Does anyone have actual measured data for the various OEM Handlebar options Pull back on 2024+ RT's?

[calabria1922]

Hi everyone,

I have done a lot of searching here and on other sites about handlebar swaps. What I haven't been able to find is where someone has actually measured and documented how far back each OEM option pulls back the handlebar grips on 2024+ RT Limited/Sea-to-Sky models.

My guesstimates:

Stock as delivered (Position C/D?):
Baseline 0.0"

Standard F3 Limited Bars (Position B?)
+ 1.5" ?

Short Reach Bars (position A) - same as F3 Limited Special Series?
+5.5" ?

Anyone have any actual measured data for each bar?

For reference I am 67 and 5'-7" (used to be ), been riding every kind of bike for 55 years, 2 years on a Ryker. Just ordered a 2026 Sea-to-Sky, test drove several different models, and ergonomically, my arms have to be completely straight and locked to get my back vertical.

I have a 2026 Sea-to-Sky on order and I have access to a 2025 RT Limited that I have been driving. To get an idea of the different bar setbacks, I have been just sitting on it in the garage, placing folded up towels of different thickness in front of the seatback to bring me closer to the bars, simulating the pullback of each bar, then sitting there feeling the ergonomics and turning the bars to full lock.

Let me know if anyone has any data on the bars pull back dimensions. The dealer will be installing the bars for me, so I want to get it right.

Sorry for the long note. Appreciate any and all feedback!

 

[kbirdsong]

I don't have the answer to your question, I'm sure someone will. But just to offer you something to think about, I'm 67 and 5'6" so pretty close to your size, and I bought, tried, and ultimately resold the bars you listed above, then purchased a set of Helibars. The adjustability and comfort made a huge difference for me. I do have quite of bit of damage to my left arm from a car accident years ago, so that's part of it I'm sure, but the ability to adjust so extensively will help as the body ages and changes. Just food for thought.

 

[calabria1922]

Thank you @kbirdsong! Really appreciate it. I saw those and shyed away from them for the cost, but may end up in the same solution as you.

What was it about the short reach bars that didnt work? Too far back? Too low?

Sorry about the car accident. I have been blessed so far, no major injuries, but I am getting older and have to keep up with light workouts to just try and keep some strength and flexibility.

Take care and be safe.

 

[mecsw500]

I have a 2026 S2S. I'm 67 and 6 foot (or used to be...)

I just added a 1-1/4" riser and that was enough for me. I would suspect therefore that bar risers might not be enough for you.

Due to the angle of the steering head even adding 3" to the bar height isn't going to bring them back more than say 3/4". This might also raise the bars too high so you now might feel you have fitted ape hangers to a Harley.

Something with the adjust ability of heli-bars might be more suitable.

Be cautious though, the further you get moving the bars towards you, the more that the steering will feel like it's being steered by a tiller as the center line between your hands gets further and further behind the center of the steering head. I noticed it very slightly with a 1-1/4" rise which moved the bars back about 1/3", if you move the hand grips back 6" the effect might be really noticeable and off putting.

 

[calabria1922]

Wow, the "Tiller Head" effect was something I hadn't thought of. Thank you. We'll see how it goes. if I remember, I will try to post my findings after I put some miles on her.

One other solution I thought of was the Ultimate seat with the short reach option that places you 2" closer. That keeps the geometry of the steering closer to stock and effectively reducing the handlebar reach. I have heard that the Ultimate seat is a little harder and not sure the wife will like that.

Thanks again for the valuable input!

 

[mecsw500]

The geometry of the Sea to Sky seat is a little different to the RT LTD. My wife says it's a huge difference on the back. She says it was worth the extra cost of the S2S for that feature alone.

To my mind, the seat's a little taller and certainly more comfortable. I would wait and see if it allows you to sit a little more forwards in which case you might be OK. I'd give it some miles before purchasing alternatives. The further you get to sit forward, the more the fairly wide "tank" will move your legs apart which might cause pain on your hips.

I don't use the rider backrest. I might be six foot tall but my inside leg for pants is only 30". If I slide back in the seat as far as to the rider backrest, the reach to the bars is too far and the brake pedal doesn't seem right. With the backrest fitted, at 67 years of age and with arthritis, I can't get on and off the bike even. In fact, it's comical to watch me try.

