Bar risers for 1150RT

[nortonrt]

Has anyone installed a set of Moto-Techniques bar risers on a R1150RT? I ordered a set from that company, but I havent installed them because it looks like the cabling and brake-line might be too short to accommodate the increased distances - putting too much stress on them.

Will I need to reposition the lines behind the forks, or replace them with longer ones?

[OfficerImpersonator]

Has anyone installed a set of Moto-Techniques bar risers on a R1150RT? I ordered a set from that company, but I havent installed them because it looks like the cabling and brake-line might be too short to accommodate the increased distances - putting too much stress on them.

Will I need to reposition the lines behind the forks, or replace them with longer ones?

Mine fit on my '02 RT like a charm. No cable changes/re-routing required. There is still plenty of slack in the cables and hoses.

One note for installation - make sure you keep the detached handlebars upright while bolting on the bar backs - otherwise, you can introduce air into your brake and hydraulic clutch lines - and that's not going to be good for anyone except your 'wrench.

[nortonrt]

Mine fit on my '02 RT like a charm. No cable changes/re-routing required. There is still plenty of slack in the cables and hoses.

One note for installation - make sure you keep the detached handlebars upright while bolting on the bar backs - otherwise, you can introduce air into your brake and hydraulic clutch lines - and that's not going to be good for anyone except your 'wrench.

Thanks for the help, and the good advice. Much appreciated.

[OfficerImpersonator]

Thanks for the help, and the good advice. Much appreciated.

I just took mine off and went back to stock. They were installed by the prior owner, and I think I'm a bit bigger than he is.

Plus, the bars with the bar backs were really intruding into my Big Mak tank bag, and the bag was always turning on my heated grips when I turned my bars to full lock left.

Now, I'll sit a tiny bit more forward on the bike and the tank bag has more room.

My stalk mirrors now come into contact with the windscreen if the screen is all the way down, but I never have the screen all the way down, so no big deal.

You don't need to alter your cables, but you do need to keep air out of your hydraulic clutch and front brake lines when installing the bar backs :D

[JAYMPIERCE]

NortonRT,

Let us know how it goes - install and the new feel/position. I've been thinking of doing the same thing as I'd like to take a little weight off my hands. Thanks

[awagnon]

Has anyone installed a set of Moto-Techniques bar risers on a R1150RT? I ordered a set from that company, but I havent installed them because it looks like the cabling and brake-line might be too short to accommodate the increased distances - putting too much stress on them.

Will I need to reposition the lines behind the forks, or replace them with longer ones?


I have them on my '02 RT. No problem with cables or hoses. No problem with bars hitting my bags. Do I like them? Good question. I've had them on and off several times. Bottom line, I like them for long touring trips, but prefer not to have them riding the twisties. I've ended up leaving them on, since I use the RT for longer trips most of the time.

[nortonrt]

Installed the Moto-Techniques risers of the '03 RT today and they feel very comfortable. Just went for a short ride so I can't speak to the long distance effect, but I have had these M-T risers on my previous oilheads and was very pleased on long distance rides.

The Moto-Technichs blurb states that no modifications are necessary for the installation, but on my RT the front brake hydraulic line is really tight on a sharp left turn. I'd feel better if it was re-routed or perhaps replaced with a longer one, either of which I'll do on the next brake fluid change.

Thanks to all for contributing - much appreciated.

[nrhodes1971]

The first weekend I got my '02 1150 RT, I did a 300 mile Sunday to a bike Rally in Cassoday, Kansas from KC. No risers, no support kidney belt and was leaning forward more than I wanted to and by the time I got home my shoulders were killing me. I even stopped in a rest area to lay in the grass and streach my back out.

Within a couple of weeks I found a buddy that wanted to dispose of the risers on his R 1100 RT. He just didn't like them and I'm not sure if they were M&T risers, but they did pick the handle bars up an inch and back an inch. For $20 bucks I bolted them under my handle bars and they worked like a charm. I had no problems with the cables and the bike ran fine, but my mechanic told me he re-routed one cable to prevent problems. (I forget which cable it was.)

This addition did not instantly relieve all shoulder discomfort, because there does exist a certain amount of "rider break-in" with a new bike. But it lessened the problem considerably and I don't notice sore shoulders on long rides anymore. In fact, I took a 2742 mile ride to Montana in Sept and the risers let me lean back far enough to rest on the back-rest of a Russell-Daylong saddle and my only pain came from gripping the throttle.

I tried them, I liked them. Go for it--rock