I know there are a lot of guys out there that have said they love the Heli bars on the VFR but I have not read much about the handlebar conversion. Does anyone have any experience with something like the Spiegler Handlebar conversions? It looks like both are pretty close to the same price. Cant really find anything that gives actual detailed height and pull back measurements on them either.
I am really wanting to do something with the bars on mine. Most of my riding is all back roads, a little commuting and almost never interstate. So most of my speeds average between 45-65mph for the most part. I feel like I am still getting a good bit of hand pressure and some wrist pain too. Even when I try to concentrate really hard on proper posture, so I am back to looking into Heli Bars or something of that nature. What I am scared of is spending $300 on them and I do not get the results I am looking for. So that is why I am here asking questions and checking and comparing bikes on the Ergonomics web site. (which by the way, I think that is a really cool site)
According to that site for my bike, my back angle sits at 29 degrees.
With the Heli bars it moves to 23 degrees.
My Dads old BMW K1200GT is very comfortable to me and that bike bone stock sits at 23 degrees with no risers. BUT his bike has risers. Just not sure what the height and pull back are on them.
I have tried pulling the bars up to the top of the fork tubes but that did not give me good results. I have tried sitting on other bikes to get an idea of what feels good and trying to compare to see if I can get my VFR to sit a little more of what I would like it to. One thing that I have discovered is that I really like the way that most of the adventure bikes sit. (Guess they take me back to my dirt bikes days too and I like the old dirt bike feel.) I know the VFR will never even come close to that but if I could get her to sit a little more comfortable, then I think I would be happy until the day that I do bring home an adventure machine.
Basically I am just trying to research if whether or not I feel like spending the money on risers or handlebars will be worth the money spent and if not, then I will just ride her like she is and deal with it.
When I purchased my 05 used it had Heli bars installed and I would experience wrist pain on longer rides. I decided to replace the Heli bars with the LSL one piece bar kit from Spiegler. I ordered the standard bar that comes with the kit. I've heard you can change to more pull back bar but didn't want a drastic change. I've had the new config for two years and haven't regretted my decision once, and I've done multi day 2000 plus mile rides. I still have a slight lean forward but much less weight on the wrist. The bars are a little wider than stock so that makes turning in the twisties a little easier also. I was impressed with the quality of the components and finished look.
I know there are a lot of guys out there that have said they love the Heli bars on the VFR but I have not read much about the handlebar conversion. Does anyone have any experience with something like the Spiegler Handlebar conversions? It looks like both are pretty close to the same price. Cant really find anything that gives actual detailed height and pull back measurements on them either.
I am really wanting to do something with the bars on mine. Most of my riding is all back roads, a little commuting and almost never interstate. So most of my speeds average between 45-65mph for the most part. I feel like I am still getting a good bit of hand pressure and some wrist pain too. Even when I try to concentrate really hard on proper posture, so I am back to looking into Heli Bars or something of that nature. What I am scared of is spending $300 on them and I do not get the results I am looking for. So that is why I am here asking questions and checking and comparing bikes on the Ergonomics web site. (which by the way, I think that is a really cool site)
According to that site for my bike, my back angle sits at 29 degrees.
With the Heli bars it moves to 23 degrees.
My Dads old BMW K1200GT is very comfortable to me and that bike bone stock sits at 23 degrees with no risers. BUT his bike has risers. Just not sure what the height and pull back are on them.
I have tried pulling the bars up to the top of the fork tubes but that did not give me good results. I have tried sitting on other bikes to get an idea of what feels good and trying to compare to see if I can get my VFR to sit a little more of what I would like it to. One thing that I have discovered is that I really like the way that most of the adventure bikes sit. (Guess they take me back to my dirt bikes days too and I like the old dirt bike feel.) I know the VFR will never even come close to that but if I could get her to sit a little more comfortable, then I think I would be happy until the day that I do bring home an adventure machine.
Basically I am just trying to research if whether or not I feel like spending the money on risers or handlebars will be worth the money spent and if not, then I will just ride her like she is and deal with it.
