Tech tips
Amount of straight bar needed in the center of handlebars for our risers to fit depends on distance between riser mounting hole locations on the top tree. Most '55 to newer Harleys use 3-1/2" between risers, and most metric are 100mm (3.937) apart. 1954 and earlier Wide Glide trees are 4-3/4" apart. Just add to that center distance (measure it if not sure) another 1-3/4 inch length to get required straight length. Our risers are just under 1-3/4 inch on the outside diameter.
The thickness of the top tree is needed to determine how long of bolts are needed to securely mount the risers. No less than 1/2 to 5/8 inch of thread should be into the base of the risers for a solid mount. There are a lot of variances in top tree dimensions. Measure your top tree from top to bottom at the location where the bolts fit. Some trees have raised bosses in them, some are just flat plates, some are castings. Make sure you have the total top plate mounting thickness. Then add 5/8 to 3/4 inch to this height to get needed bolt length. This allows for the lockwasher as well. If all else fails, contact us with your year, make, model including model letters/numbers, and also let us know if anything is not stock. We may have it in our records as to best fit, or we may be able to find out and get good info to you.
There are many benefits to using stainless steel for some parts. It is extremely durable, there is no plating to pit or blister, and if you happen to scratch or damage the surface, all you need to do is smooth them out and re-polish them. Clean your stainless parts with soft composite shop towels or soft polishing rags and use a quality polishing compound to maintain the beautiful luster stainless steel has. When tightening the top clamps on any set of handlebar risers you should NEVER tighten one side first and then try to tighten the other. Always bring both bolts down snug without tightening and get the gap between cap and base evened out, then tighten to proper torque spec. Note that the fine gap between the cap and base indicates a solid clamping action. The correct torque specification for the 1/4-28 socket head bolts in our stainless steel is ONLY 45-50 INCH pounds. This gives plenty of holding force and over torquing will only damage goods. Go from front to back to tighten and do this a couple of times to gain equal pressure. Stainless Steel can be a fantastic material to make your components from. There are certain things to avoid
when using stainless steel. Use only good quality stainless fasteners, such as 18-8 grade. This grade is very compatible with the 316 grade material we use for the risers. Hardware of lesser quality tends to gall, causing problems with threads and fits. There is such a thing as cheap quality stainless so do not be cheap on hardware.We do also recommend that if you want to buy your own less expensive steel bolts to mount riser with, make sure they are grade 5 or metric grade 8.8 for strength and durability. We do not recomend grade 8 bolts because they tend to be brittle and instead of bending they may break when their limits are reached. |
