Ducati Monster Forum

Hey folks.  We've gone through a bit of work to dial in the fit for my short wife on her M620, and we're nearly there.  The bike has been lowered about 1.25" front & rear, and we've had almost 2" added to the soles of her riding boots.  We'll be getting the shift lever cut & welded to accommodate the new fat boot and allow her to shift (for now, she shifts up by putting her foot entirely in front of the lever and hooking it with her heel).

The last variable is the reach to the bars, which is a bit too long for her still.  The bike has 1.25" handlebar riser inserts in place now, which helps a bit, but we want to move the bars back about another 2", which will require raising them at least 2" in order for the switchgear to clear the tank.  So, by my very rough calcs, that means about 3.25" higher than stock, and 2" farther back than stock.  I'm fine with continuing to use the riser inserts or with getting rid of them and having the extra rise come from the bars.

Hunting around, I found these specs which look pretty close to what I was able to measure with the bars on the bike:


It doesn't say anything about end rise, which looks to be about 0", but which will be important for whatever I end up getting since we'll have to have the bars leaned back a fair bit to shorten the reach, so we'll need some of that end rise to compensate.

So, what's the approach here?  I can do a bit of trig to calculate the ideal specs for the kind of bar we want, but then what?  What are good sources for bars with lots of flexibility in dimensions?  The Renthal High Road bend looks not too far off, and that's a brand I trust, but are there other good brands out there with a variety of size choices?

I also came across these things: Riser adapters (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ROX-ELITE-SERIES-PIVOT-HANDLEBAR-RISER-5-7-8-1-1-8-/120768243396).  Not sure if my wife can accept how they look, but they would give quite a bit of flexibility in the placement & orientation of the bars, which could be nice.  Anyone here have any experience with them?

Lastly, I'll almost certainly need new throttle cables given the amount we are looking to move the bars.  I think that most folks go with Motion Pro - is that the defacto standard?

Any advice or pointers on this would be much appreciated.

Just throwing this in...

http://www.mv-motorrad.de/lshop,showdetail,2490,e,1334520593-18530,1254296607,90000d,,Tshowrub--1254296607,.htm (http://www.mv-motorrad.de/lshop,showdetail,2490,e,1334520593-18530,1254296607,90000d,,Tshowrub--1254296607,.htm)

have you looked at the dimensions of the Monster City bars?

Cool.  Those look like the same idea as the ROX riser adapters, only not as long, and a whole lot more money.  I showed them to my wife and she thinks it's a good way to go:


And on the cables?  Is Motion Pro the way to go?

Another, probably cheaper option with no tax and less shipping, is the SW-Motech riser/bar-back carried by TwistedThrottle. They are not listed, but can probably be ordered.

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productlist/217/ (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productlist/217/)

From what I've been able to gather, they have about 4.5-5" of rise, vs the 2.5" of the stock bars.  What I haven't been able to determine is stuff like pullback or end rise, which would be very important given that we want/need to lean the bars back so she can reach them.

What I like about the Rox pivoting risers is that it seems like it would be the most flexible in the position and orientation of the bars.  My concern is that leaning them back enough to reduce the reach to the bars would cause interference with the tank.

These guys (Flanders) have a good selection of bars.
http://www.sideroadcycles.com/ImportedMotorcycles/ImportHandlebars/ImportHandlebars.html (http://www.sideroadcycles.com/ImportedMotorcycles/ImportHandlebars/ImportHandlebars.html)

You'll have to get about halfway into the catalogue to get to the 7/8" diameter bars.

I think that what we're going to do is go custom.  The design will be a lot like the Rox one shown above, but the arms will be curved in order to clear the steep hump at the front of the tank.  The plan is to dial in the fit and the shape with pieces made from MDF, and then have them replicated in aluminum.  It'll be a while before we can get this done, but I'll post pics and updates as we go through it.

Good  [thumbsup]

Make sure you have room to operate the key - maybe also think about how or if you want to be able to lift the tank.

Both very good points.  I think that the key will be manageable with what I have in mind (although a bit of a pain as with my KTM with the GPS mounted via the bar risers).  I'm pretty sure that lifting the tank will require loosening the stock riser caps and swinging the whole assembly up/forward.

Small price to pay for her to have the ability to ride all day. :)