I don't have them personally, but there is a set on eBay right now which ends in 5 hours. Search LSL vfr800
I did what RichVee4 did, but used Honda 599/919 bars as they are higher still and pulled back a touch more than the ones that come in the Spiegler kit. They accomplish that by being narrower which was no problem for me. Bonus is they are predrilled for Honda switch gear. Un-bonus is you pay more money and have a useless handlebar in the garage. I wish they would just sell you the riser. Wiring and cables require rerouting. I also had to use generic bar ends. Lot's of people here have just removed and drilled out the top of the tree and added generic risers. Search for it.
I went through the same process because the Heli-bars are indeed an investment. I looked at all options and went with the Heli-bars and here's why:
1) they were the closet to the stock look
2) would be easy to resell if I didn't like them, though I'd lose some $, i could recover most
3) had more feedback on fit/function available from users
Pros:
Though small, the change made a huge difference. Bike is perfect for me now.
Well made - welds perfect, good powder coating
Fit instructions are thorough and tailored to the bike
Cons:
Too expensive, what a racket
No added style. They are a slight downgrade IMO over the stock bars. Basic fork clamp and two steel tubes welded together.
Heavy, couldn't they make them out of Al?
OD and ID slightly different than stock. Couldn't slip fit a Kaoko throttle lock into them.
Once installed, both bars have a slight fore/aft angle difference due to clearance differences on each side. Not noticeable while riding.
Keep in mind the Cons are insignificant compared to the comfort factor. They do what they are supposed to do. They transformed my Gen7. I am very pleased with the result and glad I bought them.
Fwiw, I had a 6th gen with stock and then Gen-Mar risers, tried a friend's 6th gen with Heli-bars, and then the current 6th gen with the Spiegler Handlebar kit. I doubt if many people had the same opportunity within a short timeframe to do a comparison like this.
I've done some decent mileage (over 400 miles of mostly twisties) days with none of the shoulder/wrist issues I had with the other setups. The handlebar setup worked best for me. I'm using the flatish bar the kit comes with and am thinking about one with a little more rise, but I'm an olde pharte (67) lol,
I looked on Ebay for the bar kit but I guess I missed it. I could not find it on there now.
Thanks a lot for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. It would be great if I could try some of the different setups on the bike before deciding the drop the cash on something like this.
I had a Buell XB9R before my VFR and I really considered drilling the top clamp and bolting on a set of risers and bars for that bike. I really don't have to much of a problem doing that but I don't think I want to drill it because if I want to return it to stock for whatever reason, it wont have a jury-rig look to it.
On my 5th gen I installed a Spiegler handlebar adapter bought used that was intended for a Ducati ST4, but the fork tube diameter's the same and it fits. I use a cheap black "superbike" bend bar that I think is a Bikemaster (or something like that). Generic black bar ends, and I had to drill holes for the switchgear. Not too wide and has a bit of rise, everything fits on it and it's perfect for me, especially with the peg lowerers. Very comfortable ergos for my 5'10, 32" inseam self. I don't take many long trips, but if you do, know that the more upright seating puts you at odds with the stock windshield which pushes a lot air on your torso above 65 mph or so, though you can still ride one-handed without fear of being blown off. I have a touring givi shield for longer trips and it works fine. I paid $125 for the adapter (used), $25 for the bar (new), and $10 for the bar ends (new). I already had the windshield. So I've got less than $150 into my conversion and I wouldn't go back to stock if you paid me 5 times that amount.
The stock VFR setup put too much weight on my wrists for my style of riding (more cruisery and laid back), and the right one would go numb, possibly aided by the fact that the brake lever assembly is not allowed to go to a comfortable position, forcing an unnatural bend to keep a couple of fingers on the brake. I tried adding risers but they didn't help with hand position, wrist angle, etc., though they took a bit of weight off the wrists, and still worked OK with the stock windshield.
LSL kit and a big rounded handlebar brought the grips really high and backwards that I can simply stay straight in the saddle - with a modified Vario-Touring screen I have no problems going 130km/h or riding 12 hrs with only refueling stops. Plus, you'll get plenty space to mount various gismos on the bars.
Another question for you guys.... I have been looking around on the web and it seems that pretty much everyone sells the Heli Bars at about $300. Is there anyone out there that has them for less? I have been watching Ebay and other places for a used set but I have never seen a used set for sale so that kind of tells me that if I don't like them or want to sell them in the future, that should be really easy.
