Heli Bars Vs Handlebar Conversion Vs ?

I know there are a lot of guys out there that have said they love the Heli bars on the VFR but I have not read much about the handlebar conversion. Does anyone have any experience with something like the Spiegler Handlebar conversions? It looks like both are pretty close to the same price. Cant really find anything that gives actual detailed height and pull back measurements on them either.

I am really wanting to do something with the bars on mine. Most of my riding is all back roads, a little commuting and almost never interstate. So most of my speeds average between 45-65mph for the most part. I feel like I am still getting a good bit of hand pressure and some wrist pain too. Even when I try to concentrate really hard on proper posture, so I am back to looking into Heli Bars or something of that nature. What I am scared of is spending $300 on them and I do not get the results I am looking for. So that is why I am here asking questions and checking and comparing bikes on the Ergonomics web site. (which by the way, I think that is a really cool site)

According to that site for my bike, my back angle sits at 29 degrees.
With the Heli bars it moves to 23 degrees.
My Dads old BMW K1200GT is very comfortable to me and that bike bone stock sits at 23 degrees with no risers. BUT his bike has risers. Just not sure what the height and pull back are on them.

I have tried pulling the bars up to the top of the fork tubes but that did not give me good results. I have tried sitting on other bikes to get an idea of what feels good and trying to compare to see if I can get my VFR to sit a little more of what I would like it to. One thing that I have discovered is that I really like the way that most of the adventure bikes sit. (Guess they take me back to my dirt bikes days too and I like the old dirt bike feel.) I know the VFR will never even come close to that but if I could get her to sit a little more comfortable, then I think I would be happy until the day that I do bring home an adventure machine.

Basically I am just trying to research if whether or not I feel like spending the money on risers or handlebars will be worth the money spent and if not, then I will just ride her like she is and deal with it.

 

Check out in 6 th Gen Forums thread "ole man bad back touring setup" posted by "Thethaw". Some good info on speigler setup.

I'd post a link but I'm at work & my phone is currently smarter than I am.

 

Many times an easy path to info is to just go to a search engine with a few keywords.

Example for HeliBars for your bike: Google: "helibars 2006 vfr 800" resulted in this:

https://www.helibars.com/bikes/2006-honda-vfr800


Google is smarter than any of us..

Does not that 23 degree figure relate to overall height and reach?

I have Helis on the mach 1 91. If and when I sell the bike if ever, I still have the stock bars and the Helis will add pesos to the sale price. They do not "wear oot" .

 

I will have to look for that article tonight when I get home. Sounds like a good one to read.

The 23 degree number is the angle of the riders back or the degree of forward lean. (At least it is for my height)

 

Link to thread mentioned in post #2 : ole man bad back touring setup

 

Even the GenMar risers, which raise the handlebars by only about 2cm, made a significant difference in the comfort of the VFR. Based on what people have said, it seems the $200-300 for the HeliBars is money well spent. After all, the best motorcycle is the one that's ridden and making it more comfortable will encourage you to ride.

 

I actually went from Heli bars on my 93 (I know, not a gen 6) to some Apex clipons. They come in low and hi rise, they're pretty much adjustable for just about everything: rise, pull back, clipon angle, and a small amount of fore/aft. They are a bit finicky to set up due to all the adjustability and once adjusted you do have to drill out he centering peg on the switch-controls but once set, no more tinkering. I've since added a set to my 97 as well. The only down side I see is that they do widen your grip width probably 1-2 inches due to the mounting clamp. and as with any adjustment, throttle cables and brake lines limit the amount of rise and pull back. I just ordered some custom lines/cables tho. Might not be perfect but the plus-es outweight the minuses for me.

here's the link to the web site:

https://www.apexmfg.com/products/apex-clip-ons

 

The link does have some "articles". The main page is the data on added width and rise from the HeliBar website. I would suggest that the same protocol be applied to get data and even one well done Utube video on a Spiegler conversion on a 2006 VFR.

All of the alternative handlebar "kits" look to be well made and engineered. Fitment may be another can of worms to your bike. This would be best addressed using the contacts a/o search boxes on the various websites.

