Scootworks Phat Risers II

Barely flat footing the 650 can also mean barely reaching the handlebar. I notice I run out of arm room whenever I try to do some sharp or low speed turns. This is where the risers come into play. There were so many to choose from, I had a headache surfing through the web finding ones I liked. However, they all came in chrome. Barely any came in black that had the pullback I wanted, so I went with Scootworks Phat Risers II for a 2" increase in height and a 3" increase in pullback over the stock ones. The II's require the cables to be re-routed, the I's don't. I'm not sure if the III's will even fir the 650 but those would require new cables if they do.

Stock Risers


The instructions were straight forward, nothing confusing about them. I didn't follow the recommended tips though because I didn't have a bike jack to lift the front end. You have to do this to take pressure off the front end when removing the top triple tree. This would be the fasted way to re-route the cables. I was curious if I could do it a different way, without disconnecting any cables except the throttle. Well I did, and it was time consuming as hell and had me removing the throttle, brake, and headlight assemblies.


This post will be less detailed on each of the steps I took because it's just too long. I needed to use all my hands and I just wanted it done before the rain got heavy so less pics on this. Also, this one is not to be taken alone by anyone with only a very basic understanding of mechanics. It's possible, but I hope at this point you have an understanding of the proper ways to remove/start bolts, preventing stripped bolts, using a torque wrench, the proper way to evenly tighten bolts on an assembly, etc.



In whatever way you're going to approach changing out your stock risers with a required cable re-route, cutting off all the plastic ties holding the cables before anything else makes life so much easier.

Before taking off the risers, I covered the gas tank with a towel, took the headlamp mounting bolts off and covered the headlamp with an old shirt. I also removed the mirrors to make the handlebar lighter. With a screwdriver, I removed the two screws holding the throttle assembly together and removed the grip from the handlebar. Using a 5 mm allen key, I removed the brake assembly but left the brake lever attached. With 10" bolt cutters, I snipped of parts of the wiring bracket mounted underneath the top triple tree holding the brake, clutch, and throttle cables in place. I didn't need them with the new risers as the cables will lose their slack. I put the two assemblies through the triple trees. I had to push the headlamp away a bit for both pass through.



You can disconnect the throttle from either end, at the lever or at the crankcase. I did it at the crankcase, I didn't want to mess with the handle since I had already adjusted it a few times when I installed the Clevver. Disconnecting it from the crankcase, I just took the adjusting nuts off and slid the throttle cable out of the metal holder.

Comparison


After all that, then I removed the stock risers and let the handlebar rest on the gas tank. I installed it according to directions on the package and then put the handlebar on. I tightened it just enough to hold it in place and I connected everything back to the handlebar. I routed the throttle cable behind the triple trees and connected it back to the crankcase. Sounds simple, but since I was working alone, I had to keep re-positioning things so they wouldn't fall or scratch anything which was very time-consuming.



The 3" pullback helps out a lot. I can now bend my elbows and with the handlebar sitting higher, it takes a lot of stress of my shoulders. This is important for me because an old work accident a couple of years ago now makes my left shoulder muscles cramp at particular positions. It's not painful, just feels odd and nagging. I guess if you're cutting the 5'0 height like I am, the II's are the way to go. Someone taller than that can probably manage with the I's and no cable re-routing.

Before and After pics to show the difference:

Stock:


Scootworks Phat Risers II