Important note about the Heli-bars.

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Credit goes to Brodo.Waggins for this important thread.

I thought the Heli-bars reached out further to the rider so we shorter guys would not need to lean forward on our R18B/TC's.

On the Heli-bars, Brodo measured the distance from the Marshall speakers logo to the center of the endcap on the handle grips. I then did the same on my R18TC.

His distance was 11.5 inches. My distance was 12 inches.

THIS MEANS THE HELI-BARS DONT REACH OUT FURTHER AT THE OUTER END OF THE GRIPS.

I suspect the distance from the Marshall logo to the inside of the grips would be greater on the Heli-bars.

Take a look at the following two pics and note surprisingly that the stock grips are further away from the Marshall logo at the chrome end cap.

My bars

OEM bars (1).jpg

Heli-bars

heli bars (1).jpg
 
The heli bars are not as wide as the oem bars, right? Plus the grips are angled differently. And then there is the angle at which you mount the handlebars. I think that those parameters combined could make an inch of difference.

So I think it would be better to measure from the center of the grips, straight forward to the fairing. This means different measuring points at the instrument panel for the oem and heli bars. Maybe you could put a wooden lath across the instruments/speakers to aid the measuring.

But if the oem bars are wider it still means a different arm position/angle.

Just my two cents. But I'm not near my garage right now and it's not easy to imagine the angles. Perhaps their significance is smaller than I think.
 
insomnia said:
So I think it would be better to measure from the center of the grips,
Click to expand...
I agree with insomnia.
From the images it looks like the center of OEM is around 8.5" and the HBar is around 10". I'm also 5'7" and waiting for the review of the HBar....not enough pullback for me to purchase.
 
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I am so wanting more pull back in the bars. Not sure of my next move. I suppose a custom job would do at about $1k.
 
This is interesting but confusing (due to conflicting info from different sources). Perhaps the angle in which Brodo.Waggins installed his bar has something to do with this.

This photo from Helibar's website seems to suggest that it would be possible to have a closer reach.

Also, this video shows a direct comparison.
 
Vyk said:
This is interesting but confusing (due to conflicting info from different sources). Perhaps the angle in which Brodo.Waggins installed his bar has something to do with this.

This photo from Helibar's website seems to suggest that it would be possible to have a closer reach.

Also, this video shows a direct comparison.
Click to expand...
Thank you Vyk for the pic link and video link.

In the photo, I noticed the clamp portion of the Heli-bar is positioned aft of the stock bar. If they could somehow share the clamp portion space, the Heli bar would not be further back I don't think.

Now I must admit that the angle at which the bars are rotated before being clamped would have a lot to do with the distance comparison. This is likely what happened with the Brodo bar. I think his bar must have been rotated up as if for a tall rider.

The video gives me a ray of hope, but once again, the Heli-bar was positioned aft of the stock bar. This needs to be considered when comparing.
 
insomnia said:
This video says the heli bars are one inch wider than stock bars.
Click to expand...
I had not seen this video either.
I am getting better vibes now in that the Heli-bars appear able to rotate down (I don't need 6 inches taller) to give more pull back.
There is one puzzle that still has me confused........I owned a Kawasaki Voyager 2 years ago and their bars were not buck horn style at all but rather out to the side. It was not good on the wrist so I raised my elbows out in order to relax the wrist on the bars. The Heli-bars grips appear to point outward like that of the voyager.
But then again, if the bars are closer I would pull the trigger and buy the polished stainless steel version.
I need for the bars to come back closer to me !
 
I think the secret to getting the bars closer is to rotate them down. Not sure if the reservoirs can mount level that way. I sure hope so.
 
R12C-R18TC said:
I think the secret to getting the bars closer is to rotate them down. Not sure if the reservoirs can mount level that way. I sure hope so.
Click to expand...
I have my Helibars rotated as far down as possible with the reservoirs being "level". Any further, and the reservoirs would be angled too high. The bar design does not allow for a lot of rotation of the reservoirs unfortunately.

To be clear, I do feel the Helibars are closer to rider but not by a large margin. My thinking is the angle of the bars and the taller height helps pull the bars closer to the rider's arms. Do I think they're worth the $500 or so after taxes? Probably not, but I do prefer them over the stock bars.

OjDGoRt.jpg
 
Brodo.Waggins said:
I have my Helibars rotated as far down as possible with the reservoirs being "level". Any further, and the reservoirs would be angled too high. The bar design does not allow for a lot of rotation of the reservoirs unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Ooh I see. That seems like a big design flaw to me.

Would you mind posting some pictures of where the obstruction occurs when installing the bar to be lower and closer? Much appreciated!
 
Now I understand why most of the Heli-bar pics I've seen show them 4-6 inches above stock. The reason they can't be lowered is the brake and clutch levers are up against a stop. Any lower and the levers are at awkward angle and not useable. Brado, you have been a great help.
Now I just gotta figure out if there is another vendor out there somewhere. BMW needs to make an alternative set of "ape hangers" as they called them on the R1200C. The ergonomics on my C were perfect (I had the drop down floorboards).
 
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