5" ROX risers anyone ?

[johnakay]

1st of all pain in shoulders is cause by being tense..loosen your grip a little bit and lean forward slightly this will reduce the discomfort.
and lean forward slightly will take a little weight off you bum a little.
as for handle bars put 2" rox risers and adjust the bars so that it feels more comfortable and it doesn't knock or touch the screen or frunk.
if you require leg room buy new extended footpegs..
these do make a difference..
Front Radius Adjustable Foot Pegs 40mm Honda NC700 | eBay

 

[L.B.S.]

OK, I am getting frustrated with the NC ergonomics. I did a few weekend camping trips (~350 miles/day) but afterwards my body hurts for a few days.

I added the ROX 2" risers which improve the situation a bit but after about 30 min the area around my shoulder blades start hurting.

I think that the 5" risers might help. 3.5" risers might help a little but they might still be too low. I had a 2006 Honda Shadow 600 before and I did not have this issue (there were others though).

I just added a Corbin seat and that might or might not be better than stock. We'll see.

I like the bike but if I can't make it to be comfortable for long rides I might have to eventually look for something else.

Please help me so I can keep this bike

Did anyone experiment with adding 5" risers ? If yes, did you have to change the clutch and/or throttle cables ?

Don't fret mate, you're not alone- not by a long shot, lol

I'm a shorty, but to add insult to injury, I'm of the Blacksmith bulldog build. Big barrel chest, shorter wingspan as far as arm reach goes. The bars are quite a bit further away to me, than the vast majority of "classic" dimensional folks understand when they picture sitting on their bikes, and telling me I need to "strengthen my core" etc.

Dare I say this, but maybe investigate the other 700's (CTX and so on) in Honda's line up for possible parts scavenging to make the ergos better for your bike, or if that's too difficult, try one of them out and see how it fits you. Ya never know, right? Best of luck!

 

[davidc83]

Maybe all you need to do for the shoulder pain is to put on 2" risers and rotate the bars back until you reach the bars without stretching.

 

[670cc]

OP stated that he had 2" risers already.

 

[Brillot2000]

With 2 inch risers, my clutch cable and electrical wiring are pulled to their limits. I already put on a longer brake hose. I would expect with 5 inchers, all cables, wiring, and brake hose would need to be changed out or extended. It could be done, but would involve modifications.

Appears that someone has beat me to the punch regarding the cabling and the brake line.

I recently installed a set of these on "Sparky" (Zero SR) last night. The ride in this morning was a lot more comfortable and my posture is more in an upright seated position.





Motorcycle Ergonomics

These are infinitely adjustable to create any elevation in conjunction swing the bars around to create a the Ergo Geometry that confirms to you. Getting the geometry correct takes time and a lot of getting on and off of the bike too.

I suggest that you continue to work your way through the adjustment stage until you get the Goldilocks effect. "It's Just Right!!!"

Good Luck...

 

[Beemerphile]

Note that in these pictures I do not fully reach the controls. This position feels comfortable and the arms are relaxed.

View attachment 26631

In this picture, the bars are already too high based on your preferred arm position, but not close enough based on your desire for zero lean. You can reach the bars two ways: You can lean forward with your back straight or you can roll your shoulders forward. Rolling your shoulders forward is likely the source of your shoulder pain. If you could train to lean forward from the waist instead, the shoulder pain might be alleviated. Don't lean on the bars, but hold yourself off using core strength. But there are other problems with the bars as well. It looks like the bars have been rotated down to bring them closer. This will cause your elbows to have to rotate out instead of being closer to your sides. So, your shoulders have to do the work of holding them up.

View attachment 26636

This picture shows definite ulnar deviation. You need a (flatter) bar with less sweep (also called pullback) to get to a neutral wrist position. A narrower, lower, and flatter bar seems called for. Now, if you still want a zero lean, you will have to bring the correct bar towards you without tilting it forward. The risers can do this, but you end up using them not to raise the bar, but only to bring them forward so that they can still be properly upright. A tall bar laid over creates more problems than it solves.

