| Author | Message | ||
     Fasteddieb |
The eBay risers arrived today.  Bars held in place. The bars are from a Suzuki (SV650?), but at 7/8" I'll have a wide variety to choose from. I may be drilling later - any final cautions/warnings/gotchas? This seems almost too simple (at least until I get to the hassle of getting all the hoses/cables/wires to reach) | ||
| Dragonbuell12r |
Does it clear the fairing when you turn?? That looks like it could end up quite comfortable. | ||
| No_rice |
just that the triple trees arent the strongest thing so becareful and hope it doesnt crack going down the road | ||
| Litng_dave |
Ditto, I considered the same fix for my R until I saw how thin the triple clamp crown is where you need to drill the hole for the Risers. I would NOT do it without welding in some reinforcement. | ||
| Whodom |
One way to tackle this would be to fabricate a backing plate (one large one or two smaller separate pieces) for the upper triple clamp of ~1/8" steel or similar. Put your bolts all the way through that so the load is spread over the underside of the whole upper triple clamp and not concentrated at the bolt holes. | ||
| Bigsherm9r |
Look at the size of the beefy lower triple clamp, you'll be fine. | ||
| Whodom |
Look at the size of the beefy lower triple clamp, you'll be fine. I think what they're saying is that the upper clamp is very thin in the areas he will be drilling thru to mount the risers. If so, it would be easy for the concentrated stress at the bolt holes to crack the triple clamp. A lot of these triple clamps look really beefy until you turn them over and realize they are of "webbed" construction. There's not nearly as much meat there as you'd think at first glance. | ||
| Aldaytona |
Proof of concept? It's called Lightning, BMC thought of it already, it comes with high bars.  | ||
| No_rice |
i figure if people can over tighten alittle and crack there top triple clamp, then making it even thinner and stressing it more might be taking a chance at cracking easier. not saying do or dont do it. he just asked about any final cautions or warnings and i think thats a valid one to be concerned about. | ||
| Fasteddieb |
Good thoughts all. It looks like, as shown, I can adjust the bars to just clear the screen. I was hoping to not have to remove the top triple-clamp. I was going to use a large flat washer to distribute the load over the webbing. If more reinforcement seems prudent, I'll go ahead and pull the damn thing and find a shop who can handle aluminum welding. | ||
| Lovematt |
Try looking up underneath that "beefy" lower triple clamp...it is not solid. Personally I would be looking for a stronger top triple designed for that use...I wonder if a Lightning top triple could work? The ignition would be an issue though...and probably some other things as I don't own that model but at least it was meant to have that kind of bar on it. | ||
| Bake |
Looks like the spots you need to drill is in an area you can beef up from the underside. Matt, apparently the S top works but you also need a S front brake line, not sure about the clutch, throttle and switch wireing yet. Hope I can fab a bracket for the key! I have the stuff comming and will probably wait till winter to change over.} (Message edited by bake on September 14, 2006) | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Make a template for the open areas on the underside of the top triple, cut a piece of half inch thick aluminum plate to fit snugly into that area, drill and tap it for a stud then tighten the riser down to the stud on the topside of the triple. Having fitted the S top triple while using the R front end, is a bit ugly. You could make a bracket that would allow you to use the R ignition switch instead of the S ignition. However, clearance was an issue with the fairing and the front brake mastercylinder using the stock height/bend bars. | ||
| Trojan |
Why not just fit an LSL (or RRC) bar conversion kit instead? These come with a new billet top clamp that is much stronger than the original, as well as bars in the correct bend to make sure that they don't hit the fairing.   | ||
| Trojan |
You will also need a new and longer front brake line with the conversion you are planning (these are included in the kits above). Throttle cables and clutch cable should be OK so long as the risers you are using are not too high. If they are a little tight loosen the cable clamp at the stereing head and try 're-arranging' the cables slightly for more room. | ||
| Dragonbuell12r |
If you want to have a plate made for the bottom and or the top of the triple clamp to distribute the load, let me know. I can measure the stock triple and model a plate in 3d to take to a shop to have water jet or laser cut. Pm me if you want help. | ||
| Bake |
Why not just fit an LSL (or RRC) bar conversion kit instead? Matt no offence but it's the price, plain and simple. People will find less expensive ways and I am with them. | ||
| Buellman39 |
yea, its called you should of bought a lightning not a firebolt. | ||
| Dragonbuell12r |
There's nothing wrong with wanting the look of the Firebolt with the comfort of the Lightning. I would have bought the Lightning myself but couldn't take the look of the tail and seat section. To each their own. | ||
| Fasteddieb |
Maybe. But in 2003 the Lightning wasn't even a gleam in your father's eye... ...or something like that.  | ||
| Spiderman |
actually in 03 it was introduced. don't forget the firebolt was supposed to be a 02. the events of 9/11 caused shipping delays and pushed the 'bolt to a real early 03 model. | ||
| Altima02 |
mine was. | ||
| Fasteddieb |
I stand corrected. My point was, when I bought my Firebolt the Lightning had not yet been introduced. Hell, if I had a time machine I might have bought a Ulysses! | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
new billet top clamp that is much stronger than the original, You know, after what happened to my front end when the bike flipped down the road, I don't know if I want a 'stronger' top triple. There is a very good chance that permenant frame damge could have been done if the front end hadn't broken away the way it did, or course, I could be wrong and nothing might have happened, but keep in mind, I BENT the lower fork tube just below the outer/upper fork tube about 5 degrees... | ||
| Aldaytona |
I'm all for saving money as the next guy, but putting Road King type risers on/in a fairly flimsy cast piece just doesn't seem prudent, especially when there are several kits made to do the same thing and your safety is involved, no matter how much you brace it from the bottom. You've been riding that bike for over 3 years and now it bothers you? Raise everyones membership fifty cents a year and spring for the real risers, you can always use those eBay specials as dumb bells..................................... | ||
| Vaneo1 |
why buy a firebolt if you cant take the crouch? | ||
| Hammer71 |
Why change your seat, grips or pegs if you cant take the dicomfort? Leave the poor guy alone already. Although some of us like our bolts with the bars the way they are, some people dont. Im sure he likes the look of his ride but wanted a little more comfort for longer distance riding. Besides he is the one riding it..Not us. Good luck on you conversion post some pics when completed. | ||
| Bake |
more comfort for longer distance riding exactly | ||
| Fasteddieb |
Hey, I'm a big guy, I can take it. I actually like fairly low bars. My 1999 K1200RS has the lower bar holders and I often have them all the way forward. 75,000 miles on that puppy so far. But for slicing and dicing on the local N GA roads, I'm finding I prefer a more upright position. It seems to put me in a better position to see/avoid/deal with stuff in the road. I mounted smaller wheels and more road-oriented tires (Metzeler Tourances) on my KTM and usually find myself choosing it for rides in the twisties.  I enjoy the Firebolt as it, but might ride it more if more upright*. BTW, I drilled out the triple-clamp but the holes ended up too close to the stem - I absolutely can't get a wrench in there to tighten the bolts. I'm also concerned that the risers are too close together (nearly touching) and that could impart a lot of torque to the mounts. I've got a lot of other things going right now, so I'm on a voluntary "stand down" while I reconsider my options - the warnings posted here have been taken seriously. *I once got stuck in stop-and-go traffic descending into Cherokee, NC and in that situation the low bars were a real pain (literally). (Message edited by fasteddieb on September 16, 2006) | ||
| Bake |
Whats bolted on to the right side of your airbox cover in your first pic? | ||
| Fasteddieb |
You mean the RAM ball for my GPS? In that case, it's the RAM ball for my GPS. Otherwise, it must be something else ! |
