This morning I installed some handlebar risers on my PC800. A few weeks ago I went on a crazy 1300 mile ride in 36 hours and found that my back was killing me and my hand was going numb. Conversations on the IPCRC convinced me to buy a set of handlebar risers made by GenMar Mfg. Several places sell the H121 kit which fits the PC among other bikes. I chose to buy mine directly from GenMar to support their business more than I would buying from a distributor. It took about five days for them to arrive. They ship out of Arrey, New Mexico.
When getting ready to do the install, I found that Jim has a good write-up of his installation. I used his photos as a reference for my installation of the bar risers. Since I like taking photos of my wonderful bike, I decided to write up this how-to to compliment what Jim has already produced.
The package included two bar risers, two sets of longer bolts, and some instructions. The instructions are the same as found on GenMar’s website. In general, I am favorably impressed with the build quality of the risers. Trying to find a machine shop that would make those bar risers as a one-off for you or even making them yourself in your home shop would end up costing as much or more than buying them from GenMar. Plus with GenMar risers, there is no trial and error. They just work.
The first thing I did was put a towel over my faux gas tank. This is to keep from nicking the plastic and to give myself somewhere to rub up against with my zippers and snaps while I’m working. The instructions that came with the bar risers also mentioned that you could lay your handlebars on the towel. I never had to do that but you might want to.
The first step is to pop off the center plastic. It comes off perhaps a little too easily on my bike. Doing this exposes some screws that need to be removed.
There are three screws underneath the center plastic cover. Remove all three of them and save them. They look like specialized screws that I bet are expensive to replace.
Next, remove the three bottom screws on each side of the handlebars (total of six screws). My screwdriver was just barely short enough to fit between the dash plastic and the screws. It would be better to have a shorter screwdriver next time.
The next step is to remove the plugs going into the switches on the top of the handlebar plastics. It was pretty difficult to remove mine and I thought I had broken the high/low beam switch but I was able to push it all back together and it worked. *whew!* Take your time removing these. And make sure to grease the connectors before you put them back together.
With the top handlebar plastic is removed, I marked the location of the handlebars and the top handlebar clamps. This will be important later to make sure the angle of the bars is set correctly when you reassemble. I assumed that the last person to remove the handlebars had put them back the way they had been at the factory. Looking at the plastics, it appears that in fact the bars were rotated correctly.
With the bars marked, I then unbolted the four big allen head bolts. I pulled off the handlebar top clamps after some futzing to get them to break free. I made sure to mark which clamp went on which side of the handlebars and in which orientation. I figure it’s best to put it back to the way the factory had installed it rather than in some other random orientation.
It took a little effort to get the four bolts lined up with the four holes and the bar risers. I had to remove the two zip ties from each side of the wiring running up the handlebars. Rather than cutting them off, I was able to release the zip tie locks and was thus able to reuse them when I buttoned everything back up. Bolting down the handlebars, I made sure that everything was lined up correctly. This means that the bars are centered and at the correct rotation. It took me about five minutes of work to get them the way they are supposed to be. Also I had to be very careful to not cross-thread the bolts as I put them into the bottom clamps. Be careful not to screw that step up. Otherwise, it’ll get expensive!
The next step was to make sure that none of the cables were binding and nothing was hitting anywhere with the bars pushed to both extreme ends of their travel. It all looked good for me.
Checking the fit in the other direction.
The only real downside I’ve found with this upgrade is that the key switch doesn’t move with the handlebars. It now is one inch down in a hole. This is going to make locking the bars a bit harder but not impossible. I can remove the center cover of plastic in 5 seconds to lock the bars. Eventually I plan to weld on an extender tab on my keys. That way it won’t matter so much about the key lock being an inch down in the hole.
The next step was to reinstall the zip ties that I had carefully removed earlier. I made sure to reinstall them not too tight so nothing would be cut through. The throttle cables on the right side did not go in the zip tie.
Here you can see how far down the key is sunk into the handlebar plastic. Not the end of the world but it is a bit annoying. As I said earlier, I’m planning to weld something onto the end of the key so it’s easier to turn.
When you’re all done with the install, you will have the four original handlebar clamp bolts left over. Keep these things around. Maybe a future owner or maybe even you might decide to go back to the original bar height. It will save a lot of money and time if you still have these things around.
How do you feel about the gap in the plastic under the bar?
It hasn’t started bothering me yet. I also was surprised that I didn’t notice any difference with wind flow in the “bubble” created by the windscreen. Probably in the future I’ll make a skirt out of neoprene or something similar to make it a little more visually appealing. But for now it isn’t a big deal. What does bother me though is having the key sunk down in a hole. It’s a shame we can’t move our key locks up an inch.
Was the effort worth the small height gain? Is there enough cable legnth for more height is desired?
I’ve got to do something. My hands are falling asleep too..
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I think that the height gain was worth it. There is enough room in the cables to do the risers that I used but I don’t think that there is enough for any higher without cable modification.
Do you already have Grip Puppies or something similar to make the grips wider? Another thing that I found helped was increasing the seat height (counter-intuitive but it seems to help!).
