Raising the bar...?

[BA BUSA]

Stock bars

 

[AJAY]

The GenMar riser came today. Solid block of aluminum. The thing must weigh 2 lbs! Wish I had a big mill to hog out some pockets for lightening. The plastic snoopy's copy (or whatever it's called) might be a better approach, or maybe I should have gotten the Heli Bars that I wanted in the first place.

The plastic genmar copy is called Soupy's. (not Snoopy's! ) It is plastic with aluminum inserts. It has to weigh a lot less than the GenMar.

Of course, the Heli Bars are probably lightest of all, and the cleanest, too.

 

[lee busa]

HeliBars..love'em

 

[bfbusa]

Sorry for the long delay. Yes I can turn lock to lock, after I trimmed the outer edges of the sport touring windshield.
Ride safe. Bill

 

[Mellow77]

Agreed, that's where I am. I'm very interested in this thread as this will be my next mod.

"Still stock setup, but I really want to change it!"​

 

[Mellow77]

What is the tallest setup you can put on a Gen1 with a double bubble? Did I miss this question someplace? I'm sure it's been covered but couldn't find the answer.

 

[AJAY]

Installed a Genmar 1.25" last night. Neither of the two hydraulic reservoirs hit the windscreen at lock. This is with the clutch and levers rotated down slightly so they are straight with my arms which is how I like them positioned. Test ride is today!

 

[AJAY]

Put about 50 miles on the bike today with the 1.25" Genmar riser installed. Good mix of urban and backroads riding. I'm only 5'7" and the stock bars were quite a stretch for me.

General impression: Huge improvement in comfort. Sporting position is not appreciably compromised. You're still "face first" down the road with some weight on your wrists, but a lot less than the stock bars. A hard core rider would probably want to be down at the stock position, but then a hard core rider wouldn't be asking about risers, right?

Installation: The quality of the Genmar riser is very high. Everything lined up beautifully. Installation was under 30 minutes. Needed to remove both hydraulic reservoirs and unhook the fast idle line from the clip below the triple tree. Would have liked to rotate the brake lever down just a bit more, but banjo bolt hits the upper triple tree and can't be rotated forward due to a stop on the reservoir casting. I'll file that back a bit if I ever install braided lines.

Comfort: Greatly improved. I wish the bar angle was a little more upward like the Heli Bars appear to do, but you can't fault Genmar for that.

Dealing with Genmar: Super nice folks. I bought this riser used and did not get the bolts with it. The bolts are very long and hard to find for the 1.25" riser. Called Genmar who sold me the bolts at a very fair price (I was shopping online at this point after learning that Grainger doesn't carry them this long). What's more, instead of a typical ridiculous "handling charge", they only charged me $3, which was the postage on the package when I got the bolts.

Final thoughts: I still want the Heli Bars, but can't get myself to spend $209 for them. That said, I knew the Genmar riser was a big improvement when I noticed I was still holding the bars while waiting at a traffic light at the end of my ride. With the stock bars, I would be taking any opportunity to get off my wrists, including riding one handed.

- Cheers, AJ

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

AJAY,

Excellent review! Thanks for that. Sounds like the Genmar is big improvment, easy to install and not too pricey. Congratulations!

I still have yet to make my decision, but your review is very helpful. Thanks!

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

It's interesting to note, that as of now, with 70 votes cast, for all rider height ranges, the breakdown is as follows:

Stock: 30 42.86%
Risers: 10 14.29%
Helibars:19 27.14%
Other: 11 15.71%

Contrary to my expectation, the overwhelming majority of folks have left their bars stock. On the other hand, as I expected, of those whom did make a bar change, Helibars are the most commonly chosen solution.

I'm thinkin' a set of Helibars are in my near future.

PS: If ya haven't yet voted/posted, please join the fray. Thanks!

