DIY - Ducati 749/999 Handlebar Risers

[hhhjesus]

now although the 749 riding position isnt as extreme as i thought it would be after switching from cruisers, i have noticed recently ive been starting to get a sore back/neck probably due to the amount of riding ive been doing in my 6 weeks off work.

spotting old spikey on the site yesterday reminded me of his now infamous and legendary 'bar swap over' that gave a much more comfy riding position without costing silly money for heli bars etc.

http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=338
http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=291

so a quick pm to him, a quick email recieved from him on what to do and as it was ****ing down with rain today i thought sod it ill give it ago before i cripple myself on the france trip ( 1st football game of the season on the sunday so dont want any back pain if at all possible)

so here is the result of my tinkering - it looks pretty much the same to the untrained eye, but there is a significant rise effect going on - the new body position is much more upright that previos so should be nice and comfy.

thanks to spike for the email telling me what to do - and if i can get it done anyone can do it

[hhhjesus]

heres a before and after pic so you can see the aproximate height difference

[hhhjesus]

another before and after

[hhhjesus]

last before and end pics

[hhhjesus]

right 1st off heres spikes email as it is he who deserves all the praise on this one....

1 :- top yoke offski
2 :- undo and take off all the switchy , brakey , clutchy stuff ,
3 :- take off the bars ( you,ll see retaining pins for the clutch and brake master cylinders ) its up to you but i ground mine off , you could try and pull em out but im brutal !!!
4 :- swap your bars over ( they said this couldnt be done and they were gunner burn me at the stake for being a heratic )
5 :- now heres were your personal preference comes in , you,ll note that your throttle , and switch gear have locating pins on them , put a dab of , i used tipex , on the pin and locate it roughly on the bar were you want it and it,ll leave a mark , just drill an indent into the bar and it,ll seat sweet , remember your bars will sit about 10 mill under your top yoke cos if you dont you,ll bash your knuckles on your mirrors , for wot use they are any way !!
6 :- now you,ve got all your clutchy brakey switchy stuff on your bars you,ll notice like i said youll have to drop your bars down , and seing as though you,ve turned the f*kers round you aint got no locators for your bars anyway , line up the pinch bolt line on the bars with that on the yoke and there even ( i,ll do you a pik of that if you want ) you dont need this locator really some people say they do , but i,ve braked down from 150+ pushing my balls through my arse and my back wheel off the floor and mine aint moved
7 :- start up your bike and lock your bars from side to side my raced at first go cos the fast idle cable had gone above the brake line , solution push it under easy !!
8 :- sit back and put on some sounds and have a beer !! job done
9 :- i,ve done a summer on mine with no probs and like i said i did my mv before ,


i will put up my step by step pics i took in a hour or so - it will be on here before the end of the night, but im off to finish that richly deserved jd&coke :wink:

[hhhjesus]

another before and end comparisson

[hhhjesus]

last before and end lot i promise lol DIY steps next...

[hhhjesus]

right then heres the step by step, its a pretty easy mod u just have to be brave enough to go 4 it and take drill to the handlebars

1 undo the 3 allen bolts on the top yoke and also take off the 2 smaller allen bolts that hold the steering damper in place and take that off.

2 This is the bottom attatchment from the steering damper - remember which hole yours screwed into and which way up it was.

3 give the underneath of the top yoke a hefty whack with a rubber mallet until it comes off - i found some wd40 helped get it off but it does need as nice few whacks - dont worry u wont break it :wink:

[hhhjesus]

ok now you have to remove the clutch lever and the brake lever...

4 remove 2 allen bolts holding the clutch lever in place

5 remove the 2 allen bolts holding the brake lever in place

both of these need to be taken completely off the bar while it is still secured in place.

you can then undo the 2 screws holding the starter switch in place and the 2 bolts that hold the throttle assembly in place - they do not need to be completely undone just enough so the locating pins inside the units can be removed from there locating holes and then when the bar is off the fork they can both be slid off while still assembled.

[hhhjesus]

ok now to take the right bar off completely...

6 a bit of wd40 on the forks, undo the bar allen bolt and the right side handlebar can now be lifted off. once you have lifted it off you can slide off the throttle assembly and starter switch - remember both units only have to be loosend so thet their internal locating pins are able to come out of the locating bar holes - you do not need to unscrew and take completely apart , if you just slide them off it is easier to put back on later.

now for the left side...

7 pull of the left hand grip - i found this came of easiest if i started to push and pull it from the end nearest the indicators switches - bit of effort but it comes off without too much muscle! then loosen the 2 screws on the indicator mount enough so you can lift if from its locating hole - you do not hve to seperate it into to pieces keep it connected so it slides along the bar then remove the left hand bar allen bolt spray some wd40 on the left fork and lift the left bar off the left fork. you can then slide the indicator unit completely off.

[hhhjesus]

8 when bars are removed you can see the retaining locators that hd gone into the cluthc and brake and the top yoke, you can pull these out using a pair of pliers

9 retainers removed

[hhhjesus]

right then now for the brave part - the drilling!


10 first of all measure how far away the original retaining holes for indicator switch is on the original left bar - when you have measured it take a colored pencil and mark a line all away round the right hand bar so you know the right distance out to drill your hole.

do the same measuring the starter and throttle original holes from the right bar and marking them with a pencil line all the way round on the swapped left bar

this step will tell you how far out you have to drill your holes, to decide on the exact point of drilling i pushed the swapped over bars back onto the forks in the new swapped over position with the indicators switch, starter switch and throttle assemble slid on you can rotate them until you are happy then mark the point you want to drill.

11 drill locating holes for your new indicator locating point.

12 drill locating holes for your new throttle and starter locating points.

[hhhjesus]

13 slide the indicator unit onto the new swapped over bar, puts its locating point into your newly drilled hole and tighten the 2 retaining screws, when fitted snugly in place you can then put the swapped bar back onto the front left fork.

once you have put the switched bar back onto the front left fork you can put the clutch lever back using the 2 allen bolts.

14 slide the starter switch onto the swapped over bar and secure its locating point in your newly drilled hole and tighten the 2 screws to fit it securely, then slide throttle assembly onto reversed bar and secure it in its newly drilled locating point and tighten the 2 allen bolts. when this is done you can put the swapped over bar back onto the right fork.

when the swapped over bar is back on the front right fork you can then reatttch the front brake lever using the 2 allen bolts.

[hhhjesus]

15 replace top yoke usind wd40 an a rubber mallet! tighten the 3 top yoke bolts you removed earlier

[hhhjesus]

bit of fiddling required now to ensure the bars are evenly spaced, the corrct height so you dont bang your knuckles on the bottom of the fairing under the mirrors and so u dont bash the speedo with the bottom of the bars.

16 be carefull to make sure the new position of bar does not hit your speedo when on full lock

17 be careful to make sure the position of the new bar does not hit your speedo when on full lock

18 about a 8mm gap ensures you just miss the speedo on full lock and just miss your nuckles on the bottom of mirror fairing - use the 2 gap lines to make sure bars are evenly spaced each side