Cold Tested: BRP Inc. 165mm Straight Handlebar Extension Kit

The BRP 165mm Straight Handlebar Extension. Click to enlarge.

The Summit Rev G4 package is the most well-thought-out mountain sled that Ski-Doo has ever offered to the masses: It’s well balanced, has a sleek look and boasts a high HP number. In comfort land, it also seeks to keep the needs of riders well met and cared for, but not everybody has the same idea of what’s right or wrong for ergonomics, which leads to the accessory catalog. One item we equipped our 2017 Summit X 165 with was the shorter, 165mm (6.5-inch) handlebar riser.

Even at first glance, the stock 7.5-inch riser looked tall when observed in the staging area during our prototype rides. In reality, the lower layout of the sled’s body panels and steering post position is really what added to the taller look, as the rider actually hangs onto the bars within a quarter-inch of the prior XM height.

Looks are one thing, but piloting the sled was a different story. The 7.5-inch shiny billet block was ample for most conditions, except when we really wanted to let loose and dive into the steep trees. During full lock countersteer sidehills and laying with our shoulder in the snow to hold aggressive lines, the stock riser left us wanting our hands a bit lower. The 6.5-inch block did just that and was well worth the coin.

If you’re going to do it right and also replace the throttle cable, here’s an important part to the installation process: First locate a high-quality, versatile  tool set and two cold beverages. I may joke, but this became a rather involved process due mostly to the swap to the shorter throttle cable (we could have perhaps re-routed the stock length to soak up some of the newly found slack but chose the new cable).

Installation of the riser was easy and quick. Two sets of bolts on the top and bottom of the stock block swapped into the new one. Once we aligned the angle of the steering post and rolled the bars to have the flat hand-section of the bar horizontal, we were done. Adding the throttle cable swap had us turning to those chosen beverages. We needed to  remove the gauge, side panels, hood, jackshaft/clutch and airbox to access the throttle bodies and replace the stock throttle cable with the shorter length.

Once done and back riding in the hills, we found ourselves in far fewer precarious scenarios where the bars had previously left us feeling stretched out and not able to use our core muscles to maneuver, thanks to the 6.5-inch riser. We estimate that the lower height would be suited for aggressive riders up to 6-foot, 3-inches tall.

This accessory for 2017 found such great traction within the Ski-Doo camp that the 6.5-inch riser is now standard on all Summit/Freeride sleds for 2018.

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