I think too that if it is decided to speak with the representatives of any of the various outfits, have your height and reach stats at hand.

Lowering your bike is one other alternative though better perhaps to lower the seat height which will not affect handling and clearance.

l

 

Another question for you guys.... I have been looking around on the web and it seems that pretty much everyone sells the Heli Bars at about $300. Is there anyone out there that has them for less? I have been watching Ebay and other places for a used set but I have never seen a used set for sale so that kind of tells me that if I don't like them or want to sell them in the future, that should be really easy.



I am kind of leaning towards a set of the Heli Bars now due to the fact that they will sit to the closest to how my Dads bike sits and his bike is comfortable to me. Plus they look a little closer to what is on the bike now.



I did contact the guys that make the handlebar conversion and the guy was great with trying to give me specs on rise and pull back but he did not have exact numbers. From his best guess with the bars that come in the standard kit, it looks like both the Heli and the LSL kit sit almost the same.

 

Spend a little extra and buy these. Extremely adjustable in height, angle, and rotation. I can change the entire set up from almost straight up touring to lower than stock in about 1-2 minutes. No presets, make them like you want them. If you do a little rerouting with cables and lines you can almost get the entire range without buying any new lines.

http://www.convertibars.com/

 

I have the LSL ST5 conversion on my 2003 VTEC and very comfortable the set is.
They were on the bike when I bought it together with a comfort seat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4mgx_W6lYs
http://www.spieglerusa.com/controls/handlebar-conversion.html

 

Helibars are $209 here...
http://webstore.dualsporttouring.com/helibars-honda-vfr-2002-07/dp/2333#

 

Thanks! I have been looking online but I had not seen those. That is certainly the cheapest I have seen them. Now that kind of has me thinking about wanting to try it.

One bad thing about all this research is that it has really gotten me to start thinking about wanting an adventure bike! Way to many things to consider!!

 

One thing I just noticed about that set is they are the older version. I had read about in 08 they made changes to them that were suppose to make them better. I wonder is the changes are enough to justify almost a $100 more than this particular set. Anybody have any input on that one?

 

From Helibars website:

In 2008, our new VFR800 HeliBars receive a low profile clamping lug with one 8mm pinch bolt. This slimmer clamp allows the bar to be raised while still providing full clamping pressure on the fork tubes. A new riser tube with a smaller diameter and a thicker cross section was engineered to increase rigidity and strength while reducing the transfer of what little vibration emanates from the V-Four.

Bar rise & set back are the same.

 

I have read that before. I was just wondering if there were any known issues with the older design. I have also found a used LSL kit for a little less money too. Not sure which one to go with now but I think I'm still leaning towards the Helibar.

 

I contacted Heli just to ask about the older set of bars. They said there was never a problem with them, they just updated the build process on them and changed up the mount a little.

Just thought I would pass on that info.

I am currently watching a used LSL kit right now and if I don't get it then I will probably order that older set. It sounds like most people seem to be pretty happy with either one but it does sound as if the LSL kit gives just a little bit more rise and pull back from what I am reading. Been on the other VFR site too and that seems to be the overall conclusion. At full retail, they are both pretty much the same price. I kind of like the look of the Heli better because it is a little closer to the stock look but the bar might end up being a tad more comfortable. Way to many things to think about !!

 

Well I changed my mind last minute and decided to order a LSL kit for the bike. I had some change sitting in my PayPal account which paid for over half of the kit so I figured what the hell and ordered!

Also from what I was told by the guys at LSL, it will sit the closest to my Dad's old BMW which I really like. Maybe I will get lucky and it will arrive by Friday so I can get it on for the weekend. It is suppose to be nice weather here.

 

Just curious but did you look at Convertibars? Yes they cost about 100 more but they really are good.

This is how they work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrD9CPfxkr8

VFR prices
https://convertibars.3dcartstores.com/Honda_c_25-2.html

 

I did check them out but it list them at over $600 for the set, but I think that was including new lines and cables too. I needed to stay with in a certain budget and that was a good bit over it.

They do look good though!