That is pretty much how I ended up solving mine. I have a shorter, flatter bar on two inch risers to bring it a bit forward without angling it down. I am taller than you and I like a bit of forward lean. Since you do not, you would likely need taller risers to get the bar closer to you. (If you want to run with zero lean, please consider a good supportive backrest.) First get the right bend for neutral wrists and then position it to prevent shoulder rotation at your desired angle of lean. Here are some pictures of mine...

Neutral wrist position with the flatter bar...



Here you see that the bar is flatter...



Here you can see that the bar is shorter than stock and the risers are used to bring it forward without tilting it back (in fact it is fairly forward)...

 

[Beemerphile]

1. Shoulder blades start to hurt after 30 minutes of riding. My guess is because the handlebars are too far out.

You can have very wide or very narrow handlebars and still have the wrist position either right or wrong. Here is a picture of the very narrow bars on my R100RS. I replaced the stock bars with bars from a K75S because I wanted them a bit taller to reduce the lean (but not to zero) but I still wanted them narrow:



Here are the very wide (Wunderlich Touring Wellness) bars on my R1150. Notice though the same neutral wrist position...



Of my three bikes, the R100RS with narrow bars and some forward lean is the most comfortable for me on all day rides.

 

[rumberobueno]

Hi beemerphile what bars are those on your NC ?

I experimented a bit more with the ergos on my NC and I see what you mean by ulnar deviation. It might be the reason why my shoulders hurt after a while.

The other question is can I just try to straighten the existing bars for less pullback or I'll have to buy new ones ?

 

[Brillot2000]

The other question is can I just try to straighten the existing bars for less pullback or I'll have to buy new ones ?

It is not worth it, just buy another set of 7/8" bars that feel comfortable to you. You may also need the Rox 2" Risers too.

I found these without looking too hard, Renthal 7/8" Street Bars. They show a listing for the NC700X. These might be what you are looking for.

 

[Beemerphile]

C

Hi beemerphile what bars are those on your NC ?

I experimented a bit more with the ergos on my NC and I see what you mean by ulnar deviation. It might be the reason why my shoulders hurt after a while.

The other question is can I just try to straighten the existing bars for less pullback or I'll have to buy new ones ?

The bars on my NC are 1-1/8" Renthal Fatbars for a Kawasaki ATV on Rox conversion 2" risers. I am unable to do anything the easy way. I measured the rise, pullback, width, and control length I needed and went looking for a bar that fit the spec. I cannot say that they are what you need. They work for me. First determine what you need. Do not do it trial and error or by what worked for someone else.

BTW, yesterday I ran the 800 miles from Danielsville, GA to Harrison, AR on my R100RS with the low narrow bars in perfect comfort. I don't subscribe to the belief that taller and farther back is always more comfortable for long distance. Neutral joint alignment and good posture are what is needed.

On straightening the existing bars, that might be possible with the right tubing mandrel so as to do it without creasing the tubing, but I wouldn't just take a pry bar to the end of them.

 

[rumberobueno]

First determine what you need. Do not do it trial and error or by what worked for someone else.

That's the big question, how do I figure out what I need ?

I don't subscribe to the belief that taller and farther back is always more comfortable for long distance. Neutral joint alignment and good posture are what is needed.

In your opinion, what's the best position for long distance riding ?

 

[Beemerphile]

There are seven measurements I can think of for a handlebar: 1) overall width, 2) center width, 3) control length, 4) inside rise, 5) end rise, 6) pullback, and 7) bar diameter. Just about no catalog will give you all of these. Center width, control length, and bar diameter are important for the bar to fit the bike. Center width must be adequate to clear the bar clamps. Control length must be long enough to mount the grips, levers, and control switches. Bar diameter is left as an exercise. The rest are important for the bar to fit you. Pullback determines the degree of ulnar or radial deviation. The difference between inside rise and end rise determines the degree of pronation/supination. The third and final set of wrist variables (flexion/extension) is determined by the angle adjustment of the levers. Overall width can be important to comfort, but is unrelated to wrist alignment. See my examples earlier of a wide and narrow bar with identical wrist alignment.

How to measure? Difficult without an assistant and some measurement equipment. I'd start by borrowing or purchasing a set of carpal tunnel wrist braces. If you can't easily place your hands on the controls with the braces on, your bars are unhealthy. The braces will hold radial/ulnar deviation and flexion/extension in the neutral position. They will not restrict pronation/supination. Neutral for pronation/supination is the handshake position. The only machines I have seen with neutral pronation/supination on the controls are zero turn lawn mowers and bulldozers. Most dirt bike or dual sport handlebars are overly supinated (palms down) for comfortable distance riding. This is ideal though for dirt bikes where you are up off the seat and vigorously pushing and pulling on the bars. The result is that these types of handlebars won't even list inside rise and end rise in the specs. Note that my NC bar (which is an ATV bar) is more supinated than either my RS or my R1150 bars. As a result, I don't find it as comfortable for distance, even though the wrists are just as neutral. A wide variation in pronation/supination can be tolerated, but the amount shown with my RS and R1150 is ideal to me. Again, wrist alignment aside, I prefer a low and narrow bar - probably from riding German bikes for 35 years.

Loosen the clamps on your handlebars and rotate them out of the way. Measure the control length of your current bars. Cut two sticks or tubes to that length. Determine how far from the end of your current bars that you grip them. Put the wrist braces on. Grip the sticks/tubes similarly to where you grip your bars. Mount the bike. Sit in your preferred riding posture (mine is a slight forward lean), close your eyes, and extend your arms to what you think feels like an ideal comfortable position. Awaken and have the assistant snap some pictures and take some measurements. It is easy to measure the width. It gets very difficult to measure the remaining distances especially if you intend to use risers which create a variable compound angle and subtract from the rise. You have to measure the inside rise from the inside end of your stick or tube at the same angle of the front forks until you intersect where the risers will end. You can't directly measure the end rise, so just take the distance from the outside end of the stick or tube to the same point. You can make a paper drawing of the triangle described by the inner length, outer length, and control length and use this to measure the end rise. Orient the drawing so that the inner length is vertical. The inner length is the inner rise. Then measure the end rise parallel to the inner rise. Measuring the pullback can be done with a carpenter's square and a ruler.

Now, if you haven't kicked the motorcycle over and said to hell with it, go shopping.

 

[rumberobueno]

Thanks beemerphile for taking the time to explain this.

Also thanks everyone else for your replies.

The thing is that I walked into a motorcycle consignment place today and sat on a few bikes to figure out the ergonomics. The Honda ST1100 felt the most comfortable. They also had V-Strom 1000, V-Strom 650, Yamaha FZ6 and quite a few sport bikes.

Interestingly I was surprised to find out that most of the bikes felt top heavy even though they might have been the same weight as the NC. I guess you don't know what to have until you have a point of comparison

 

[HONDABIKEPRO]

If you use your bike off road, two inch is max rise, that you can use and not have the bars rotate on you. I have 3.5 protaper risors that are 1 !/8 diameter, and a ctx 700 upper clamp, and cr high bars. and have had them rotate on landing from small jumps. The stock bars are very soft and bend easy and are to small for off road use. protaper 1 1/8 bars offer much better bends and pull back then stock. I have a prototype protaper 1 1/8 bars on my dl1000, that could be used with the ctx700 clamp with out any risors on the nc700 and end up with a nicer looking install and stronger. I got these bars about six months ago, they should be on the market buy now, they are the protaper adventure high bars, they are the same bend as the 2014 dl1000. I welded my upper clamp to the 3.5 risors to make them stop rotating on the nc700. I normally make a index mark on the bars and clamps once set up were I want them, to make it easy to remove and install in the same spot, now not a problem on this bike. This was done before the protaper adventure high bars were made, at this time I would install them and a ctx700 upper clamp, and forget about any risors. Dale

 

[rumberobueno]

Hey Dale, could you please post some pictures of your setup ?

Also some links from where you bought your bar and risers from would be appreciated.