I've been trying to lower the handlebars by 1 inch on my 2008 FXSTC. The stock risers on my bike claim a 2-inch rise, so I am trying to locate a set of 1-inch rise risers and top clamp to support a 1-inch handlebar in the clamping area.
This has been a surprisingly difficult challenge. I have purchased now two sets of risers, both stating 1-inch rise. When these are actually measured, however, both are a 1.5-inch rise.
So it seems that manufacturers have different views on what the spec is for measuring the actual rise. For my stock 2-inch risers, that measurement is taken from the bottom of the riser, to the mid point of the handlebar as it fits into the riser. Or said differently, the measurement is from the bottom of the riser to the split between the top of the riser and the bottom of the top clamp (as shown in the diagram). In fact, on my bike this does measure out at exactly 2 inches.
I believe some manufacturers measure rise from the bottom of the riser to the bottom of the clamping area (where the bottom edge of the handlebar is seated). In such case, the bottom of the handlebar would in fact 1-inch rise, but you must add half the width of the handlebars to get the true rise (so for 1-inch diameter handlebars that is obviously 1.5 inches of rise).
I have tried to attach a diagram that indicates what I am talking about. So my question is does anyone know of a riser that is truly a 1-inch rise as depicted in the diagram?
Sounds like you want something 'similar' to a barback riser.
I have not seen anything that is 1" though, the shortest
that I have seen is a claimed 1-1/8" rise with a 1-1/2" offset
riser from V-Twin Mfg.
Just curious, while 1/2" may be significannt in some things, a riser I doubt you woud feel any difference.
Are you doing it for styling or is there another reason. Pretty sure a true 1" riser wouldn't have enough thead area in the riser to be safe, as that can be a stress point.
@Mister Clean it's hard to tell from your pictures, but is the
bolt hole through to the handlebar clamp ? If not, perhaps
you can machine the hole all the way through to the handlebar
area, then cut down the 'riser' part 1/2" or so. Then use an
appropriate length bolt such that it does not protrude into
the handlebar area...
I think that reducing by 1" would be perfect for my purposes, but I am finding that as you say, perhaps not enough thread area for anything with a rise lower than 1.5".
These actually look to be the shortest I have been able to locate but unfortunately they are no longer available:
We usually see folks wanting taller bars. We have a variety of risers and riser extensions that we make that can be seen at this LINK.
I would need to double check, but, for safety reasons, I do not think we would make a riser that you describe. Reason being that it does not seem like it would leave enough "meat" for the bolts to come thru and be sufficiently safe.
What WKNDS describes may be possible to do safely.
You want the amount of thread of the bolt coming thru the tree, into the riser to be at least as long as the bolt is wide. They are 1/2" wide, so you would want, at minimum 1/2" of thread of that bolt going into the riser. Personally, I would not want less than 7/8" thread into the riser, for a little safety margin due to the pretty large amount of leverage that exists with bars, plus the beginning and ending of the threads in the riser are not going to be pristine.
The last costly thought I have on this is to have a custom top triple tree manufactured
with the lower handlebar clamp machined-in as part of the yoke - like a Sportster 48.
NOT cheap, but if it is a look you MUST have, it might be an option.
You might research or reach out to Vulcan Engineering or perhaps CustomTripleTrees.com
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I ended up just choosing the risers that in the end provides an actual rise of 1.5", which is about a half-inch lower than stock. The riser bolt threading goes all the way through, and when fully tightened there was clearly at least 1/4 inch or more of space between the end of the bolt and the bottom of the clamping area. So perhaps later I may try to cut these down, but actually the slight reduction in height has them sitting pretty much where I like so they are staying as-is (at least for this season). The risers here are "Black Single Bone Bar 1 in. Riser/Clamp for 1 in. Handlebars - BBC3-2 Part #: 596893 manufactured by Todd's Cycle. I've tried to attach a few pictures. Thanks again for all of the feedback - much appreciated!
As stated before, 1" risers leave only 1/2" of height for the "stem" (or whatever the term is). That is normally perfectly enough for the bolt thread.
If you are capable and have the tools, you can machine down some 1.5" risers. I know I did it for my buddy's custom racer (your risers actually look almost like his). It did not take more than a few minutes on my mill. But I have the luxury of some decent tools.
If you need help, feel free to PM me. You are in LaGrange, maybe an hour from me. An excuse to ride.
03-18-2022 | 01:42 PM
Looking for Shorty 1-Inch Risers (do they exist)?
