It's not curiosity this time, but a likely upgrade path.
Is anyone set-up with a rapid-rise MTB R-mech and Dura-Ace bar-end shifters ?
I can't see why it'd not work, but just in case I'm missing something ... (an' tho' mixed up, it'll all be 9-sp compatible stuff, and, I'm not worried about which way the shifter goes. 
).
[As] I use an 11-32 cassette, I've got a Saint M810 on the back of my road bike (which is the only 37T capacity GS mech out there as far as I know), but (given it's target environment maybe)... the spring in the mech is just that bit too strong (for the bar-end shifters), and it very occasionally ghost-shifts the chain down the block a cog when climbing under load (yeah, yeah, I know - rule #5 (et cetera)).
Anyway, the plan now is to replace it with either an XT M770 or an XTR M970 low-normal/rapid-rise SGS rear mech (as neither series GS mech's have the capacity), and keep the same shifters. The bar end shifters work fine with the current M810, (and on other bikes), with the last generation of 'normal' XT and Ultegra mech's; so I can't see how the rapid-rise versions wouldn't be fine too, but ...
