Lowering Handlebars?

[RoadKill]

I have an arthritic shoulder and I'm thinking of lowering the bars on my RSV as much as possible to reduce some of the irritation I seem to have when riding. I know how to do it as I did it on my V*. Anyone done this and is there any reason NOT to do it?

Thanks,

Jay

[Freebird]

No reason not to do it if it's comfortable for you. For many folks, it causes pain between the shoulder blades but you will just have to try it. The only other thing is that you can't lower them TOO much with the stock bars without the grips hitting the gas tank if you turn too sharp.

[RoadKill]

No reason not to do it if it's comfortable for you. For many folks, it causes pain between the shoulder blades but you will just have to try it. The only other thing is that you can't lower them TOO much with the stock bars without the grips hitting the gas tank if you turn too sharp.

 

I will probably give it a try. When I was riding Friday I tried putting my hand under the bar for just a second to see what my shoulder felt like and it seemed better. I remember on my V* you couldn't go down much either. Those little chrome covers over the allen heads are the biggest pain for me trying to get them out. do you think I will need to remove all 4 or do you think I could get by loosening two just so the bar would come down a little?

 

Thanks,

PS. did you get my email on the Notice? I'm at work so PM on that.

[k7mdl]

You only need to loosen the top or bottom pair of bolts some. Loosen them enough so as to not grind the splines inside. Does not take much at all before the bars will rotate. Be sure to pad the tank in case they drop faster than you think. The caps come out reasonably easy with a small thin screw driver or xacto knfe blade.

[Freebird]

I agree...just loosen two of them and they should move.

 

As for the notices, you shouldn't be getting them now. Let me know if it's still a problem.

[Gary N.]

For what it's worth, I tried lowering the bars on mine and found the bike handled so differently I couldn't stand it and put them back to where they were. I can't remember if I had the Genmar risers or the G2 bars on the bike at the time.

Bring the tools with you when you try it out in case you have to make a change.

[SaltyDawg]

Just be careful not to get them so low that the might hit your legs. I learned the hard way about lowering them. Put GenMar risers on and didn't get the bars back in the proper place, they were lower. Felt ok but the handling was much different, but I kept it that way to see if I could get used to it. Well the result was dropping my bike for the first time and in doing so had the right handlebar end driven deep into my thigh. (Kuryakyn Stiletto) Left a bruise for about a month, not to mention the stiff leg.

 

Also be careful when tightening the bolts, they need to be tight but it's easy to round the holes out also.

 

You might actually need to put risers on or maybe go with the flanders mod. Maybe getting the bars closer to you would be better. What you are describing is what a lot of us have had and going to risers got much better.

[RoadKill]

Just be careful not to get them so low that the might hit your legs. I learned the hard way about lowering them. Put GenMar risers on and didn't get the bars back in the proper place, they were lower. Felt ok but the handling was much different, but I kept it that way to see if I could get used to it. Well the result was dropping my bike for the first time and in doing so had the right handlebar end driven deep into my thigh. (Kuryakyn Stiletto) Left a bruise for about a month, not to mention the stiff leg.

 

Also be careful when tightening the bolts, they need to be tight but it's easy to round the holes out also.

 

You might actually need to put risers on or maybe go with the flanders mod. Maybe getting the bars closer to you would be better. What you are describing is what a lot of us have had and going to risers got much better.

 

Thanks for the heads up. Did you have to adjust your clutch and brake levers any? Buddy of mine with a HD said when he lowered his he had to realign the levers to his hand position.

 

Bring the tools with you when you try it out in case you have to make a change.

Thanks Gary. I already figured I would have to make sure I could get them back too. I wonder why it makes it handle different???? You think it has something to do with how the pressure from our hands is relayed to the front wheel??

[SaltyDawg]

No I didn't change the positions, it wasn't much different. I did have to adjust the mirrors, but that was it.

[RoadKill]

Got my bars lowered last night. All clearances good. I got those little plugs out and didn't even drop one like I usually do:cool10:. There wasn't much room to go down, but it felt like it would help some. This evening I will take it out for a cruise around the country block and let you know my impressions.