 

[afterhours]

if you are used to riding a UJM style bike....you need to change "your" style. the Busa is a cadillac when compared to my R6.....even my zx12.

the issue is not height,arm reach or any other mesurement. if you are used to riding a certain way, more upright then you will feel the difference on your suzuki. what you are trying to do is give the busa the ergos of a UJM......why would you try to turn the greatest bike of all time into a UJM?

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

if you are used to riding a UJM style bike....you need to change "your" style. the Busa is a cadillac when compared to my R6.....even my zx12.

the issue is not height,arm reach or any other mesurement. if you are used to riding a certain way, more upright then you will feel the difference on your suzuki. what you are trying to do is give the busa the ergos of a UJM......why would you try to turn the greatest bike of all time into a UJM?

Yep, my riding life has been mostly UJM stuff. And yes, I've been learning to ride with a different posture, using my legs and core more, keeping the arms loose/putting less weight on the wrists, etc.

Why turn the bike into a UJM? Well, a) not trying to do that, b) I AM lookin' to be as comfortable on the bike as possible and c) I don't think a 1-2" mod on the height and/or front/rear postitioning of the bars will remove the BUSA-ness from the bike. I'll just be more comfortable, especially on longer rides. Obviously, this entire matter is purely subjective and, as evidenced by the poll and posts in this thread, there are a myriad of different opinions on the issue by riders of all dimensions.

 

[Mellow77]

 

[wardie]

I am running Helibars and I like the position. Much better than stock but not so high as it would dtract from the looks or rider position. I am using the Factory Suzuki Sport Touring windshield and have no problems lock to lock with interference. Wardie

 

[Salty]

Slightly off topic here but I have heard a lot of discussion in this thread about the Buell Mod Foot Pegs...after lowering the foot peg position has anyone noticed any clearance issues at high speed cornering...or any additional peg scraping having the lower pegs?

I'm 6"1 and about 220lbs...I would be interested in lowering my pegs if it does not affect clearance in cornering...I feel slightly cramped some days with the factory set up and have been thinking about doing a set of helibars...but maybe just doing the Buell mod would improve my comfort...

 

[Mellow77]

Busago,

I've got them on mine and the pegs are a whole lot thinner than the OEM's. They don't really lower the bottom of the pegs so I haven't had any problems with them.

 

[AJAY]

Slightly off topic here but I have heard a lot of discussion in this thread about the Buell Mod Foot Pegs...after lowering the foot peg position has anyone noticed any clearance issues at high speed cornering...or any additional peg scraping having the lower pegs?

I'm 6"1 and about 220lbs...I would be interested in lowering my pegs if it does not affect clearance in cornering...I feel slightly cramped some days with the factory set up and have been thinking about doing a set of helibars...but maybe just doing the Buell mod would improve my comfort...

Haven't done the footpeg mod yet, but do have the Buell parts already. It looks to me like the Buell pegs without the curb feelers should be about the same height off the ground as the tips of the feelers on the stock pegs.

 

[BigK]

The GenMar riser came today. Solid block of aluminum. The thing must weigh 2 lbs! Wish I had a big mill to hog out some pockets for lightening. The plastic snoopy's copy (or whatever it's called) might be a better approach, or maybe I should have gotten the Heli Bars that I wanted in the first place.

Anyway.... Hope to install this on Saturday and will give you a report.

- Cheers, AJ

Where/Who did you buy the GenMar riser from?

 

[BusaWhipped]

6'4" 260#. I have 1 1/4" Genmars on, but with the rear of the bike up 1" and the front down 1/2", I'm still below stock with the risers. Work on your legs, abs, and back and get some form of cruise control to help out the wrists. I do 600 mile day trips without really thinking about it and have done over 800 in a day.

 

[AJAY]

Where/Who did you buy the GenMar riser from?

Got mine cheap off of ebay. Former owner had it chromed which is kind of cool.

Soupy's can be found for around $100 shipped.
Here's the link to GenMar
Handlebar Risers Handlebar Accessories Custom Handlebars Motorcycle Handlebars Motorcycle Handlebar Accessories Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki - GenMar Mfg
though you can find them a little cheaper.