Sometimes people say, oh you need to do this modification, or that modification to make the bike ride-able. I would suggest getting a few miles under your belt with the stock bike before making expensive decisions to change things. Apart from the 1-1/4" bar risers, my Spyder is completely stock other than a phone mount. Will I change things over time, possibly, but I'm not jumping into things until I've had a good think about it.

 

[calabria1922]

The geometry of the Sea to Sky seat is a little different to the RT LTD. My wife says it's a huge difference on the back. She says it was worth the extra cost of the S2S for that feature alone.

To my mind, the seat's a little taller and certainly more comfortable. I would wait and see if it allows you to sit a little more forwards in which case you might be OK. I'd give it some miles before purchasing alternatives. The further you get to sit forward, the more the fairly wide "tank" will move your legs apart which might cause pain on your hips.

I don't use the rider backrest. I might be six foot tall but my inside leg for pants is only 30". If I slide back in the seat as far as to the rider backrest, the reach to the bars is too far and the brake pedal doesn't seem right. With the backrest fitted, at 67 years of age and with arthritis, I can't get on and off the bike even. In fact, it's comical to watch me try.

Sometimes people say, oh you need to do this modification, or that modification to make the bike ride-able. I would suggest getting a few miles under your belt with the stock bike before making expensive decisions to change things. Apart from the 1-1/4" bar risers, my Spyder is completely stock other than a phone mount. Will I change things over time, possibly, but I'm not jumping into things until I've had a good think about it.

Sound advice.

My wife noticed the seat being more comfortable too, softer. When I factored in all the accessories I was planning to get (rider's backrest, backup camera, cover, and probably an upgraded seat), the S2S more than paid for itself. I wasn't sure about the backup camera but the wife wanted it.

I don't know if you ever rode the F3 Limited Special Edition. I think it has the same reduced reach handlebar. I will have to ask riders of that bike to see if they noticed the tiller affect. I didn't when I rode it but I was so focused on other things...

How does the wife feel on the back without the Armrests? That is one accessory the wife said she really wants and that we also ordered.

Thanks again for all the input.

 

[SLemmons]

The geometry of the Sea to Sky seat is a little different to the RT LTD. My wife says it's a huge difference on the back. She says it was worth the extra cost of the S2S for that feature alone.

To my mind, the seat's a little taller and certainly more comfortable. I would wait and see if it allows you to sit a little more forwards in which case you might be OK. I'd give it some miles before purchasing alternatives. The further you get to sit forward, the more the fairly wide "tank" will move your legs apart which might cause pain on your hips.

I don't use the rider backrest. I might be six foot tall but my inside leg for pants is only 30". If I slide back in the seat as far as to the rider backrest, the reach to the bars is too far and the brake pedal doesn't seem right. With the backrest fitted, at 67 years of age and with arthritis, I can't get on and off the bike even. In fact, it's comical to watch me try.

Sometimes people say, oh you need to do this modification, or that modification to make the bike ride-able. I would suggest getting a few miles under your belt with the stock bike before making expensive decisions to change things. Apart from the 1-1/4" bar risers, my Spyder is completely stock other than a phone mount. Will I change things over time, possibly, but I'm not jumping into things until I've had a good think about it.

I have the 2023 RT S2S and use a backrest. I did find after I got it coming from a 2016 RT LTD, I did find I had to stretch more on the S2S. I tracked down a riser that had the most I could find (2 to 2.5 in) and I am also 5'6". For me that was all the rise/set back I needed for a more relaxed ride. I also can not swing my leg over the backrest with my foot on the rider floorboard. The way I get around that is to step on the passenger foot rest and with left hand on the handle bar, hop up so that I can swing my right leg over the back rest. After getting my right foot on the right passenger foot rest and grabbing the handlebar with my right hand, I then step on the rider floorboards and sit down in my position. I just reverse it to get off.

 

[mecsw500]

I did without the rider back rest. With my arthritis I can't get on and off with it fitted. Also, even at 6 foot tall, I couldn't sit far enough back to use it without it being a long stretch to the bars.

Instead, for long rides, I wear one of the older hard plastic spine protectors that fasten around your shoulders and a wide strap at the waist with Velcro. Under my jacket it helps keep my back straight and stops be from slouching, which is what causes pain in my neck and back. A sort of substitute for an orthopedic brace if you like. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it's so darned hot here I wear my cooling pack vest under my jacket instead.