I am kind of leaning towards a set of the Heli Bars now due to the fact that they will sit to the closest to how my Dads bike sits and his bike is comfortable to me. Plus they look a little closer to what is on the bike now.
I did contact the guys that make the handlebar conversion and the guy was great with trying to give me specs on rise and pull back but he did not have exact numbers. From his best guess with the bars that come in the standard kit, it looks like both the Heli and the LSL kit sit almost the same.
I have been watching Ebay and other places for a used set but I have never seen a used set for sale so that kind of tells me that if I don't like them or want to sell them in the future, that should be really easy.
Yep, this was the kicker for me. If you don't like them you can sell them w/o too much of a $ hit. Just all the work getting them setup, which is a chore.
rigger4343
From his best guess with the bars that come in the standard kit, it looks like both the Heli and the LSL kit sit almost the same.
I'm not surprised the HeliBars and LSL end up in about the same hand position - the limit is in the control cables. They're only going to allow so much repositioning.
Well I ordered an LSL handlebar conversion for it. I went with this because after hearing back from the guys at LSL and them giving me a rough idea of the pull back and rise, they will sit the closest to the same angles that Dad's old BMW does. Had some cash in my PayPal from selling junk so the kit was over half paid for already so I figured what the hell and ordered up a new kit.
When I get it in, I will take some good measurements of the stock bars and after the install for an accurate measurement of real life rise and pull back on the new set up.
I don't know if the LSL kit includes (or requires) a longer throttle cable, but my home-brewed setup did, as, even after careful routing/positioning, the throttle was pulled open a bit on right-hand turns (very exciting). I believe I replaced the stock cable with one I bought from Helibars (a bit longer). I'm sure LSL has their kit figured it out and it's fine, but thought I'd mention it.
I will watch out for all than when I get the kit in. From my research, it just takes a good re-rout of cables and stuff but all the stock lines and such are suppose to work. With their kits and other bikes, if brakes lines or cables are needed, they come with the kit.
Guess I will figure that one out when I start to put it on.
I used all the stock cables and brake lines when installing the LSL kit, and that's what is recommended with the kit. The throttle cable does get a bit tight at full turn but not a problem.
Well my kit did not come in Friday like I was hoping it would. Looks like Tuesday now according to tracking. I have my daughter next week so it may be the following week before I can get it on the bike due to all the normal Daddy duties. Cant wait to try them out!
Well my kit did not come in Friday like I was hoping it would. Looks like Tuesday now according to tracking. I have my daughter next week so it may be the following week before I can get it on the bike due to all the normal Daddy duties. Cant wait to try them out!
Hi rigger, let me know how they work out. Im joining the VFR club this friday, and the clip on position is my only worry. Did you just use the low superbars that come with the kit? Any pics installed? The video on the speigler website the guy had trouble routing the throttle cables...did you have the same issue. Thanks again!
So far I have no regrets at all about doing the conversion. I spent a lot of time reading other riders inputs on them and trying to compare to my ride style. Also spent a lot of time sitting on other bikes and comparing to the bike ergonomics site too trying to find the right thing for me.
I have not had a chance to put a long day on them yet but have had a few good rides and have none of the original pains that I had before doing the swap. Only thing that came up after the conversion is my ass started hurting much sooner. I was already wanting to do something with the seat but this made me want to do something sooner so I just recently put a new Sargent seat on the bike.
As far as the installation goes.... I had no problems. I did do a write up on here about it with pictures so just do a search. If you cant find it, let me know and I will be glad to put up pictures again and help you out with it.
Only thing I have had to adjust to is it does feel a little different in the turns but if I just get a little lower and put my body in a position that is similar to where I would have been with the stock bars, it goes into the turns just fine. It really is just a matter of getting use to the change. Between the bars and the seat, my VFR feels totally different than when it was on the stock bars and the stock seat. I do like it.
One thing you can try is removing the clips on the top of the fork and raising the bars to be flush with the top of the forks. I think that gave me about a 1/2" of rise. I also found it to be better if I turned the bars out about 1-2mm. It made an improvement and it was a free to try. But I still wanted more out of it.
Let me know if you have questions or cant find that post.
