Dash Shelf and Heli Bars

[sennister]

Anyone have this combo. I just installed a dash shelf on my bike and I noticed that my front brake and clutch master cylinders hit the shelf at full lock. This isn't that big of a deal but it makes it hard to lock the bars. Do you bend the parts that hit the master cylinders out of the way or did you adjust something to make it work?

Just wondering what my best options may be.

 

[hojo in sc]

Which dash shelf do you have?

 

[Blue STreak]

I never had this issue on my 1100. I had about 3/4" of clearance between the master cylinders and the shelf at maximum lock. It would seem you need to rotate the bars back a bit, either by rotating the entire assembly where it mounts to the triple tree, or by angling the ends of the bars back toward you some. Or a combination of both.

 

[sennister]

I bought it from a user here. So I don't know who made it or where he got it. From searching the internet I found this photo of one that looks the same. In this photo it has been modified to mount some switches and power outlets. Basically the part that they drilled out is the area of the dash self that I am talking about. In the photo it looks like this bike has the factory bars and you can see how close the front brake reservoir is to the shelf. With the Heli bars I am hitting it pretty squarely. I was thinking I might be able to lower my bars a little but from looking at it this morning I can't get enough clearance. Another option that I may have is I saw some postings where people make a bracket to raise the back part of the shelf up a little. They did this because they said they were having a hard time seeing the warning lights because they are tall. Well I am 6'4" and while it blocks them a little I might look into this option. That would buy me a little space and I might be able to move the bars down a little to give me the clearance I want. I can still lock the bars, I just have to force it to make it lock. Here is a link to a photo of the dash.

Sport-Touring.net

After seeing those switches mounted in the shelf I have been thinking of getting one of those digital voltmeters and possibly mounting it where he mounted the switches. I still am running the 28 amp alternator.... Tick tick tick.....

 

[sennister]

I never had this issue on my 1100. I had about 3/4" of clearance between the master cylinders and the shelf at maximum lock. It would seem you need to rotate the bars back a bit, either by rotating the entire assembly where it mounts to the triple tree, or by angling the ends of the bars back toward you some. Or a combination of both.

I can look into that. From looking around on the web for a photo of my shelf it appears that there are different shelves out there. Did yours have the tabs that come straight down like the one I posted a link to in my post above? I looked at the shelf at CA-Sport Touring and their shelf does not appear to have this lip. I could cut the lip off the shelf but I kind of think it might make a good place for a voltmeter. I could just bend it back a little and if I go the route of making a bracket to raise the back of the shelf that may buy me enough clearance.

I have thought about adjusting the Helibars. I am hesitant about doing that because they are comfortable in the position they are in now and it took forever to get them adjusted to a position I like. Right now my hands/wrist/forearm are straight in my riding position. If I rotate the grip part of the Helibars back to give me more clearance it would rotate my hand out more. I don't know if that would be less comfortable I would have to try it for a while. That is the nice thing about Helibars and what sucks about them as well. They are very adjustable so you can set them up any way you want. It sucks because it can take so long to get them dialed in and once you do you don't want to touch them (at least I don't like messing with them).

 

[sennister]

Here is a link to the thread on raising the back of the shelf. As you can see this shelf design does not have the tabs coming down on the back part of the shelf where my brake hits it. Those tabs may have been added to strengthen the shelf to support more weight. There is also a brace that is spot welded along the bottom of the shelf for more support. I can take photos of it tonight if that helps.

Link

 

[Blue STreak]

I can look into that. From looking around on the web for a photo of my shelf it appears that there are different shelves out there. Did yours have the tabs that come straight down like the one I posted a link to in my post above?

Yep, I had the same shelf, with the switches and powerlet sockets.

That is the nice thing about Helibars and what sucks about them as well. They are very adjustable so you can set them up any way you want. It sucks because it can take so long to get them dialed in and once you do you don't want to touch them (at least I don't like messing with them).

I hear you there. And if you move them out of the comfortable position, you may never get them back to where they were.

Mine were obviously pulled back further than yours. Good luck.

 

[sennister]

Well, I ended up pulling the bars back further. I'll ride it through the season like this and see how it goes. This corrected my clearance issue. So far on my commute to work today it seemed fine.