ProTaper Contour Raptor Bars - anyone cut them narrower?

[rbernie]

It looks like swapping in a ProTaper Raptor bar is the best option for me to reduce the back pain that I get from the stock setup. Has anyone tried to narrow the ProTaper, or looked at how much room is left after installing all the bar end kit to guess as to the likelihood of being able to narrow them at all?

Ideally, I think that I'd like the bars to be about an inch shorter per side but I can't tell if that's really feasible or not.

 

[tomatocity]

I have had the Raptors (uncut) for 45,000 miles.

You might be able to cut 1" but I would start removing a 1/4" to 1/2".

 

[rbernie]

Thanks for the reply! Do you mind taking a peek at your setup and guesstimating how much more inboard you could move the switchgear and such before they couldn't bolt on properly?

 

[tomatocity]

Thanks for the reply! Do you mind taking a peek at your setup and guesstimating how much more inboard you could move the switchgear and such before they couldn't bolt on properly?

As I said above...

... You might be able to cut 1" but I would start removing a 1/4" to 1/2".

 

[scott123007]

Another option would be to cut the stock bars. Ya never know, the width could be most of your comfort problem, not just the sweep. You can cut as much as 5/8" off each end and it will still retain the threaded inserts. You can then mount 2" adjustable ROX risers without having to worry about longer cables. You will have many options now with how much height vs pullback you have. It worked wonders for me. My $.02

 

[KPK]

I would try just moving the grips and controls inboard first and test ride for awhile before cutting them cause once you commit there is no turning back

 

[Tony Down Under]

Another option would be to cut the stock bars. Ya never know, the width could be most of your comfort problem, not just the sweep. You can cut as much as 5/8" off each end and it will still retain the threaded inserts. You can then mount 2" adjustable ROX risers without having to worry about longer cables. You will have many options now with how much height vs pullback you have. It worked wonders for me. My $.02

I agree. I had shoulder pain issues and moved the grips inboard 15 mm on the OEM h/bars and along with 2" Rox Risers I'm now pain free! I'm just about to commit to cutting the bar down permanently.

 

[HHH]

Ditto, I cut my OEM 3/4", Installed Rox 1"up/1"back, tilted the levers to my optimal reach and at full turn I have just about 1/8"-1/4" gap between the hand protectors and tank, all OEM brake lines/electrical harness.

 

[rbernie]

And the answer is...

Yes, you can. It's a little tighter on the left side - the factory hand guard limits the amount that you can reduce the distance between the clutch perch and the handgrip - but I have the bars shortened by an inch per side and everything mounted up as it should. I did use the HDB inserts (terrific folk to work with, by the way) to retain the stock bar weights, and reused the stock grips. I also took the opportunity to mount heated grip pads under the grips.

The hardest part was hacking the bars and cleaning up the cuts - took an hour with nothing but hand tools.

 

[Don in Lodi]

HDB inserts?

 

[PowersUSA]

HDB inserts?

HDB = Highway Dirt Bikes, see inserts here

 

[rbernie]

I've finally had a chance to ride around with the narrowed Contour Raptors, and while I like it better than stock I'm not entirely sold on the bars.

On the good side, the reduced sweep and narrower width (I cut the Raptor to 763mm wide/175mm control space instead of 813mm/200mm as manufactured) is better than stock. On the potentially negative side, they actually feel a bit high for me and I'm also thinking that I'd like less reach. I've rotated the Raptor as far forward as I can and retain a relatively flat hand position to reduce the reach as much as possible, and I'll continue to use that for a bit to firm up my impressions.

As an interesting side note - the Contour Raptor setup (narrower bar, plain HDB inserts, OEM bar weights, factory handguards, factory grips, Symtec heated grip pads) gives me much less hand vibration that I got from the stock setup with the handguards (the changes in setup being the bars and the heated grip inserts). That's a nice benefit.

Just as an exercise (since bars are relatively cheap) I just ordered the Contour Mini tall (785mm wide with a 200mm control space) to use as an experiment. This bend has significantly less reach and rise than the Raptor (it's very similar to the Contour ATV mid in all dimensions but width), but since it starts out over 40mm narrower than the Raptor/ATV bends I can run it uncut and retain a full 200mm control surface. I figure that I can always use bar risers with the Mini if I need more rise, and the reduction in reach and retention of the full 200mm control surface should be useful.

Right now, I'm planning to swap the Mini onto the bike after the holiday break (dove season opener!) and see how that setup compares.

 

[rbernie]

Just as a follow up:

I've now tried multiple bar solutions - stock, Contour Raptors narrowed by 2" (1" per side), Contour Raptors as shipped/uncut, Contour Mini Highs, and Contour Mini highs in ROX 2" risers. The winner is.... Raptors, as shipped and unmolested in any way.

The cut/narrowed Raptors worked OK but I missed the extra control space and they actually caused a minor pinch in my shoulder blades that the uncut Raptors did not - weird but true. Both the cut and uncut Raptors showed markedly less vibration than stock, Minis, or Minis in the ROX risers. The difference is striking; you'd almost think that you have a different motor in the bike. The Mini's without the ROX risers did not have clearance to run the OEM handguards with the Givi or Parabellum screen, but all other combinations could be made to fit both the aftermarket screens and the Yamaha handguards. I actually preferred the flatter/straighter Mini bend for around town cut-n-thrust, but their vibration levels and long-haul comfort ranked the Mini/ROX combination second behind the uncut Raptors.

 

[BarkSlayer]

After a lengthy search, I mounted a pair of uncut ProTaper Raptors and find them to be perfect. There really isn't any width to spare, so I recommend not cutting them down any. Since the bar end weights hang off the ends about .5", you pick up about 1" of overall width and you'll need it to accommodate all the controls without clamping on a curved portion of the bar. The stock bars were terrible IMO, but the Raptors made a world of difference in comfort. A full inch higher and not nearly so swept back.