Triumphrat

Stiles · 06-09-2005

The Heli website says their bars won't work with heated grips on the ST. I called and the person answering the phone said something about not being able to machine a groove into their bar for the grip wiring. She was not very convincing.

Anyone run into this issue with their ST, or install someone else's risers sucessfully with the factory heated grips?

TIA - S.

welshrob · 06-10-2005

Don`t buy helibars, you don`t need them. I was on the verge of getting them after numb hands and neckaches but several people pointed out to me that I needed to adjust my riding style and learn to support my weight with my lower body and thighs. this has worked for a LOT of people, not just me. It took a while for me to get it right, after spending a couple of years on a tiger, which has an upright riding position, but it`s a lot cheaper than new bars!Give it a try.

1fastcat · 06-10-2005

FWIW - the "correct riding posture" is really great for those short trips IF your in good shape and like to flex your stomach muscles and grip the tank with your thighs. Quite frankly I always thought that attitude was a bunch of hogwash. Having ridden bikes for 25 years now, and still having a 31 inch waist, I would never ever tell someone to attempt an unnatural riding position to account for the bikes lack of adjustable ergonomics.

Lets face it, we all come in different sizes and shapes, some have shorter arms, different twists to the wrist, etc. The advantage of the heli bars is that they give you virtually infinite adjustment so that the ergos fit you perfectly. They do take some messing around with because of the lack of index marks, but IMHO they are the single best mod to my ST. With them I have done a 1000 mile day without wrist/hand problems.

As far as the heated grip situation - don't know. I use a Widder vest, with arm attachment and heated gloves for the really cold stuff.

Stiles · 06-11-2005

Thanks for the input. I think i'm going to go with the helis and mod them as necessary (it's good to have friends with fully-equipped machine shops).

I have found that the stock bars put my wrists at a bad angle and I can't comfortably adjust without a continuing concious effort to sit up straighter and reposition my wrists- which is both tiring and un-natural to me. I've been 6' tall and 145 lbs for 15 years now, so I want my bike to fit me, not the other way around.

I'm setting my bike up for a coast-to-coast road trip BTW, so the extra 400 bucks for the heli bars is more than worth it compared to the cost and pain of cortisone shots for carpal tunnel (my girlfriend has BT,DT).

While I'm asking, anyone have advice on a better seat for someone who is skinny, tall and bony? I get burn after about two hours, even with an add-on gel pad.

TIA!

1fastcat · 06-11-2005

Hey Stiles,
FWIW I have a custom seat from Rocky at BIll Mayer Saddles (Ojai, CA). You can see the seat and my other mods at 1fastcats bike
This is my humble recommendation for true iron butt riding.

welshrob · 06-12-2005

In reference to 1fatcats reply, he is absolutely right of course. I am only 43yrs old with a mere 27 yrs riding experience including 10 as a motorcycle courier in london and I don`t have any crippling infirmities or weight problems that would prevent me from gripping the bike with my thighs. If I did, I probably wouldn`t buy a sprint st when there are much more suitable bikes around. I`m just someone who had an identical problem to you and listened to a LOT of other people who had overcome it and found that this worked for me too. I`ve recently done a 1200km run back from Bathurst with no discomfort whatsoever. It obviously doesn`t work for 1fastcat but if you don`t try it how will you know?
YOUR MIND IS LIKE A PARACHUTE, IT WORKS BEST WHEN IT`S OPEN.

1fastcat · 06-13-2005

Hey Welshrob,
No offense meant by the comments. Its just that so many other factors contribute to ergonomic comfort than supporting weight off the wrists. For me the biggest issue is the angel of the stock bars. They caused my wrists to be in a pinching uncomfortable position that resulted in numbness within 20 minutes of riding. In all my other bikes, I never had an issue with the bars, but then again bikes in the 80's and early 90's that I owned did not have the aggressive riding stance of todays bikes. My FJ1200 which was the dogs bollucks Sport Tourer for years, had a much more upright riding position.

When all was said and done, I figured why fight the bike when optiosn exist to make it fit me like a glove. The heli-bars did the most to improve riding comfort, and quite frankly unless a stock bike fit me like a glove, I would probably replace the stock bars with heli's 10 times out of 10.

dnlwthrn · 06-13-2005

why not try Gen-mar risers instead of the Heli bars?

They use stock bars, just add a riser under it...

If you look at the stock bars, you need to modify the clutch side to match it. There is a groove on the bottom, plus two holes in the sides for locating screws.

HTH
Dan

1fastcat · 06-13-2005

I know alot of guys who found that the Gen-mars did the trick. Personally, I tried the gen-mars. Still had the pinching of the wrist due to angle of bars. At least with the Heli's you know that you'll be able to get it as right as possible without wasting money on things that may not work. Still have the Gen-mars in a box. Not worth the effort to sell them.

REGULATOR · 06-13-2005

another solution would be to use a different brand of heated grips, the Oxford brand I have on my bike just slid on like a pair of grips with no cables underneath, or try the hot hands wrap type of grips that are removable.

I've always wanted the super bike bars on mine but i'm wierd.