Ducati Monster Forum

Everyone
     I just have a quick question, what do Bar Risers do to ergonomics of riding?  I know on long trips my lower back begins to hurt.  If anyone can help me out with giving me a little insight that would be great.  Thank you for your help. ???

It raises the handle bars, so you'll be in a more upright riding position. Bar risers and a handle bar that sweeps back towards you will make a more comfy ride.

Bar risers tend to give a Monster more of a "touring" seating position.  They will make you sit more upright and a lot of people say that they are more comfortable to ride because of this, but your head will also be up in the wind a little higher.

You also should concentrate on using a good riding position to help with your lower back.  Relax your arms, hold yourself up with your core muscles and use your knees to grip the tank.

*NOTE My bars are 1-1/8th " I do believe yours are 7/8" so you might want higher bars, like from the Monster City, But I typed the rest of this before I saw what bike you had

Bar Risers help you sit up straighter, I couldn't find any I liked so I put a Renthal FatBar on, and weeks later the Speedymoto risers came out... [bang]  These are my favorite, (+ the most expensive) and use the stock bars etc

http://www.speedymoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=03-0220BLK&Category_Code=MTC (http://www.speedymoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=03-0220BLK&Category_Code=MTC)

These are the Cheapest and fit under the stock clamps

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DUCATI-MONSTER-S2R-BAR-800-1000-S4RS-HANDLEBAR-RISERS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a570Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem350183575431QQitemZ350183575431QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DUCATI-MONSTER-S2R-BAR-800-1000-S4RS-HANDLEBAR-RISERS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a570Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem350183575431QQitemZ350183575431QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)


Almost everyone who rides my bike, says they find it more comfortable, you do need to know that with most kits, you can use the stock lines etc, If you change bars like I did the stock lines were very tight, and I replaced them with Spieglers, the wiring was ok...

Find someone close to you, meet for coffee, check out their risers, if it's for you you'll know right away.

its down to poise and posture.
Like mojo says core muscles should do most of the work.

Thanks everyone for the advice, I am thinking I want to try the risers out.  Thanks again

For me, the discomfort had to do with the stock bars, being too straight with very little sweep or pull back.  But I found that out the expensive way by first buying the SpeedyMoto risers (they are beautiful), and then getting Rizoma bars with more sweep.  Now it sits a little too high for me.  So I think just the new bars with the stock bar clamps would feel right, but the SpeedyMoto risers are just to nice to take off, vanity, I know.   8)

I've been thinking of doing this as well.   Post some pics,  Profile probably being the most important.

Will do, but it's kinda wet and dreary today, and the garage is a bit crowded for good pics.

The other thing to consider is how raising the bars changes weight distribution shifting it more toward the rear and how this will affect handling, so the suspension should be re-set accordingly, not that I've done that yet, but soon.  And sitting more upright means that the wind will hit you differently, so your helmet may catch more air, things like that.

I rode w/ bar risers for all of last season.  Not by choice, but b/c I did the SBK fork conversion and the SBK fork was longer than the stock fork.  My impression?  You sit very upright as has been said, but also almost complete loss of feel from the front.  I learned to trust my front tire w/o being able to feel what it was doing.  Not the most confidence inspiring feeling.  Obviously I slowed down my pace considerably and in the process enjoyed the scenery more.  I have since completed this process by installing clipons over the winter/spring.  Can't wait to start "hearing" from my front tire again.

The riser made a huge difference for me, as far as overall riding comfort is concerned.  Being 5'7", I have no problem reach the bars.  But I do have to lean over a bit and, over time, the riding position puts a strain on my back and wrists.  The riser will bring the bar up and back slightly.  I also have a 620 with 7/8" bar.  The 2 links posted by JustMike will NOT fit our bikes.  The riser should be rectangle, with a half circle cut out on top, to fit handle bar.  The bottom should also have a half circle stick out.

These are a few pics with the riser installed. 

Riser installed
(http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo330/toc30/DSC_1411.jpg?t=1239470476)

Riding with riser.
(http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo330/toc30/DSC_1551.jpg?t=1239471120)

Everyone,
     Thanks for the advice on the risers.  Okay I dont mean to "dovetail", from it but do clip-ons and risers negate each other?  Thanks for the help and info.

They certainly do.  Clip-ons by definition: clip onto each fork tube so they're much lower than std. handlebars (most of them w/o risers involved are lower than bars are) so if it's comfort you're after then the bar-risers are the ticket.

My g/f has an '06 620 with risers on it and you do sit more upright and 'into the wind' so that's a factor but a Monster isn't a touring bike anyways.  I think you will like the bar risers for your bike....

I've got the GenMar risers on my Monster 695. They definitely help with comfort, but don't expect a huge difference.

I've broken my back 3 times and find that I am more comfortable with a slightly bent over position so clip-ons work well for me, but it's kind of an individual thing.
The rearward change in weight bias on a bike that already has a flighty front end, can lead to lot's of problems. Be sure to add a steering damper.

I've got some risers and 1 1/8 Pro Taper Hawkins Woods bend, dirt bike style, the bars are a fairly low bend, and it's a pretty comfortable ride.   More upright than my old 900RR, a little bit too sit up on the freeway, but around town and on the backroads, lots of leverage, pretty good steering input with the wider bars.  I like them.   You can kind of see them in the avatar.  Now that I look, you really can't see them. 

I just bought a set of the cheap ones to try out, do the stock cables work or do they need to be changed as well?

+1 on the 'bars too straight' - gets my thumbs under the grips more than ideal methinks.
I don't find severe discomfort and more upright wouldn't suit me but it seems I might be slightly happier with more swept back. Of course the the tank comes into play. Don't think I'd want to drop down to clipons either.
I'd go slow with changes tho - really be sure you're heading in the right direction, imo.

The cables will be a tight fit after installing the risers.  But they will fit.  I had to rotate the bar back to slide it in the new position.  I also had to rotate the connectors on the brake and clutch cylinders to gain that little bit of length for the brake lines. 

I wish I'd read this post sooner - as Ive had both the genmar risers with stock bars, and now the Rizoma bars back on stock mounts on my s2r.

While the genmar helped me out with comfort the Rizomas are WAY more comfortable based on their rise and sweep.  Just more natural than the stock bars I replaced (maguras).

I would've recommended skipping the risers and just got the better, more ergonomic bars. 

Regarding the handing/feel - I "felt" better and in more control on the raised bars than stock height.  I have yet to get a good canyon day in with the new rizomas, but my first couple short rides seemed the position was really good.

Good luck with your experiment.