General topics » Heli Bar Risers

This strikes me as ironic as all get-out, but until this year I'd been riding BMW's S1000RR model and was comfortable doing so. But I'm 76, and as a concession to the years, decided I needed an RS with its more "upright" riding position. But here's what happened...my back is bothered by the slight forward lean of the RS clip-on bars. The lean is much less than the RR's of course, but it's a weird angle that, for my back anyway, is a problem on long rides. It's a cumulative thing...the more miles, the more noticeable. Yesterday it caught up to me on a ride and I was experiencing a real spasm in the back.

So...Heli Bar risers. Are they a good solution? For $149, it's better than selling the RS for a ludicrous amount of money below what I paid!

When I brought mine home, it didn't leave the garage until it had Heli-bar risers (among other things) on it. So, I think they're worth it. Will they cure your back? I don't know. I put them on to be a bit more comfortable and upright. IIRC, they move the bars about 1" up and 1-1/4" back. The other solution is the BMW or Wunderlich round bar option - $$$. I don't know how much they move your position vs. the Heli-bars. Sometimes it's more about breaking yourself in vs. breaking the bike in.

Within about 50-60 miles on mine without the Heli-bars I start getting a dull pain between my shoulder blades. The Heli-bars have stopped that.

Frank

I'm having similar issues, but for me it's the mid/lower back. I can go 100 miles before feeling it. Part of the issue is I periodically find tension in my throttle arm (this makes cruise control critical!). That arm tension transitions to my back.

I think I'm going to try the Heli risers.

QUESTION: I can't tell from Heli's online pictures of the bolts holding the Heli risers to the bike whether they're Torx bolts or Hex bolts. Which are they? I hope they're Torx bolts, otherwise my Torx bits that I use with the torque wrench won't work.

The Heli risers that came with my '16 RS are attached with hex bolts. They have plastic buttons that cover the head of the bolt, once installed

Zitat von duccrazydave im Beitrag #5

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The Heli risers that came with my '16 RS are attached with hex bolts. They have plastic buttons that cover the head of the bolt, once installed

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I'm not sure I could ride my RS much without the heli bars. After I put them on I was able to sit right up solid against the back ledge of the seat, in the same position as before, or slide up close to the tank and be able to turn around and all that without pulling on the bars. The position is similar to a mt. bicycle that is well fitted ... For me the tank sits up very high and my gut could be slimmer ... lol ... but I can't imagine the bike without them now .... fitting out a bike isn't a crime ....
Another thing that really helps is to put a tank bag on and put gloves or something soft in it and then lean on that. I like to rest my left arm on the tank bag crossways and this takes all the tension off the back it seems .... if your the right size you can lean on the tank bag with your chest ....

I can attest to the benefit of bar risers. I put Heli bars on my RR and it made the literbike 300-mile comfortable. Think I'm going to do this for the RS...long rides on it are wearing me out. Yes, the riding position with the stock bars is more upright than the RR was, but there's a weird reach to the bars that's not exactly long, but just enough to stress my lower back. For $150, the Heli risers are worth a try...could save the RS from the "dustbin of history"...lol!

I had Hornig bar risers, which are the same dimensions as the Helibars. They were definitely a big improvement.

That said, you might want to think about going to the tubular bars, like Wunderlich. A test ride on an R1250R should give you an idea what they're like.

Zitat von Paul911 im Beitrag #9

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I had Hornig bar risers, which are the same dimensions as the Helibars. They were definitely a big improvement.

That said, you might want to think about going to the tubular bars, like Wunderlich. A test ride on an R1250R should give you an idea what they're like.

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I had no discomfort whatsoever with the stock set-up (2017 - 1200RS), but spotted a set of Heli's on here going cheap so thought I'd try them.

Bike is now 10x more comfortable

Zitat von Bonzo im Beitrag #11

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I had no discomfort whatsoever with the stock set-up (2017 - 1200RS), but spotted a set of Heli's on here going cheap so thought I'd try them.

Bike is now 10x more comfortable

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Interesting. When I bought the RS, I had the dealer remove the Nav holder. This necessitated removing the handlebar bolts and replacing with ones that would be flush without the Nav holder in place. The bolts are so tight I can't even move them, so I'm thinking either Loctite was used or they're torqued too high. I contacted dealer about checking the bolts...will see what develops. I did watch a video of a guy installing the Heli bar risers, and when he removed those 4 bolts, they came out easily. So I have something going on...

IIRC, the torque is 19 ft lbs, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

For anyone installing bar risers, the OEM bolts were stainless so less worries about corrosion. For the Hornig bar risers, the supplied torx head bolts were plated steel. When I removed them, they were getting a bit of white (from the aluminum) corrosion on them. A bit of antiseize compound would be a good idea IMO.