Tail Gunner radio check, hey all, for those doubting Thomas’s, there are no atheists in fox holes, I promise! This month I take a look at a new product for LA Choppers, their Religious line of risers.
I’m excited to review these absolutely gorgeous risers. The riser is hefty in diameter (approx. 1 ½-inch) and are beautifully chromed plated T-6061 billet aluminum.
They come in height sizes from 1 ½, 3, 4, 5.5, and 6-inch rise. They also come with a riser adapter kit for metric applications. The religious line has a choice of, The Star of David, Spanish Cross, Celtic cross, and a Standard Cross. They also carry the Mohawk, Drilled, and Smooth top riser caps.
All the risers come in your choice of chrome or black finish, and are absolutely beautiful. So, here we go, this will be a two person job, so find a buddy or maybe your wife or girlfriend. First determine the height you want, you can stay close to stock, or go big. For those of you who do not want to change out your cable lengths, and wiring I suggest no more than a 3-inch rise for use with your stock bars and cables.
For the more daring “go big” people, LA Choppers carries a complete line of longer cables and bars for a full custom look. The rise swap is pretty simple; cover your tank with lots of protective padding (tank cover, blankets, pads etc.) and the front fender too, just in case.
Then loosen the two ¾” bolts under the top yoke that hold the risers in place.
Once you have done that, go back and loosen all the existing riser bolts that secure your bars to the risers.
This is where your second set of hands comes in. have your buddy, wife, whoever, hold the bars as you remove all the riser bolts. You can slowly let the bars rest on the tank (pads) for a moment; have your friend help stabilize them, now you can completely remove the 1/2-inch bolts and riser legs from the bike. No need to remove all the hand controls, everything can stay in place.
Reinstallation is in reverse. Install the new riser legs, snug the ¾” bolts, but not tight yet. With the riser legs mounted loosely, install the bars in place, and snug the new caps and screws down.
At this point, I usually sit on the bike and position the bars where I want them, now tighten the riser cap screws while holding the bars in position. After that is done, go back and tighten the 1/2-inch bolts that hold the risers to the top yoke.
Tightening the riser cap screws first, assures everything will align properly and no binding will occur. I noticed that the fit is so precise, that once I snuged the cap screws, the bars were nice and tight, so bars didn’t slip or move much at all.
You can go back now and reposition the bars again if you need to. The whole riser swap took me about 30 minutes; keep in mind bikes will vary on the amount of time. The touring bikes will be a little longer vs., a Softail or Dyna, just more parts to R&R that’s all. I really like the way these look, I can’t help thinking maybe I have a little more “Faith” on my side with these risers.
At the very least, I get to look at them as I ride, or may maybe my faith is stronger! Whatever it is, I feel the vibe! Contact Chucky at LA Choppers, he’ll be glad to help you out with all your custom parts requirements.
On a scale of 1 to 10, these are definitely a 10 for quality and the install rates a 3 for difficulty. This was an easy afternoon project, hope you enjoyed the article. Gunner out for now!
www.lachoppers.com Price varies with height and coating they range from $159.95 to $204.95 depending on what you want. Tell them Tail Gunner sent you!!
Sources for LA Choppers components:
