5.5. inch pull back risers for Yamaha Bolt

The 5.5 inch Milwaukee Twins pullback risers for Yamaha Bolt (maybe...)

The risers arrived (from J&P Cycles). No clue yet if I can get them to fit, but judging from everything I've Googled, it should be doable. I'll need to change the cables first AND source the bolts for the top clamps. The product info doesn't state what kind of bolts I need nor does it say anything on the package. Getting UNC bolts here in soviet Europe is not so easy. Most hardware stores don't stock UNC bolts to an extent that you could just march in a see what fits.

EDIT: apparently I need four 5/16"-18 x 7/8" bolts

SIDE NOTE
Inerestingly it seems that the Yamaha factory Apes or Tall Handlebars - 1TP-F61B0-V0-00 as they are officially called come with hard washers that replace the rubbers insert inside the triple tree. This is apparently to reduce the amount of play on the tall bars that by nature will have more leverage than the stock ones.

I found this out by watching the excellent Chaparral Motorsports handlebar installation video.

Jump to around 11:12 for the part showing the washers.

I've posted on the http://www.yamahastarbolt.com/ forums in hopes of getting good close up pictures of the washers and maybe even measurements. I don't want to buy the bars just to get a pair of washers. 

Screen grabs

Yamaha Bolt riser rubber washers still in place

The new "hard washer"

PLEASE, go visit http://www.chaparral-racing.com/ they deserve some business for doing such good videos

Yamaha Bolt ergonomics

Yamaha Bolt stock riding position

While the Bolt is cruiser type bike, the riding position is not very relaxed for a guy my size (5'8). Ideally I would like my feet to be further forward and the bars to be a little higher. The standard factory setup is very similar to a Sportster Iron, but I wan't happy with that either when I test rode one. The Sportster 72 on the other hand felt rather comfy so I'm making changes to get the Bolt riding position closer to that.

About forward controls

The Sporster standard forwards are 6" forward from the factory mids. This is pretty ideal for me, but for the Bolt 6" forwards are not an option (at least to my knowledge). The factory forwards will move the pegs 2.5", The SS forwards 4.5" and The Low & Mean forwards a full 9" which I think is too much for me. The actual distance might just work, but the bolts engine is sticking out from the left side in such a way that I think it will press against my inner thigh. If the 9" forwards were to work they would have to be set up significantly wider than the standard pegs. I believe that they actually are too, but I  don't know by how much which prevents from making a DIY mock up for testing.

The engine is not centered on the Bolt.

Harley Sportster stock riding position

With the planned changes (5.5" pull back risers, Mustang seat and SS Custom Cycle 4.5" forward controls the forward lean will be reduced to near zero and the knee angle improved a bit. These estimations are based on the on the excellent cycle-ergo site's "calculator".

I estimated that the 5.5" pull back risers will produce roughly 4" rise and 1.5" pull back due to the mounting angle. I also estimated that the Mustang seat will raise me about 1".

Bolt modified riding postition

Motorcycle offline navigation by phone

I've been using an old cheap beaten up TomTom for years now. The reason being that it works and it plays well with the Tyre route planning software. For pleasant and successful route planning Tyre has been much more important than the actual device mounted on the bike. So far there hasn't been an App available that would do what traditional GPS combined with Tyre have been able to do, that being easy route & waypoint planning and off line navigation.

My Requirements

When I'm planning a trip, what I want to do, is plan the route exactly as I want. Not  just "find scenic routes" not "avoid highways" etc. So far doing this with the actual navigator has been a nightmare. Phone apps have not been much better and very often there is a requirement for internet access.

Near constant mobile internet access on a proper road trip that usually takes me to other countries is either totally impossible / impractical or costs way too much.

My approach has been to use Tyre to plan my waypoints on the computer and then upload the finished route to the TomTom. No internet required on the road and the planning is a pleasure with a computer mouse and a big screen.

The current/previous way of planning a route and navigating on a motorcycle
1. Plan the route with Tyre
2. Export the .ITN file to the TomTom navigator
3. load up the route from the TomTom menu
4. ride!

With the new MotoEye App this is about to change. It looks like I can finally retire the TomTom and only have my phone with me for navigation. With this in mind I'm designing my "cockpit" so that I can easily see my phone and keep it charging while riding. The good thing is that I can still plan the route with the computer and everything works as before but I know have one less device to lug with me.

The future way of planning a route and navigating on a motorcycle?
1. Plan the route with Tyre
2. Export the .GPX file to dropbox*
3. Load the .GPX file to the MotoEye App*
4. Ride

* For this to work you need a dropbox account and dropbox installed on your phone

I found out about the MotoEye a bit too late as the riding season is pretty much over. I'll have to wait for spring to test it properly, but so far it's looking promising.

