Short reach bars on 2020 RT

An update to my post about installing F3 short reach bars on my 2020RTL. After a few weeks and also installing the factory backrest all is perfect for me. Yes it does move the bars pretty close and perhaps just a little high but it is SOOOOO much better I will never look back. Actually if I couldn't have changed the bars or installed some sort of risers I would have just traded the bike off it was that painful for me. Why Can Am continues to install these bars on a touring machine is beyond me, they are more suited to a sport model than a RT.

Certainly agree with your last sentence, adjustable's would be nice but we know that ain't gonna happen.

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Originally Posted by bikerbillone

Stebrock, I think I might get brave and cut the bar pin and rotate them down just a bit and see how that goes, I'm 5'7". and find them a tad high and close. Did you have any problem removing the allen head bolts? I want to be very careful and not booger those heads.

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With the bars tightened properly I have had no issues with the bars moving out of my desired position. Rock solid.
On my 2020 I had no problem loosening the bolts with a T-handled allen wrench. On my 2018 F3 I used a heavy duty L-shaped allen wrench and tapped it with a hammer to break them loose.

Thanks much, good info.

I did the magic trick, hack sawed the pin, carefully filed it down, so now to ride some and tweeked the bars. I think this is gonna be better than sliced bread. Thumbs up to all the encouragement. Some of 'us' are just overly cautious, cutting, drilling, all that stuff ya can't stick back together if it doesn't work.

I am 5 feet tall. Is the f3 short reach bar the one to go with? Any special angle to have it on or
it fits right in? How do the heated grips come off? Any wire modifications?
Thanking you in advance

I traded in my beloved 2015 F3-S for the supreme comfort an options of the 2020 RT-L. Being just 5 foot 2, I quickly started to become resentful of my Agador Sydercus 2.0. I wanted to love him, but I just was not comfortable. My feet were dangling - missed the raised bent knee ergonomics that the foot pegs offered me. And the reach to those wide-*ss bars - what was Can-Am thinking?? They want to attract women to the brand - but, unless you are at least 6 foot tall, you will not be comfortable. The brake riser from Lamonster was a God send. I did try his handlebar riser. It did help; however, the bars were still too wide and would cause me pain in between my shoulder blades. Plus, I still could not put my tushy all the way back and sit comfortably in the saddle. Short reach bars to the rescue!!! Had them on my F3-S - and thanks to the awesome posts from our fellow Spyder Lovers - I knew how to find the tricky hidden zip ties to snip and successfully complete the installation myself. Now I just have to wait for Lamonster to introduce some highway pegs and I will be doing one helluva happy dance!! Cmon Can Am - get with the program. If the 2020 RT was your aha moment - then you should've brought the F-3's U-Fit system along with it. Let us choose between floorboards or pegs - or both - and let us adjust them to our own individual comfort level.

Don't exclude us fidgets - there's a lot of us who love our Spyders!!

Larsen - a HUGE yes!!! The short reach bars and Lamonster's brake pedal bolster will change your life!!

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Originally Posted by justsmile0808

I traded in my beloved 2015 F3-S for the supreme comfort an options of the 2020 RT-L. Being just 5 foot 2, I quickly started to become resentful of my Agador Sydercus 2.0. I wanted to love him, but I just was not comfortable. My feet were dangling - missed the raised bent knee ergonomics that the foot pegs offered me. And the reach to those wide-*ss bars - what was Can-Am thinking?? They want to attract women to the brand - but, unless you are at least 6 foot tall, you will not be comfortable. The brake riser from Lamonster was a God send. I did try his handlebar riser. It did help; however, the bars were still too wide and would cause me pain in between my shoulder blades. Plus, I still could not put my tushy all the way back and sit comfortably in the saddle. Short reach bars to the rescue!!! Had them on my F3-S - and thanks to the awesome posts from our fellow Spyder Lovers - I knew how to find the tricky hidden zip ties to snip and successfully complete the installation myself. Now I just have to wait for Lamonster to introduce some highway pegs and I will be doing one helluva happy dance!! Cmon Can Am - get with the program. If the 2020 RT was your aha moment - then you should've brought the F-3's U-Fit system along with it. Let us choose between floorboards or pegs - or both - and let us adjust them to our own individual comfort level.

Don't exclude us fidgets - there's a lot of us who love our Spyders!!

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Happy to see u are enjoying your RT more. I agree in that it is surprising that the most expensive BRP on-road vehicle line "RT" doesn't provide pegs/brake adjusting. F3 has U-fit and Rykers have a sliding rail system. Go figure. The floorboards are nice but also pegs would be better.

In BRP's 2020 brochure it shows riders heights from 5' 0" to 6' 3' for F3 - no mention of rider heights for RT. My wish would be for a narrower seating - I don't see any way of modifying it. The seat is thin as it is.

I am 5' 8" with 30" inch inseam and can reach brake pedal without stretching from back of seat and fully forward in seat can reach to front top of floor board. Not so much height more inseam I would think and where u sit in saddle.

It is more comfortable for me to sit as far forward in seat as possible with a backrest against me. It is a little narrower there and less stress on my old hips.

