/needs. And also appreciate the fact there are people like you out there willing to go the extra mile for people who won't do it for themself...


http://motorcyclesmusicandmayhem.blogspot.com/

 
to me the benifit of the 1 inch bars is the quality of the products you can get... sure 7/8 ar avail but they are for the most part all shipped from china and japan making exchange very hard, quality tends to be low... granted 99% of what rolls though my shop is HD or custom and has (at least) 1 inch bars on them... so i see them all the time. the quality of controls, hydrolic clutches, internal throttles and clutches, fly by wire, intrigrated switches that are around for 1 inch BLOW 7/8 out of the water! FLAT OUT... hell i have had to cnc and mill clamps and contorl housings for 7/8 for customers where if they just swapped to a 1 inch bar would have cost them 1/2 and looked way nicer... but for me, beyond all that, i like the feel of a 1 inch bar in my hand over 7/8, i can ride it longer, feel more in control, and just more stabil... my next cafe will 100% have 1in bars as well as HD contorls on it (mainly cause i have a ton of them here in the shop!)
 
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