Cheers!
Douglas
I was wondering exactly how much higher and closer did it bring your handlebars? I wish these handlebars weren’t so straight! If they had replacement ones that were more rounded it would probably solve my problem.
It moved them up about 3/4 or 1″. Didn’t move them back although if I had rotated stuff around, it could have been brought back. I agree with you that if they handlebars were pulled back more (like wheelbarrow style cruiser bars), it would alleviate many of my problems. Alas, unless you throw away all of the handlebar plastics, you can’t get that on a PC800.
I dunno why Ya’ll don’t just swap out that bar for a PROPER alloy bar – there are some very interesting adjustable hi bars out there, what clip-on to the tubes, I don’t recall the name but a lot of the Sport-Touring guys with the Pan-European ST1100/ST1300 etc use ’em. Aero bars or some such. Or you could use an ape-hanger fro a cruiser by the look of the OEM bars on the Pacifica – you could adapt those plastic covers to fit just about anything, I should think, if you used clamped lugs to screw ’em onto instead of the welded-on lugs built into the OEM bar.
I’d also drill out the ignition mount lugs and bolt it atop the yoke, which would give it enough of a rise that it stands clear of the plastic but you won’t need a special welded-up KEY at least.
ME, well – I’m a CB900F guy, I’m looking at sticking some PC800 front end parts onto my bike. Specifically I’m looking for a front “hub” for wire spoke conversion. Shouldn’t even TELL people that, I suppose it sounds pretty freaky. But yeah, if you’ve got a bent up front RIM from one of these bikes I’d love to get my hands on one. Shipping’s the expensive part, they’re cheap enough on eBay I’ve just gotta find a local one.
If not, well – wish me luck! Building a “CB900K0 Bol Bomber” concurrently with a “KZ440LOL” it’s slow going but they’re both ambitious projects if I do say so myself.
The PC800 community is in general extremely protective of their bikes and heavy modifications. The saying goes that Mother Honda knows best. A friend put clip on bars onto his ratted out PC800. It feels okay but I personally like the handling better with the stock bars and risers. These bikes were never meant to be fast or gaudy like sport bikes or choppers. The target demographic was squarely focused on 30something commuters who wanted something as car-like as possible.
Good luck finding the part you need! Usually EBay is the best source.
Hey thanks for your reply. I understand what you’re saying. The “Mother Honda Knows Best” attitude is the prevailing attitude among just about any model-specific club, there are even threads of this ingrained into many of the more … avant-gardes of the “Super-‘F” (oreo cookie) builders on my own beloved DOHC-four Honda ‘F-orums. At least, if not in the sense of suspension tech and wheels, they’re fixated on keeping the bodywork the same. ‘Cause they’re in love with how their bike looks, and can’t imagine changing it too much. Though it’s unmistakable that they all read too damn many modern bike magazines, hence their lust for 17″ cast-mag three-spoke rims and USD forks from the plastic crotch-rockets.
Heck, much as it’s a popular notion now, when I first suggested a SOHC-style Café Racer be built upon the DOHC foundations, circa 2002-2003, my ‘F-orum posts on http://www.cb1100f.net were inundated with homophobic slurs and other such misdirected animosity.
In hindsight, perhaps it was a ‘F-aux-Pas to call the original Super-Sport/Bol D’Or bodywork a bunch of Battlestar Galactica inspired retro-futuristic claptrap…..
I get it – you DIG the Tupperware ha-ha. Not a damn thing wrong with that. I’m just trying to suggest some simpler ways of going about it. this is why I suggest clamping the same Tupperware whoops I mean handlebar covers, onto any other ape-hanger or adjustable bar which you select. I don’t propose changing the look so much as the ergonomics. ‘Cause when it comes to ergonomics, Mother HONDA takes a back seat to Mother NATURE. Ha-ha. Hence the handlebar risers!
I guess what I’m suggesting with the brake thing has gotta be the worst aspect though. When it comes to the “Faux-Leading-Shoe” drum hubs, we only need look to the CBX550F to see a bike being pilfered for a few select parts. So too with the Suzuki GT750J 4LS drum, which I’m using on the aforementioned “KZ440LOL” – if an original Suzuki owner wants to restore his/her “Water Buffalo”/”Kettle” to 1972 specs, they’ve gotta compete with every trendy Café Racer wannabe on the planet. I can say that without self-loathing ’cause I’M using it inside of a 3.0×16″ Borrani rim with Maxi-Scooter low-profile tires in 110/70-16 & 140/70-16 – kinda more like an adult-sized Honda MONKEY or Suzuki “VAN-VAN” than any type of Café Racer. A ridiculous trail-bike sort of thing.
But I’m under the impression that a lot of PC800 owners, as with the CBX550F set, are seeking to swap out their front brakes, suspension, and maybe even front AND rear wheels altogether. It’s really not such a big deal so long as the PC800 itself is better off for the transaction.
