Do risers help or hinder aggressive cornering?

[bhodge10]

When I bought my bike, they already came with 1" risers. Do risers make it easier to turn into corners, do they make it harder or does it not have any effect?

Thanks,

[VirginiaJim]

I've got the 1 3/4 Heli and Phil's wedges.  I haven't noticed any issues with my setup regarding cornering.

[philipintexas]

I've had the opportunity to try more combinations than most since I make my own stuff and I have 4" extenders on my bars, plus I've tried various height risers. I believe they all feel differently, but once you become used to a height there is no affect on handling. Torque applied through a 12" extension is the same as through a 2" socket, so I don't think height matters. As the bars move closer, (IE: away from the axis of the forks) you may gain some leverage and slightly slower response, but as soon as you become used to the position the bike will do what you want. Go for comfort, and I don't think there will be any adverse effect on handling. One person's opinion.

[gonzosc1]

aggressive cornering is the key word here.  C14 being a sport touring bike is not the best in either world, just stuck somewhere in between.  touring comfort or sports riding,,,, the bike can go either way but rider experence also comes into play.
while few even try to drag a knee on this thing the lower you can get the better for aggressive cornering. you don't have to hang a butt cheek off the seat, but you can move your upper body in the same manner as sports rider do and get "near" knee draging proformance.
 sitting up high generally means a larger lean angle in aggressive cornering
just my 2 cents

[Mister Tee]

I can't comment between risers and no risers, but my previous sport touring bike (BMW 1200RT) had a higher bar position, and it was difficult to get in to proper position on an aggressive lean.  I do not find it very difficult to do so on a C14 but the bars still feel high.

Probably depends on rider ergonimics.  I have no problem reaching the bars and they feel high to me to start with.  Raising them would hinder me yes.  Shorter people, or at least people with shorter arms, might not be hindered if they already have a hard time reaching for the bars.

[Conhardcore]

This is a topic that interests me greatly.  I'm 6" 185 w/ 34" sleeve.  Here has been my history of bar experiments:

-2" up and 3/4" back Heli Bar Risers when I took delivery.  I "thought" it was a must, even though the bike was brand new.  While I found them to be ok comfort wise, more agressive turn in's to me seemed compromised.  The pull back made me feel a little scrunched in and I felt they had me sitting too straight up.  When I tried to lower and lean for aggressive corners, it wasn't easy to do due to the angle and position of the bars.

-Removed the risers and rode with stock height for about a month.  For me, there is no question that the bike bike responds to aggressive cornering and quick counter steer inputs more crisply.  The bars are cut in a way that allows that intuitively IMO.
They were also the position that I had to work hardest at to not hurt my hands and the reach was just a hair farther out than would have been ideal.

-Put the risers back on for a week or so and finally decided they were just too damn tall and not for me.  Perhaps something an inch or a bit over but 2"'s too tall.

-Removed the risers again and put Phils wedges on with stock bar height.  This is a very nice compromise.  The bar ends themselves are up about an inch, and they do come back toward the rider a half inch or better, and the hand position is improved for comfort but still don't think they are as crisp as stock bar height and grip position.  I also don't like the fact that they bring the bars approx 1" closer t gather.   I prefer wider bars for better control. They do however allow for a bit more forward lean towards the bar which for me allows for a better sport riding position and overall feeling of confidence in aggressive riding.  This is how I am riding today however before I bought the wedges I had purchased a set of Murphs risers that are 1 3/8" higher and 3/4" back.  Many have found the optimum compromise to be Murphs risers with Phils wedges, so I'm sure at some point that will be my next experiment.  I also will try just Murphs risers without the wedges first, putting the angle of the grips back into the stock position, but still lifting them up and back somewhat.

[stevewfl]

Higher the grips, lower the turning performance.

Simple physics.

Proof?  Look at how low our track bike clip-ons are mounted (or the Zx14), there's a reason for all that craziness

[gPink]

Is this a deja vu thread?

[vortex2]

The reason sport bikes have low bars is to keep the rider out of the airflow for aerodynamic reasons, a lower center of gravity, a more comfortable riding position, all follow.
Turning the bike is only affected by how far apart your hands are, not how low your bars are.

[jonathan]

Is this a deja vu thread?

Yes, but as there is no longer any record of the previous threads on the topic, they never happened. The question has now been reregistered for future riders.

[Mister Tee]

The reason sport bikes have low bars is to keep the rider out of the airflow for aerodynamic reasons, a lower center of gravity, a more comfortable riding position, all follow.
Turning the bike is only affected by how far apart your hands are, not how low your bars are.

Yes but I think stevewfl's point on turning performance also includes body position.  Turning a bike is more than just turning bars (we all know that.) Having low clip ons allows for a more favorable body position in a high lean turn regardless of aerodynamics.  I can reasonably "kiss the mirror" on the C14 but I have an awkward upwards reach when I do so.

[gPink]

Yes, but as there is no longer any record of the previous threads on the topic, they never happened. The question has now been reregistered for future riders.

Man time flies. I didn't realize the previous thread was pre-crash.

[stevewfl]

Some here need to do track days with adjustable clip-ons.....   you'll see where the bars handle best whether you skipped college physics, don't think proper position with head, neck, shoulders matters, etc

Look in my avatar, with higbh bars i never could've had my head/shoulders there. Actually if the VORTEX bars would've went lower as tall as i am I'd have went down another 1/2 " or so.

AGAIN, for those who don't know - the higher the bars the more one degrades performance, thats not a grey area or compromise. Well, I guess if Hulk was ridng on a lowered 600 track bike maybe 

[ZG]

  
 
Pic's of that bike never get old...
 

 

[tbanzer]

The reason sport bikes have low bars is to keep the rider out of the airflow for aerodynamic reasons, a lower center of gravity, a more comfortable riding position, all follow.
Turning the bike is only affected by how far apart your hands are, not how low your bars are.

Incorrect, Try risers and you will feel the difference. I have a like new set with 500 mi on them for sale if anyone is interested..