Ralph Werner Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Has anyone installed or observed an installation of the MPH v11 handlebar riser kit? The web site photos look good but $400 for risers, a brake line, and a clutch line seems kind of steep to me (www.mphcycles.com).
Guest Gary Cheek Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Seems WaaaaY steep to me too . The CNC bits are plain and simple that leaves some high priced hoses at best . I made a pair of very simiilar risers from billet 7075 aluminum (the eurofolks call it ERGAL ,I believe) I didn't put anybody's name or logo on them but for a few minutes time in engraving easily COULD have . I prefer the "clean" look anyhow. Next trip to the aero-hose place I will have some hoses made up . That should leave enough bucks in change for a weekend trip and some great food to boot ! If you want to email me ,I can send you some pics.
al_roethlisberger Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 Gary, why don't you post some photos of your risers here? You might get interest from several folks As an aside, I just dropped a note to Cycle Cat to see where their kit is at. The last time I spoke with them, they had encountered some delays, but it was still on their R&D schedule. I'll let everyone know what they say. From what I can tell, it seems like they may have the best kit out there. For me though, with the new grips, lead-shot, and some excercise(strengthen the back)... I think I'm going to try to soldier on with the stock setup. It's not too bad, and only really starts to get to me after many many hours, so I'm thinking that if I can get back into shape and support a better posture with my knees and back, I can get some of the weight off of my wrists/hands and be OK. We'll see though. al
twhitaker Posted February 3, 2004 Posted February 3, 2004 I went to Cycle Kat last summer to provide a donor bike. They said they would call me in a couple weeks. Haven't heard a word from them. Al R. mentioned they put it off as a winter project. Well, there is only 6 more weeks of winter and no word yet. I've got the cold weather gear for the trip but 90 miles in 20 degree weather is still 90 miles. For what it's worth Alfred can contact me at work at 937-222-6444 or at home at 937-859-3322 or twhitaker6 at woh dot rr dot com
al_roethlisberger Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Just heard back from Alfred, and unfortunately it's not good news. Reading between the lines, it sounds like that unless they get a lot of interest from owners wanting their product, they can't afford to prioritize it right now, or in the near future. I would have to assume that they haven't heard much from owners interested in the product, so are focusing on larger opportunities... which from a business perspective, I can understand. They seem like a bunch of nice guys, and Alfred got right back to me, but it doesn't look like they'll have a product any time soon.... again unless there was a huge groundswell of potential buyers knocking down their door Tue, 3 Feb 2004 Al- From the designated reponder to the designated inquirer, I officially regret to inform you that we have made no progress on the MG bar kit... The truth is we are swamped with development projects, and have to triage them based upon the level of demand... We would very much like to make the products contemplated for V11 LeMans, but they are scheduled behind probably 15 other development projects, most of which are on Spring-early summer deadlines. What's worse, as new projects come in, we are constantly evaluating and prioritizing, and honestly, the MG project has slipped several times... I suppose if we had a better sense of the potential for the kits, it might help elevate them, but as it stands, we are just not sure we will sell enough of them to justify the development time, especially if it is development time taken from other products. I feel bad about this, because it is not only something we would like to accomplish, but also because we like the bikes very much, and for that matter, we like all of the owners we've had the privilege to meet. Again, I apologize, and hope you understand. Please let me know if I can assist further, although I know that to date, we've not assisted very much at all. As always, Best- -Alfred Alfred Kobacker, President Cycle Cat division, Ideanamics, LLC 800 Morrison Rd. Columbus, OH 43230 USA
twhitaker Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Oh well. I thought I may not have represented Moto Guzzi in the greatest light. I was pretty enthusiastic though. Alfred seems to eat, sleep, drink, etc Ducati. When I was there he had over a dozen of them for reference. Looks like I'll be contacting Cyclops at www.convertibar.com I heard they make a post that will accept our bars. Has there been any feedback on that item?
Guest friz Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 on risers for your mg I had my machinist build me a set. they are 2.25 risers they work will on my dads lemans and on my scura no new lines need to be made the lines are a little tight but work fine. the riding position is easier on the body for an all day ride!!!
Guest mphcycles Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 I never said they were the cheap way to go. But it does seem to be the only product ready to market at this time. I dont intend to make yacht payments from this product. I hoped it would help me sell a few more bikes here. The cost of making only a couple sets runs near what it cost to do 10 sets. Thus I offered them to other riders. It fits, it works, its complete. As the other vendor has pointed out, the market is so small that any production run is not cost effective. This is why no one else has gone to the trouble to complete a kit. Mike Haven MPH Cycles
Admin Jaap Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Mike, have you seen these? German risers thread A little more than $400,- but way more possibilities and beautifully crafted.
Motomonster Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 I know some of the newer sports have a handlebars, if yours does then these might work: I have a set coming for my Stone. They're from Monaco: http://www.csonline.net/monacocstguzzi/web.../accesories.htm
al_roethlisberger Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Yeah Moto, a few folks have put the Centauro risers on the bikes before the Ballabio came out Jason did a whole "How To" write up: http://www.motoguzzi-forum.nl/howto/adapting.htm ( :!: P.S. Jaap, the link seems to be dead right now ) To Mike Haven's point, there are actually several vendors out with bar risers now. We tried to cover several of the efforts in the FAQ section: Raising Handlebars FAQ Here are several nice examples(in the threads): http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...65&hl=handlebar http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1549 ...but Mike is correct though in that it is a relatively(literally, relative other market opportunities for the manufacturers) small market, so I'm not surprised that many more are not out there. In fact, I'm actually surprised by the number that are, such as the Two Brothers solution. Gen Mar was also making some risers, but I haven't heard nor checked with them for a long time. al
jrt Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Also, keep in mind that this is a commercial offering. Mike Haven needs to make a buck or two to stay afloat. Sure, if you're handy with a mill, then making a set of the add-on risers is not too difficult. About a year before the MPH offering, I made a much clunkier, less attractive set of add-on risers as my 'first design' but ended up giving them away (they didn't work for the recipient either ). I found drilling the triple clamp and mounting up proper bars to be more pleasing to me. I'm not advocating one or the other- it's up to the individual to decide what will work on their own bike. As far as prices go, I guess it's what the market bears, right? I dunno. It seems like all these add-ons (bars, footpegs, accessory doo dads) are about 3-400 dollars US. It's just some thoughts, and I'm not even sure they are mine after reading it over. Maybe this is just my extemporaneous stream of unconciousness. Cheers, Jason
jrt Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 Ah, here we go- I'm as bad as Al- I have a picture of everything. Like I said- this was my first design for bar risers, and they didn't work well because they were too big around the outside dimensions. I recall that they fouled other bits in the cockpit. cheers, Jason
TX REDNECK (R.I.P.) Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 There's one problem with all these bar solutions. " If I can't find it at Wal-mart,I dont need it"
Admin Jaap Posted February 4, 2004 Posted February 4, 2004 ( :!: P.S. Jaap, the link seems to be dead right now ) I accidentally deleted all the files on that URL... I have to search for the back-up...
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