Scootworks Phat II Risers:

It seems a common complaint that the stock bars on the Nomad are just too far forward for comfort.  The 16" ape hangers and forward controls I had on my Shadow Spirit were extremely comfortable for all day riding.  Something had to be done.  On the VRF, a lot of riders recommended the Phat II risers from Scootworks and I figured they were worth a try.  I didn't really want to go through changing the wiring and getting new brake lines involved with the ape hanger installation again so I opted for the riser mod.  It turns out they were an excellent choice.  The bars are far enough back for now and with the highway pegs I have a very comfortable riding position.

Below are a couple of picture of the risers installed.  Installation is described in excellent detail on these web sites:

http://www.gadgetjq.com/risers.htm  

http://nomad.eurekaboy.com/risers.htm 

I did use the center mounting stud because I found I had clearance around the speedo housing.  It's close but clearance is about 2mm and I can still get the key in and turn it without problem.

One thing that did concern me was that the brake line appeared pretty tight once the handlebars were fixed in the risers.  I moved the brake reservoir a little to provide some slack.  I also felt around behind the back chrome fork cover and there is a clip which holds the brake line to the cover.  If you remove the two bolts holding on the front nacelle, you can work the back cover off and remove the clip.  In the end, I didn't gain much.  I think in the stock handlebar position, the clip does keep the brake line from rubbing against the steering stem on full lock to the right but I took it off anyway.

The final look.  Makes a big difference.

 

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