Installing Woodcraft lowered risers: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Controls & Cables]]

[[Category:Bodywork & Frame]]

Woodcraft lowered risers will give you about a one inch lower riding position over the stock bars and risers, without the clearance problems that traditional clipons cause. Here is a comparison of the Woodcraft risers (left) with stock ones.

[http://www.woodcraft-cfm.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=17285 Woodcraft lowered risers] will give you about a one inch lower riding position over the stock bars and risers, without the clearance problems that traditional clipons cause. Here is a comparison of the Woodcraft risers (left) with stock ones.

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 8.jpg|150px]]

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[[Image:Woodcraft risers 9.jpg|150px]]

The first thing you have to do to get the Woodcraft risers on is take off the old bars and risers. So, [[Removing & replacing bar ends|remove the bar ends]]. Our bike model suffered from a drop. Here you can see the bent left handle bar to be replaced. Its owner assured it that he was also ordering a replacement clutch lever.

Before starting, cover the tank and front fender with a thick soft cloth, so they won't get damaged or scratched.The first thing you have to do to get the Woodcraft risers on is take off the old bars and risers. So, [[Removing & replacing bar ends|remove the bar ends]]. Our bike model suffered from a drop. Here you can see the bent left handle bar to be replaced. Its owner assured it that he was also ordering a replacement clutch lever.

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 1.jpg|150px]]

At this point, obsessively taking a bunch of pictures of the controls and cables is a good idea, so you can have plenty of reference for how everything is put together before you take it apart. Here are the bars with the [[I want to get some new grips.|grips removed]].

At this point, obsessively taking a bunch of pictures of the controls and cables is a good idea, so you can have plenty of reference for how everything is put together before you take it apart. Here are the bars with the [[I want to get some new grips|grips removed]].

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 3.jpg|150px]] [[Image:Woodcraft risers 4.jpg|150px]]

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One place to be careful is when you are taking apart the throttle controls. Watch the routing of the cable carefully, and be sure you can put it back together correctly. It can be done; this is just an area where some people have had re-assembly problems in the past. Here is a series of photos of the throttle dis-assembly.

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 5.jpg|150px]] [[Image:Woodcraft risers 6.jpg|150px]] [[Image:Woodcraft risers 7.jpg|150px]]

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 5.jpg|150px]] [[Image:Woodcraft risers 6-2.jpg|150px]] [[Image:Woodcraft risers 7-3.jpg|150px]]

There is a pin that is attached to the throttle assembly. It goes into the bar to keep the throttle from spinning around the bar. Here is shown the location of the anti-rotation pin hole for the throttle in the stock bars. There are several holes in the bar, so you should measure and mark the correct one for the anti-rotation pin, and any of the other holes that are being used. You will have to drill these holes in your new bars.

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A nice, neat hole. The drill bit that produced the hole closest in size to the stock bars was 7/32" (5.5mm).

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 14.jpg]]

[[Image:Woodcraft risers 14.jpg|150px]]

The choke assembly also has an anti-rotation pin. This one measured 50mm from the end of the bar to the center of the hole. A 7/32" bit worked for that one, too. Here are the bars just after being put on the bike, before mounting any controls.

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Probably the most logical procedure is to first mount the throttle and choke assemblies, since their location on the bar is fixed. Then rotate each bar so that those assemblies are at the right level, and slide the bar in the mounts to a length that seems reasonable and can be matched on the other side. Then place the clutch and brake levers where they feel the most natural and tighten them down. All that is left after that is to get the angle of the bars right, which mostly involves just turning from stop to stop several times and finding the best compromise of space, with the windshield at one end and the tank at the other.

After everything is mounted up, check the routing of the cables and brake lines. Be sure they don't bind or rub on anything. Run the engine and make sure the throttle doesn't change when you turn the bars to full lock in both directions. If it does, adjust the throttle cable route until it doesn't.

Our road tester says: "I really like the new position. Definitely feels more sporty now. Not too much, though." And about the vibration: "The amount that the vibration in the bars increased surprised me a little. It didn't bother me, though; in fact, I felt like I had a better feel for what the engine was doing. Sort of a "haptic tachometer", if you will. That's only with a couple 20-25 minute commutes. I'm sure I could still grow to hate it on longer rides."

~~For~~ more ~~information on handlebar vibration~~, ~~see [[article TBA]]~~.

