I made these bar-backs from stuff on hand in about a day, which included a couple hours of head scratching and a wood mockup.
Approximate net change at each grip: 1/4” up, 1” back , 3/4” wider, 10 degrees rotation outwards.
The improvement was more than the numbers would suggest, and a lot more than I expected. I'm sitting up enough straighter that I need the windshield noticeably higher. My back, neck, arms and wrists are in more relaxed positions. Test ride was two 90 minute legs. Zero left wrist pain, still some in right wrist after second leg, indicating I need to work harder at relaxing my throttle hand. Zero neck strain on first leg, a little near the end of the second leg. A massive improvement for me, and well worth the zero dollars I spent.
In case any readers might be somewhat arthritic old farts like me, I'll say that if you suspect your stock ergonomics might be causing pain, do something about it ASAP instead of waiting like I did. The details on my DIY effort are below the photo if anybody wants to do something similar.
Essentially, the bars are now positioned such that their fasteners are just behind the triple clamp, and 3/8” higher.
Made from 3/8” thick steel, painted. 1/2” aluminum might be better, but I didn't have any.
Removed the fuel tank. Removed and replaced the triple clamp in order to removed the wire loom entirely. Liberated the 12mm fasteners from the loom and ground a flat spot on one side of each head. Welded a little tab on the underside of each bar-back to mate with the flat spot.
The bar-backs are thinner than the triple clamp, so ground off the unthreaded portion on the top of each 12mm fastener so the bar cover plates would fit flush. Tapped the rear 8mm hole in each bar-back because there isn't enough room underneath for a nut. Shortened the original 8mm socket screws so they only extend slightly below the bar-backs.
Left the pins in the bars and drilled the bar-backs to suit. There are no pins in the bar-backs so their position can float before tightening the new bolts. Which are at the front of the slots in the triple clamp, so the bar-backs could be pulled back the length of the slots, although it would take some rejiggering to find enough slack.
Rotated the brake line banjo a bit for extra slack. Removed the wiring from its captive clips on the underside of the bars. Tied wiring to hydraulic hoses. Tied throttle cables to the outside of the fork leg below the triple clamp, to prevent them snagging. Cables and wiring are now about as tight as I'm comfortable with at full lock.
Approximate net change at each grip: 1/4” up, 1” back , 3/4” wider, 10 degrees rotation outwards.
The improvement was more than the numbers would suggest, and a lot more than I expected. I'm sitting up enough straighter that I need the windshield noticeably higher. My back, neck, arms and wrists are in more relaxed positions. Test ride was two 90 minute legs. Zero left wrist pain, still some in right wrist after second leg, indicating I need to work harder at relaxing my throttle hand. Zero neck strain on first leg, a little near the end of the second leg. A massive improvement for me, and well worth the zero dollars I spent.
Essentially, the bars are now positioned such that their fasteners are just behind the triple clamp, and 3/8” higher.
Made from 3/8” thick steel, painted. 1/2” aluminum might be better, but I didn't have any.
Removed the fuel tank. Removed and replaced the triple clamp in order to removed the wire loom entirely. Liberated the 12mm fasteners from the loom and ground a flat spot on one side of each head. Welded a little tab on the underside of each bar-back to mate with the flat spot.
The bar-backs are thinner than the triple clamp, so ground off the unthreaded portion on the top of each 12mm fastener so the bar cover plates would fit flush. Tapped the rear 8mm hole in each bar-back because there isn't enough room underneath for a nut. Shortened the original 8mm socket screws so they only extend slightly below the bar-backs.
Left the pins in the bars and drilled the bar-backs to suit. There are no pins in the bar-backs so their position can float before tightening the new bolts. Which are at the front of the slots in the triple clamp, so the bar-backs could be pulled back the length of the slots, although it would take some rejiggering to find enough slack.
Rotated the brake line banjo a bit for extra slack. Removed the wiring from its captive clips on the underside of the bars. Tied wiring to hydraulic hoses. Tied throttle cables to the outside of the fork leg below the triple clamp, to prevent them snagging. Cables and wiring are now about as tight as I'm comfortable with at full lock.
