Do risers change the attitude of the bike?

[stevewfl]

Me, I must have long arms because if anything, I would like lower bars.  That said, I find the bar position (for me) to be a good compromise between comfort and handling.  The seating position is bolt upright, yet I can still manage to get my body in a reasonably good position in a heavy lean.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^That. Any lower for better aggressive handling while railing it  and it'll be just as uncomfortable as my prior sport bikes on trips.  Any higher and I compromise handling per the laws of simple physics, of course not an option for me.

If I had a medical condition or couldn't comfortably ride on trips I would raise them, that would be priority for me on this type bike anyway. But not this high:

[metzgerf16]

To the OP, I have Murph's risers (1 3/8" I believe), and I ride the **** out of my bike when I ride in the local area.  I usually ride with guys on sport bikes, and I've yet to see anyone show up on a heavier bike than mine lol.  I probably ride the Connie harder than one should on a regular basis, but it's damn hard to ride it slow if you ask me.  I don't find that the risers impact my ability to ride aggressively at all.  I can't shift my weight like I can on the Ninja I just bought, but I can do what I need to do in order to control the big bike.  The Concours is meant to be more comfortable than a sport bike, so there's already a lot of compromise in the riding position.  Risers won't change things too much.  I'll take the added comfort of risers over any minimal gain in performance I would get from stock grip height.

As for the extra hand pressure you experience during aggressive riding and braking hard into corners, like some others have suggested, try using your core to suppport more of your weight.  You don't want to put all of your upper body weight on your hands as that will fatigue you very quickly.  It takes some practice, but you can figure out in a few rides.  You should be holding the grips with just enough pressure to control the bike.  Avoid resting on your hands while riding.  My father experienced some of the same soreness when he transitioned from a Gold Wing to the C14, but after putting more miles on the bike, he's figured out how to take a lot of the pressure off his hands.  Another thing you can do is lower the windshield.  This will allow more air to hit your chest and kind of hold you up, if that makes sense.  When you go into corners, try applying pressure to the hand that's inside of the corner you're taking...right turn, pressure on right grip...left turn, pressure on left grip.  This allow the outside hand and forearm to relax a bit.  Obviously, you don't want to let go of the opposite grip, but you shouldn't be grabbing the outside grip with the same amount of pressure as the inside grip.  I've put that method to the test, and helps reduce arm-pump significantly. 

[manowarwi]

Because of how I use my right hand in fast cornering/hard braking, my left hand takes slightly more weight and it twists outwards putting pressure along the outside edge of my hand - this is the likely cause of the tingling/numbness in my ring and little fingers from nerve pressure damage, and the fatigue pain I experience in my left shoulder.

Glennn, I had a similar problem with pressure along the outside of my hand when I first bought my C14, although not to the point of numbness in my shoulder - although I did get that years ago on my R1.  My simple solution was to put tennis grip tape on the inside of my handlebars which took all of the pressure off my hands.  Since doing this last June, I haven't had any pain except for my sore butt - but that's a diff issue    Check out my old thread here: http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=1451.msg14900#msg14900

[rtarp1]

i dont understand your question here.  your almost a cripple from the bike as it is and your afraid the bike wont handle as well with risers on it?   let me ask your this , how will the bike handle when you cant feel your hands and your shoulder is screaming in pain so much you cant ride the bike .  im betting its handling will suffer quite a bit then .  get the risers.  im 6ft and i have 2 inch risers and phils wedges from murphs kits.  Fixed the problem and you will get use to the new attitude.

[Excavator]

I installed Murph's risers last week, it certainly does take some of the weight/pressure off my wrist and shoulders, should have done it sooner.

[Glennn]

i dont understand your question here.  your almost a cripple from the bike as it is and your afraid the bike wont handle as well with risers on it?

If feedback for the risers were they completely change the attitude of the bike, turning it from what I bought it for which was Sport Tourer into a Tourer then the outcome would have been the same - I would have sold the bike.

As it is, thanks to the responses in this thread, I have some risers and wedges in transit from Murph's as I type.  If I have another instance of the same symptoms post riser/wedges install then I will be selling the bike. 

Maybe it's a condition on the bike that can be fixed for others, or maybe I have some physiological issues that can't be fixed, but there's only so much money I will throw after it and I know Cruisers will have me back with open arms.

[rtarp1]

Hey glenn,  you'll spend and lose more money selling the bike than you would fixing the problem.  With my 2 inch risers and wedges i have no problem scraping footpeg feelers.

[Shadowofshoe]

    I dunno guys ,but I always try hard to keep a loose grip with hands arms bent and utilize my lower body. When I forget it hurts usually hands first and when I execute correctly I feel great-this may be oversimplifying-but I have had a crappy back which led to a C4-C5 fusion.
         Mike

[Glennn]

you'll spend and lose more money selling the bike than you would fixing the problem. 

Not as much as I could spend on farkles only to lose it all if forced to sell the bike if the condition doesn't improve.

 

[rtarp1]

glenn ,  risers are only 100 bucks if that doeasnt work then you have the 700 dollar option, i cant remember the name of them on murphs kits website.   you will lose alot more than that selling it and you will lose the best sport tourer out there.     

[Breaker19]

No, I don't think they change the bike a bit in regards to drivability. I put Murphs' risers on, rode a couple hundred miles last weekend, all I had was a bit of a stiff neck and upper back, but that's because I am just getting used to the bike and position, and I switched from my 1/2 helmet on the Harley to a full-face job on this bike. Even a slight lean-forward position is going to put a different strain on neck and back muscles, until I get used to it. No numbness or tingling, etc. I have since ordered the wedges, they should be in perhaps as early as tomorrow. Risers helped a lot, for sure. Wedges supposedly raise the bar ends upwards about 1 inch, that'll help a lot too.

[maxtog]

all I had was a bit of a stiff neck and upper back, but that's because I am just getting used to the bike and position, [...]. Even a slight lean-forward position is going to put a different strain on neck and back muscles, until I get used to it.

+1  You can adapt a bike to help with your body (which I do recommend), but your body still has to adapt to a bike.  Even small changes in positioning can require re-adapting again.  And even with an "ideal" setup and body positioning, it still requires practice to build the appropriate support muscles.  Then combine it all with sensible body-awareness (paying attention to what your body is telling you) to help spread the load and prevent damage (like strained muscles or damaged nerves).

[Glennn]

Well, folks I did say the risers and wedges were in-transit and they are now sitting beside me (along with a Cee Bailys euro tour shield).  I'll be installing them over the next week or so while trying to stay off the bike as much as possible to let my hand recover as much as it can (still some slight numbness but it has been improving). 

In a few weekends time away I have another three day ride coming up which will again feature some twisty road riding on at least two of the three days and we'll see how things go.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

glenn ,  risers are only 100 bucks if that doeasnt work then you have the 700 dollar option, i cant remember the name of them on murphs kits website.   you will lose alot more than that selling it and you will lose the best sport tourer out there.   

There are two options for endless adjustability.  LSL and Helibars.  The LSL bars are what I am looking into for my next big purchase.  They also look really nice on the C14.

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=130_133&products_id=387

[Cuda]

I'm a big fan of the LSL bars, I cut my Ulnar nerve 22 years ago , had to have a nerve cut out of my right leg near the foot to replace it in my arm to get the fingers moving again, I did not have to drive very far for pain in my right hand , LSL's change the angle , in a good way.