Helibars! More than just for comfort...

Originally Posted by embee

Yes, I have FJ1200 bars on my SK1S and the control is much better than with the standard bars.

I found there's simply too much weight on the bars to be able to get full control, but with the bars that bit higher and further back you have very little weight on them and it's all control and not support.

Good innit?

Have you got any pics?

Is it just me that is struggling to see where the price of helibars comes from?

£229 for two metal tubes with bolts in them welded to two more lenghts of tube??

Are they gold plated? Diamond studded? Come with a free ladyfriend?

Carl

They are damn expensive but I get the feeling they will be perfect in the quest to get my SV spot on.

Here they are. Yes, it's hard to see where the £230 odd quid goes, but you could say the same for a bit of bent metal (end can) which someone will happily spend a few £100 on, or plastic/anodised tat which people spend loads on: neither of those improves the comfort or handling of the bike, so I reckon the helibars is some of the best money I've spent on the SV so far, the only one that betters it is the R6 throttle tube conversion which wins mainly because it's only £8 or less to do.


View from the front - deceptive - the bars are almost as wide as the mirrors in reality


From behind, you can see the bars stick out more


In this one the old clip on bar is in line with the helibar (though below it) and you can see where the old bar would have to fit on the bike to give the same grip location as the helibar does, about 2 inches further back, plus the helibar is higher, about one inch.

It doesn't seem like a lot but it's enough to make a difference on the road and any more than that and you'd need to replace all the brake, clutch, throttle, etc. cables.

Looking at that last photo, surely an engineering firm could have welded you in a couple of bits of aluminium in the risers for less than £230?

They cut and rewelded a dented alloy wheel for my Audi for £30.

For those using FJ1200 forks, what's the mods required to use them on a curvy?

Cheers,
Carl

[embee]

FJ1200 bars on SV-SK1

Originally Posted by Colby

Have you got any pics?

Originally Posted by embee

FJ1200 bars on SV-SK1

This looks great. Have you got a "how to" guide any place? And do they touch the fairings at full lock?

Matt

[embee]

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

This looks great. Have you got a "how to" guide any place? And do they touch the fairings at full lock?

Matt

Not as such. It's not a direct bolt on job, you need to grind some of the inside edge of the upright away to clear the top yoke (they're forged steel and plenty strong enough). You need to be confident in doing these sort of adaption jobs (bodge?). Not rocket science but needs resources.



I also welded on a small pad and drilled/tapped it for the standard SV master cyl reservoir, and welded on lugs to use the security bolts into the top yoke.

Clearance on full lock is fine to the fairing, I've got them set to give just enough clearance to the tank not to trap thumbs. I swapped them left/right (they're marked L/R), they're slightly offset from the fork centreline and it gives a better angle. They end up "flatter" than the std SV bars, but it's much more like the angle of most other bike bars. It looks almost the same end position as the helibars. Very comfy and much better control.

30mm longer brake hose required, cost me £20 in stainless locally. All other services fit.

That's why the helibars are worth it, if you want something you can take out of the box and fit with some spanners, hex keys and screwdrivers within an hour or two.

I did have a slight problem today - I'd changed the position of the bars so they were right back, stopping short of the tank by a few mm. Frankly it was horrid - not much extra comfort and the throttle cables were pulled tight on full right lock, consequently the bike would either rev up or down and try to accelerate or stall (not in a scary dangerous way, more in an irritating way) when the bars were on full right lock, so I set them forwards a bit again and they're fine. Goes to show that the helibars have been designed to give the maximum amount of extra reach possible with the original cables.

just a warning, i did get them (helibars) shipped from the states, and it ended up costing me £4 more than the UK distributer. UPS get you for the import duty at the point of delivery. So it's not worth it, use http://www.bykebitz.co.uk/

Originally Posted by richbeales

just a warning, i did get them (helibars) shipped from the states, and it ended up costing me £4 more than the UK distributer. UPS get you for the import duty at the point of delivery. So it's not worth it, use http://www.bykebitz.co.uk/

That's a shame - I thought about doing the import myself as it looked like it would save a fair bit, but the last time I brought something in at that cost it got whacked with the import. That was UPS too - cheers guys!