The discussions about positioning have me a little scared. I'm only 5' 8". I did find that BRP has adjustable handlebars for the 2020 RT (and I suspect they will fit the 2021). Has anyone tried them yet? They are on Summer Sale right now. (May 2021) So they have set adjustment positions or infinitely adjustible? Any input would be appreciated.
https://can-am-shop.brp.com/on-road/...handlebar.html

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Originally Posted by GaryRT

The discussions about positioning have me a little scared. I'm only 5' 8". I did find that BRP has adjustable handlebars for the 2020 RT (and I suspect they will fit the 2021). Has anyone tried them yet? They are on Summer Sale right now. (May 2021) So they have set adjustment positions or infinitely adjustible? Any input would be appreciated.
https://can-am-shop.brp.com/on-road/...handlebar.html

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Granted that it will cost you significantly more, but if you go with the Helibars there is a near certainty that you can adjust them to find a very comfortable fit.
https://www.helibars.com/can-am-brp/

I am 5'9" and installed the short reach bars on my F3L. I tried a couple of positions and found the lowest position (lowest heigth and furthest back) was the most comfortable for me. I am leaving on a 2 week trip in June, so will have a more in-depth test than the couple of day rides I have taken. But so far it has definitely helped with the shoulder pain.

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Originally Posted by Larsen

I am 5 feet tall. Is the f3 short reach bar the one to go with? Any special angle to have it on or
it fits right in? How do the heated grips come off? Any wire modifications?
Thanking you in advance

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The handlebar range of adjustment is limited by an alignment pin on the mount that fits in a slot on the handlebars. if you can't move the bars to where you need them the alignment pin can be removed with a hacksaw. Removing the pin in no way prevented me from fastening the bars in place.
The heated grips are attached to "cuffs" that are attached to the handlebars. Remove the cuffs and the grips slide right off. You don't need to unwire anything. You will have to cut a cable tie to lengthen the control cables. Location of ties are described earlier in this thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Larsen

I am 5 feet tall. Is the f3 short reach bar the one to go with? Any special angle to have it on or
it fits right in? How do the heated grips come off? Any wire modifications?
Thanking you in advance

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I have a set of short reach bars for sale. I put them on my 2020 RT and for me it was not as comfortable but for a shorter person they may be ideal. If you are interested I will make you a good deal. I never used the hardware so it is new.

I have also gone through the handlebar rabbit hole. Male-5'8" slim build. 2021 RT Sea2Sky.

1. Stock bars- arms stretched to far, pulling me away from back of seat.

2. Lamonster 2" riser block - much better but not quite enough.

3. "Short Reach" bars - To much

4. 2018 F3, Position B bars #709402241 -- Sweet spot for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For my wife, we've decided to go the stock F3 handlebar route (#709402241) For those that have swapped the handlebars themselves, how difficult is it? Assume I'm capable but come with lack of experience.

Also we have a late 2021 Spyder RTL. I heard in the 2020 that some ties had to be removed for the cables to reach. Is that still the case for the 2021?

I had enough slack and did not have to cut the zip ties when installing (#709402241) on my 2021 RT S2S.
Having removed my handlebar numerous times:
I found it easiest to remove the handgrip/controls first and let them lay on a blanket covering the console, then unclamp the bar.
There are 4 cable routing clamps, screwed to the underside of the stock handlebar, 2 on each side. The new bar came without these clamps, but had predrilled holes for them, so they need to be transferred over. You will need to do this first thing as you can't get to them once the handlebar is clamped down.
Mount in reverse order.
Very easy operation, took about 15 min.

no need to cut zip ties on 18 f3L

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Originally Posted by mhan

I had enough slack and did not have to cut the zip ties when installing (#709402241) on my 2021 RT S2S.
Having removed my handlebar numerous times:
I found it easiest to remove the handgrip/controls first and let them lay on a blanket covering the console, then unclamp the bar.
There are 4 cable routing clamps, screwed to the underside of the stock handlebar, 2 on each side. The new bar came without these clamps, but had predrilled holes for them, so they need to be transferred over. You will need to do this first thing as you can't get to them once the handlebar is clamped down.
Mount in reverse order.
Very easy operation, took about 15 min.

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Thanks for the summary. This give me confidence in doing this myself and I ordered the part. The local dealer thought it could take up to two hours (he wasn't sure if the cable length would suffice) and the potential labor costs worried me.

If it takes them more than 30 minutes you need a new dealer

Alright folks, I finally got the F3 Stock handlebar put on my wife's 2021 RTL. It took me longer than I had expected as one of the socket head screw that go into the top cuff snapped in the thread when I removed it. I spent part of my day with a screw extractor and then finding a exact replacement screw (at Ace hardware of all places!).

For the cable reach, I didn't cut the ties for fear of doing more harm than good (such as accidently slicing through more than ties). Has anyone found on the late 2021 RTL that they needed to removed the cable ties when they replaced the handlebars? I'm usually less worried but as this is my wife's Spyder than mine...it's when I don't worry that gets me into trouble.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mhan

I have also gone through the handlebar rabbit hole. Male-5'8" slim build. 2021 RT Sea2Sky.

1. Stock bars- arms stretched to far, pulling me away from back of seat.

2. Lamonster 2" riser block - much better but not quite enough.

3. "Short Reach" bars - To much

4. 2018 F3, Position B bars #709402241 -- Sweet spot for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Did you use the riser blocks with the F3 bars?

I installed short reach bars on my 2021 RT, they were fine , I thought, I put on a back rest and found the short reach bars were too close, the back rest kind of pushes you forward . So , I need to start adjusting the bar or put the stock bar back on.