6th Gen Heli Bar Questions

Today I had the Heli Bars (Thanks, Kia 001) professionally installed by a Heli Bar authorized distributor here in Norcal and I have a couple questions for the 6th Gen owners who have installed these bars.

First of all the Front Brake and Clutch master cylinders lightly contact the fairing before the triple clamps hit the steering stop. The technician who installed the bars said that he couldn't get them adjusted to clear the fairing without bringing them in too close to the tank. Has anyone else had this problem? and if so, what did you do to solve the issue?

Second, the damper weights or bar ends now stick out away from the handlebar ends by about 1/2 inch, is this common too? It looks like S$%T IMO and I need to know if this correct or not. If this is normal what have you folks done to fix this issue or anyone have a suggestion as to what I could do to correct this? I'm starting to wonder if the controls are mounted too far in on the bar, which leads to the bar end sticking out too far, or that the damper inserts aren't seated deep enough in the bar, i.e. the factory drilled holes for the damper retaining clips were drilled by Heli MFG too far out towards the end of the bar itself.

I didn't take time this evening to really check out possible corections and thought I would start here to get some ideas on what I should be looking for. I really need some input from you 6th Gen Heli Bar users, I like the bars, I noticed they were more comfortable right away, but I'm not at all excited about the previously noted problems. I'm starting to think that I should have done the install myself. Is something not right here? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Ron

 

There should be no interference issues if they are installed correctly.

The weights will not stick out if the rubber internal dampers are removed from OEM bars and installed correctly into the Heli Bars.

 

I installed my own and did not have any of the above issues. I found enough play either way for the position of the bars by using a symmetrical distance to the tank. You do not have to remove the internal rubber dampers, I just added a little rubbing alcohol (according to the attached instructions) and tapped them in with a rubber mallet. They went all the way in and the clip snapped into helibar hole. Bring the bike back and have them do it right, I would be there to watch them.

 

Perhaps they installed the right one on the left side and vice versa?

 

I don't realy know if they switched the dampers by accident, are they different lengths? I wouldn't know as I've never seen one out of the bar itself. I did another brief inspection today, after attending traffic school, it seems like something is up with the depth of the dampers in the bars and it looks like the clips are on the outside of the bar end, if I'm seeing it right. I'll attach a photo and you guys take a look. As for the fairing contact issue, I should be able to perform a couple of adjustments and get that straightened out. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions before I got down to spinnin' some wrenches.

S#%t I should have done it myself, I was busy and wanted it done when I didn't have time to do it so now I'm paying the price. $120.00 bucks and it looks like it was done by my friggin' sister for christ sake. I'm now also worried about the initial service they performed at the same time. That's it, from now on NOBODY but me touches the bike.

I sent an email to Heli with some pictures of the bad fitment that I previously noted. I'm waiting to hear back from them with what they think the solutions are and then I'll fix it myself. I won't take the bike back to the guys that did the install, for obvious reasons.

 

Sorry I should gave cropped the photos a little, LOL! Good detail though.....

 

Yup, they cocked the installation up. The rubber dampers aren't installed right. Takes about 30 min to install these things.

 

Do you guys recommend removing the bars from the bike to get them installed right or do you think I could do it with the bars on the bike without farqing anything up? Sorry dumb question, I think I'm going to have to remove the throttle assembly anyway so that I can get the clips lined up with the holes before I start to tap them in. I knew something wasn't quite right when I tried to unscrew the bar end and the whole damper spun inside the bar. I knew going into this that I should probably do it myself.

I hope it rains here this week so I can get a day off from work to perform some meticulous re-assembly and to check out what was done during the initial service.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

I'd remove the throttle tube, but leave bar on the fork tube as it will add resistance when pushing the bushing into place. The "fingers" will insert into the holes and you'll be fine.

 

I would just to extend a sincere thank you to all of you who posted a reply to this thread, I especially would like to take the time to personally thank Kia. I re-installed the bars using the information I gained from your comments and now they are correctly installed and they fit and look awesome. Thanks again you guys.

 

Hope it went OK. I did my own Helibars and agree with the comments above. It took me about an hour, I didn't know about the locking clip and I took a while to figure it out. Otherwise it was pretty straight forward. When you have them installed make sure you check full lock with your hands in riding position. If it is too close to the tank it can jamb your fingers. The bar has to be in just the right position to clear both the fairing and the tank.

If this was done by a Registered Helibar Installer I would let Helibar know they don't have a clue.

 

Everything has been meticulously adjusted, LOL! Clearance proved to not be an issue, even at full lock either way. To say I was a little disappointed initially, would definately be the understatement of the year. After Kia identified that they were incorrectly installed, I sent some photos to Jaime at Heli and she pinpointed the problems right away - it was pretty straight forward after that. Installed correctly, these bars are an absolute revelation when it comes to comfort. I'm psyched with the purchase.