As for the backup camera, I've looked at it about once. I can see as much in my mirrors to be honest. It's there and I suppose some folks might use it but I wish they had spent the money on blind spot detection as that would have been much more useful in my book. In fact, to my mind they could have taken out all the speakers etc to the sound system and provided radar controlled cruise control instead. I think 99% of people play any sound through their helmet communications systems anyway. I would have made the sound system an optional extra. I've never used the speakers in five years. Most of us Spyder owners are older and probably a bit deaf to hear them or want to share our music with everyone else.

My wife didn't want the arm rests. It would make it too difficult for her to get on and off. She has a dodgy hip and she tried one in the showroom with those fitted and didn't like them, even though they fold out. She just rests her hands on her legs or in front of her if it's raining. My wife doesn't even use the heated grab handles, she just puts her hands in her lap, out of the breeze. She does use the heated seat though, a lot.

She has the confidence that I'm not going to do anything silly, so she just sits back leaning against the backrest on the trunk and enjoys the ride. She is used to riding for years on a BMW 1300GT and then a Triumph Trophy 1215 TTSE, both fast comfy touring bikes which had no armrests. She says that it's more comfy than those. She feels safe enough without them.

I'd get her to ride for a day or two, calmly like, before deciding whether to fit them or return them.

I did buy the hard sided luggage for the side panniers, and although expensive I can carry my wife's stuff to hotel rooms easily. The rear trunk luggage was much cheaper but it's not so easy to carry around as it's a bit flimsy but I do my best. So, my wife gets the rear trunk luggage and the larger pannier luggage. I get the small pannier luggage and a small bag in the frunk. The frunk is where we put the water proofs and a bag with all the USB cables and chargers.

That's the smartest thing I ever did for traveling. I bought a small men's wash kit bag on Amazon. In it, I carry enough chargers and USB cables of various types to charge helmets, iPhones, iPads, her iWatch and darned Switch 2 etc. So, whenever we go anywhere, I just grab that bag, put it in the frunk or airline carry on and go. I also put our waterproofs, waterproof gloves and boot covers in old helmet bags in the frunk, labelled his and hers, to make it easier to find whose is whose to put on. That frunk actually holds a lot. There's even a roll of TP and a bottle of arthritis Tylenol in there. Lol.

 

[mecsw500]

I have the 2023 RT S2S and use a backrest. I did find after I got it coming from a 2016 RT LTD, I did find I had to stretch more on the S2S. I tracked down a riser that had the most I could find (2 to 2.5 in) and I am also 5'6". For me that was all the rise/set back I needed for a more relaxed ride. I also can not swing my leg over the backrest with my foot on the rider floorboard. The way I get around that is to step on the passenger foot rest and with left hand on the handle bar, hop up so that I can swing my right leg over the back rest. After getting my right foot on the right passenger foot rest and grabbing the handlebar with my right hand, I then step on the rider floorboards and sit down in my position. I just reverse it to get off.

That's clever, I never thought about that. I'll try fitting it and giving it a go. The problem is with the arthritis mostly in my left leg, so I might have to go from the other side.

 

[calabria1922]

That's clever, I never thought about that. I'll try fitting it and giving it a go. The problem is with the arthritis mostly in my left leg, so I might have to go from the other side.

I saw that mount/dismount hack in a video. Made a lot of sense:

Hope this helps...

 

[Mikey]

You sound like the kind of person that wants everything perfect to the nats hind end and no one person can tell you different! Just buy the Heily bars, they are the only ones that will give you the adjustment you're looking for. My self I put a 2" riser on my S2S and that was good enough for me!! Good Luck with your new ride, you'll love it!!!

 

[LongIsland]

I'm 5'9" and broke my right elbow causing my right arm to be about 2" shorter. My solution on my "22 RTL is the Can Am short reach bar, the handlebar riser from Lamonster and pushing the handlebar forward to a more upright position. This enables my right arm to stretch out more which compensates for the difference in length. Riding like this for 2.5 yrs. with no problem. On my earlier RT's I used the Tri-axis handlebar which is not available for our years and models.

 

[calabria1922]

You sound like the kind of person that wants everything perfect to the nats hind end and no one person can tell you different! Just buy the Heily bars, they are the only ones that will give you the adjustment you're looking for. My self I put a 2" riser on my S2S and that was good enough for me!! Good Luck with your new ride, you'll love it!!!

You are partially right. Love solving problems. I strive to understand things and try to make it perfect, but in the end, after some effort, I accept it is, as good as it gets.

There never is a one size fits all for everyone...