I guess that boils down to how you feel about the rotor shrouds themselves. But hey – an enterprising fellow could do the same thing as you’re doing with that handlebar cover, to their rotor shrouds. Maybe even fabricate something new, an over-sized set in the same shape? Sculpted from clay, cast in plaster, moulded in fiberglass? (I’m working on side-covers right now, due to using the alloy tank from CB1100R and “duck-tail” style seat cover from the ’69 CB750K0 Sand-Cast over a fiberglass seat-pan, the existing side-covers won’t fit! Been sculpting, but can’t decide between CB750K1 rounded things and triangular CB450K0 Black Bomber styles….) Any random, incredibly talented sculptor and fabricator should be able to whip up some alternative Tupperware to cover over a new and horrid modern Plastic Crotch-Rocket butt-FUGLY front end including USD fork, cast mag wheel, any type of rotors bigger than the stock 286mm rotors on the GL1500, PC800, and VF-series models.
Of ANY type of upgrades to a bike, it’s hard to argue that BRAKE upgrades are a bad idea – ennit?
Heck I’ve got 296mm CB1100R rotors on my Honda right now. But did it ever surprise me, in searching for parts to adapt these same rotors to a wire-spoke wheel, to learn that the original ’69 CB750K0 Sand-Cast already HAD a 296mm rotor, ergo the CR750 had two of ’em – the GL1000 was down-graded to a 276mm disc as was used on the CB550, CB750F, CB900F etc. Not quite as small as the CB350F/CB400F 260mm disc – which seems like a decent donor to use on the rear end of my Honda. Anyway yeah, I had thought that the CB1100R/GL1100A/CBXpro-link had been the first models to upgrade to this standard. Thought I knew everything there was to know about the CB750 yet this was pretty basic stuff. Here I was gonna swap the outer ring rotors onto different carriers by drilling out the rivets and replacing ’em with nuts & bolts. There are aftermarket replacement rotor kits which do just that, from “Metalgear AU” in Austria – Just sayin’, it’s not as freaky as it might sound. Just a wee bit expensive, relatively speaking – when you could pick up any random SOHC CB750K discs and run with that.
I suppose what I’m saying is, many of the mods which I would suggest are more in keeping with a bike’s original spirit. Unless I’m trying to “retro-fry” the thing, that is. Just know that I’m not all about the “OREO COOKIE THING” as I like to call it. You know the bikes I’m referring to – where all of the CREAM is in the MIDDLE? The fugly crotch-rocket bits with their anodized billet everywhere and gaudy Gumby-turd computer-generated bodywork – plastered all over the front and rear section of an originally very beautiful IMHO, classic Superbike! Fact is I really can’t stand that crap!
Truth be told, while on the one hand I visualize the PC800 modified to resemble the original ’75 GL1000 Goldwing – the ORIGINAL “bike for car drivers” – I also simultaneously visualize a very tricked-out PC800 which retains it’s Tupperware exterior and rugged maintenance-free/idiot-proof technology. Yet with lighter wheels, more compliant suspension, a crash-diet weight loss plan, beefier stompier brakes, a beefed up engine or at least modified final drive for either higher speeds (aka lower rpm’s and fuel consumption at highway speeds … anyone?) OR for more torque at the low end etc. But above all else, ergonomics customized to suit the individual. Maybe a few frame-sliders for crash protection. To protect that original Tupperware!
You’re SORTA right about eBay, but when you factor in the shipping costs on larger heavier parts, especially stuff like wheels where sellers are too lazy or more to the point incompetent to remove a friggin’ tire they’re just meth heads raiding the classifieds section for more scrap metal etc – the LOCAL scene is the far better way to go. And for that, I’d suggest instead the model-specific owner’s groups. Whether or not one actually owns that model! Well – at least with respect to the more common parts. Just sayin’ – ten years ago I might’ve felt the same way about eBay. But I’ve done a lot of business on eBay since then, so too with sourcing parts locally. Heck, I love my eBay sourced NOS and aftermarket performance parts as much as the next guy. There’s a place for it. But for wheels? Or a FORK? Bah!
-S.
“30-something commuters”, hey?
https://unclebarky.com/reviews_files/page3_blog_entry693_1.jpg
I think I cheated a little. Except for the center piece, I didn’t take the plastic off my handlebars at all. As I took bolts out, I dropped screwdrivers in. Then I lifted the bars up, took out one screwdriver at a time, and put one hole of one riser in at a time. After all four were done and the risers were in place, I took out a screwdriver and dropped in a bolt. The job was done in no time.
I am considering a 95 PC800 and would like to not have to reach so far forward. I see these risers on eBay that set the bars up 26mm and back 20mm that say they will fit a PC800 but looking at your photos I don’t know if these could be fitted with the original plastic and key location. What do you think? I am 5’6″ 160 p0unds and the bars are a bit of a reach for me..
Howdy Phil!
It’s possible you’ll lose the ability to access the key hole with those risers but it’ll require some test fitting on your part.
I used some straight bar risers and then tilted my bars down a few degrees to let them stretch back farther. It’s a little difficult getting the key in and out but still doable.
Cheers,
Douglas in Monterey
forgot to list the link
it is https://www.ebay.com/itm/402261608126?fits=Model%3APC800&hash=item5da8a906be:g:UogAAOSwofVevKLl