The looks with the Woodcraft risers on are not extremely noticeable, unless you're parked next to another 250 without the mods. As soon as it's pointed out, however, you can't miss it. It definitely looks natural on this bike, and it gives it more of the 600 racerbike feel, so don't buy these unless that's what you're looking for.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Category:Controls & Cables]]
 [[Category:Bodywork & Frame]]
-Woodcraft lowered risers will give you about a one inch lower riding position over the stock bars and risers, without the clearance problems that traditional clipons cause. Here is a comparison of the Woodcraft risers (left) with stock ones.
+[http://www.woodcraft-cfm.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=17285 Woodcraft lowered risers] will give you about a one inch lower riding position over the stock bars and risers, without the clearance problems that traditional clipons cause. Here is a comparison of the Woodcraft risers (left) with stock ones.
 [[Image:Woodcraft risers 8.jpg|150px]]
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 [[Image:Woodcraft risers 9.jpg|150px]]
-The first thing you have to do to get the Woodcraft risers on is take off the old bars and risers. So, [[Removing & replacing bar ends|remove the bar ends]]. Our bike model suffered from a drop. Here you can see the bent left handle bar to be replaced. Its owner assured it that he was also ordering a replacement clutch lever.
+Before starting, cover the tank and front fender with a thick soft cloth, so they won't get damaged or scratched.The first thing you have to do to get the Woodcraft risers on is take off the old bars and risers. So, [[Removing & replacing bar ends|remove the bar ends]]. Our bike model suffered from a drop. Here you can see the bent left handle bar to be replaced. Its owner assured it that he was also ordering a replacement clutch lever.
 [[Image:Woodcraft risers 1.jpg|150px]]
-At this point, obsessively taking a bunch of pictures of the controls and cables is a good idea, so you can have plenty of reference for how everything is put together before you take it apart. Here are the bars with the [[I want to get some new grips.|grips removed]].
+At this point, obsessively taking a bunch of pictures of the controls and cables is a good idea, so you can have plenty of reference for how everything is put together before you take it apart. Here are the bars with the [[I want to get some new grips|grips removed]].
 [[Image:Woodcraft risers 3.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:Woodcraft risers 4.jpg|150px]]
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 One place to be careful is when you are taking apart the throttle controls. Watch the routing of the cable carefully, and be sure you can put it back together correctly. It can be done; this is just an area where some people have had re-assembly problems in the past. Here is a series of photos of the throttle dis-assembly.
-[[Image:Woodcraft risers 5.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:Woodcraft risers 6.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:Woodcraft risers 7.jpg|150px]]
+[[Image:Woodcraft risers 5.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:Woodcraft risers 6-2.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:Woodcraft risers 7-3.jpg|150px]]
 There is a pin that is attached to the throttle assembly. It goes into the bar to keep the throttle from spinning around the bar. Here is shown the location of the anti-rotation pin hole for the throttle in the stock bars. There are several holes in the bar, so you should measure and mark the correct one for the anti-rotation pin, and any of the other holes that are being used. You will have to drill these holes in your new bars.
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 A nice, neat hole. The drill bit that produced the hole closest in size to the stock bars was 7/32" (5.5mm).
-[[Image:Woodcraft risers 14.jpg]]
+[[Image:Woodcraft risers 14.jpg|150px]]
 The choke assembly also has an anti-rotation pin. This one measured 50mm from the end of the bar to the center of the hole. A 7/32" bit worked for that one, too. Here are the bars just after being put on the bike, before mounting any controls.
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 Probably the most logical procedure is to first mount the throttle and choke assemblies, since their location on the bar is fixed. Then rotate each bar so that those assemblies are at the right level, and slide the bar in the mounts to a length that seems reasonable and can be matched on the other side. Then place the clutch and brake levers where they feel the most natural and tighten them down. All that is left after that is to get the angle of the bars right, which mostly involves just turning from stop to stop several times and finding the best compromise of space, with the windshield at one end and the tank at the other.
+After everything is mounted up, check the routing of the cables and brake lines. Be sure they don't bind or rub on anything. Run the engine and make sure the throttle doesn't change when you turn the bars to full lock in both directions. If it does, adjust the throttle cable route until it doesn't.
 Our road tester says: "I really like the new position. Definitely feels more sporty now. Not too much, though." And about the vibration: "The amount that the vibration in the bars increased surprised me a little. It didn't bother me, though; in fact, I felt like I had a better feel for what the engine was doing. Sort of a "haptic tachometer", if you will. That's only with a couple 20-25 minute commutes. I'm sure I could still grow to hate it on longer rides."
-For more information on handlebar vibration, see [[article TBA]].
+The looks with the Woodcraft risers on are not extremely noticeable, unless you're parked next to another 250 without the mods. As soon as it's pointed out, however, you can't miss it. It definitely looks natural on this bike, and it gives it more of the 600 racerbike feel, so don't buy these unless that's what you're looking for.