For some reason most of the promising navigation apps designed for motorcyclist do not offer offline maps. That's pretty much a deal breaker for anyone planning to even a bit off the grid or go abroad where mobile data transfer charges can be obscene. MotoEye seems to be the only one that allows me to plan my routes on the computer and offers offline maps. If there are other options out there, please let me know!

Tool box

 Had to take a peek in the tool box. Inside was two black pouches which contained an assortment of "toolkit quality" tools. Better than nothing, but I think I'll replace most of them and ad some tools of my own. From the looks of things the previous owner has never opened the container.

Ram mount X-grip phone holder for Yamaha Bolt

Test installation of the Ram Mount X-grip.
I will be getting risers so the installation is just to see how the parts fit together. I have two different length arms for the mount, but it seems that bu using the longer one I can get the phone pretty much smack in the middle. The reason I want my phone mounted this way, is that I have plans for using as a navigator. Previously this hasn't been feasible because of mobile internet restrictions on other stuff, but it looks like I can retire my old TomTom soon. I'll post more about this later.

Ram Mount ball the Yamaha Bolt stock riser

The ball is pretty unobtrusive

Iphone on the X-grip

Quite ok so far

EDIT Feb. 11th

The mount was moved to the center of the bars once the pullback risers were installed. The main reason was that soviet europe could not provide me with a suitable UNC bolt that would fit the risers.

USB power plug installation on Yamaha Bolt

Time to install the BurnsMoto USB Power plug. After doing some research I found out that there is a suitable power source inside the headlight bucket.* It is a switched power source meaning that it only provides power when the bikes power is on. I prefer this over hooking the USB-socket straight to the battery mainly because this way I can't accidentally leave things charging and empty the battery.

I know you could also get a compatible plug and use that instead of soldering. That would be he optimal solution. I have found though that a good solder is just about the most reliable way to make connections and so far my soldered joins have never failed.

*supposedly this plug can be used for things like grip heaters so there should be plenty of juice to power GPS devices, phones etc.

THIS IS WHAT I BOUGHT

WARNING - DISCLAIMER 
This is how I did it. This may not be the correct or best way to go about this. I do not recommend anyone messing with their bike if they don't know what they are doing. This method will DAMAGE the connector inside the headlight bucket.

To get access to the wires unscrew two screw on both sides of the headlight

Unplug the black connector from the headlight (just pull) and the white connector 8there is a small tab, don't just pull)

The connector you are looking for is tucked next to the black connector 

This what you will find inside the tape

Some gentle but decisive pulling and the connectors will come out of the plug

Two layers of shrink tubing

Wires ready for soldering. BLACK to BLACK, BLUE/GREEN to RED

First layer of heat shrink tubing

Second layer of heat shrink tubing

I left plenty of wire inside the headlight bucket as I'm installing risers in the near future and maybe even apes if the risers don't do enough. The USB-plug isn't really attached to anything yet, but I'll get to that once the risers are in place.

The plug. It has a cap, but the shallow DOF kind of hides it from view

EDIT Feb. 11th

I moved the plug from the bars behind the speedo. The speedo bracket provides a really sturdy mounting point and the plug is tucked away out of sight.

-THE OUTTAKES

I spent some time trying to measure the voltage out of the AUX plug and got nothing. (I wanted to make sure the plug actually provided power before proceeding with the installation) I suspected I may have a burnt fuse, but once I checked the fuse box that didn't seem to be the problem.
I had removed the headlight so I could not see if the headlight was getting power, but as the headlight had worked fine just minutes before I thought it must, but I better make sure... Sure enough, as I fumbled with the white headlight connector with my multimeter probes I managed to cause a short. Once I heard the popping sound I instanly knew I had NOW lost a fuse. To make sure I connected the headlight back on -> no joy. I pulled open the fuse box again expecting to find a blown headlight fuse, but instead I found that my fumbling had blown the 7.5 signaling system fuse. Luckily there was a spare and once I popped that on the headlight was working again.  At this point my head was slowly exiting my a** and I understood to test the plug while the bike was actually running. Heureka! I had power from the socket and I could proceed with the installation

The blown fuse

Burnsmoto USB plug

Wohoo! Parts are trickling in. Burnsmoto USB-plug has been a mod I've done with the last 3 bikes and it has always worked flawlessly.

Yamaha Bolt garage poster

Yamaha Bolt Garage poster. I included some key figures from the manual. Be aware that there may be errors. If you find any, let me know.

Yamaha XVS950C / Star Bolt garage poster

PDF version for printing 

Here it is

2015 Bolt with 5000 kms on the clock. Picking it up on friday. Unfortunately riding season is pretty much over, but then gain there is plenty of time to tinker with modifications during the winter.