hey guys .

im thinking of changing my handle bars and thought to ask if there were any issues i should be aware of .

i have an 86 rt ...so i guess there will be some issues with lining up with the fairing 1>: at locks 2>: height 3>: sweep back

what im looking for is something like the old european touring bars ....ii have had them on several bikes and prefer the way they sit in relation to sweepback ie: that they are more straight and only a slight rise of a couple of inches rather than the 4 or more inches
.......the bars i have now are quite good (standard) but i find the bend in towards the rider could be better for me by opening up a little .

i thought i saw a post from cf about bending the bars in a vice to get that angle just right ... which is good ...but i think i want to keep them standard ...just in case i want to go back to original .

after our "get together" ride through the hills ...i can see the rs has a definate advantage for cornering on the twisties and i put that down to the weight balance , with the rider sitting a little more forward to the rt style.

i dont mind that i have to lean more forward ...and i think i will still have enough gap betwen me and the windscreen ...

i guess it would be a good idea to search for some standard bars ...for modification first

without dissassembling right at this point ...is there holes , locating lugs on the originals that locate the throttle - switch assemblys etc ?
is there a special bar diameter ? outside and inside ....

i meant to talk to kfreak and others about this when i saw them at our meet ...but with all the stuff going on it slipped my mind


thoughts please gents

They were commonly known as 'S' bars they have only a 30mm rise (R90s, R100S, etc). But I think they'd be too confining for the fairing type. Why not an actual K-RS 'bar but with 50mm extensions in each end like mine? They have to be 22mm in diametre. There are no special locking lugs, but your bar end weights might not have anything to thread into.

I have a pair of chrome Magura "Sidecar 'Bars" I'm not using at the mo'. These are about 32" end to end where as the 'S' 'bars are only about 26-1/2". Send me an IM and I'll dig 'em out of storage and you can have a squiz, see if they're what you're wanting.

cool twb ....some good thoughts there .... ill do that over the weekend .. i guess i need to check out whats in the shops as well.

dont the bar end holders undo ? i thought i saw mine loose when i pulled the weights off to repaint them ......but i was in kinda a hurry whilst doing all that .

I dunno about yours, but some have a threaded 8mm end and some are just hollow with expanding holders for the end weights. Be sure you don't use Japanese-specified 'bars as they're 7/8" and too large a diametre for your controls and such. It's a pain...you have to grind off the chrome or the finish to get the correct fit.

hmmm i think im going to have to get a new set of acurate vernia calipers ...besides the obligotory plastic ones from jaycar huh !!!!

lols

Charlie, I just had a thought (a rare thing indeed!) about handlebars and what bend my suit you... A few years back I had a set of K1 'bars fitted to an RS Airhead. They rise a bit more than the K-RS 'bars do, are slightly wider for better, easier steering effort, and have the sweetest 'pullback' of any BMW Magura 'S' type 'bar I've laid hands on. Your arms literally fall onto them with no strain or wrist twisting. I did a few thousand mile days with them, no worries.

Here's the part number, they come in black, your dashpad will still fit, but it'll be a bit of a search to locate: 32 71 2 309 743

hmm good thought twb .....looking at the situation on bike i still need about 50 mm lift off the head to clear stuff around the fairing proper ...the rt bars are about 200 mm lift plus some back angle associated with that ..
still looking for ideas that folks may have used .....

cheers

TWB, I found a set HERE, but they are a 755 suffix, rather than the 743 you mentioned above. Any idea of the difference between them? Seller says they're OEM NOS K1 K100RS bars...

looks nice kq4miq ...pitty those pics are kinda deceptive ...but looks the deal to me .... im guessing that rise is about right ....might place a call or email enquiry

thanks mate

Those are spec'd to fit K100RS models (not K1). If you want to hunt down a BMW OEM part number and what it fits here's what to do...

Go here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

Type in the OEM part number and it will tell you what catalogue it comes from. You have to do a bit of digging if you wanna know when a part changed during production, and BMW's Teile Katalogues are not always the easiest to interpret. But that's why a good parts man (or woman) is indispensable.

BTW, you can also tell what a model is by the VIN (or what BMW intended it to be from the factory), and that same link has a slot for that info too.

OK, I just now had a look at the auction and those bars are definitely NOT a K1 handlebar! They're for K100RS and possibly K75S too. K1 'bars did not have a welded-in rise. It would be my best guess that the well-intentioned seller thinks they're K1 'bars too because they shared a catalogue with the 16V K100RS.

That seller also has good used bars but they are not K1 they are K100 RS bars. I bought a like new looking set off him for 75.00 US several weeks ago.

i just saw old goats resto page and his bars look exactly the same .

it was good to see the perspective though .... for heights and layback angles, still a little low i might have to review my criteria up to 100mm rise ...or borrow a set for fitting up trials

i might even visit chris at the "bm shop" im sure he has a few old bars that might give me more ideas

thanks twb and chris ...

A handlebar from the first version of the naked K100 maybe would have suited your needs.
But to find one these days, that`s acomplete other story.
Since K100RS bars been a popular subject here, have in mind that it was slightly wider
on the 16V model, but I think the rise was about the same.

Inge K.

thanks inge

A good, old fashioned US or touring bar for an Airhead would be the go. They rise about 100mm, are wide enough for good control but will clear your fairing, and you'll likely not have to change the clutch and throttle cables because there's too much to hide.

Here's what they looked like on my bike back in '77. You remember 1977, Charlie?! Or were you under the influence like the rest of us?



Another option is to do what I've done and get 25mm risers to sit under the 'bars then extend them with 50mm extensions in either end. Note how my 'bars sit higher and wider than bog stock RS 'bars do?!





Notice how the dashpad doesn't fit all the way to the controls on either side? The PO made or bought some extensions that are basically two pieces of stock pipe that fits inside the 'bars and are cut at an angle and then threaded all the way through. When you tighten the bolt that holds the end weight on the two pieces clamp together and are immoveable. They basically make the 'bars wider by how much you want them too. I'd take a picture but it's a bother to take it apart. Maybe some other time. It's a really comfy position for my height and size and you saw how little I have to lean forward to reach the 'bars. You can give it a go sometime, see how you like the position, maybe when the spares arrive from Old Blighty.
Cheers.

Nice setup TWB! I've really got to look into those bar end weights. Which model of grips are those? They look much more comfy than mine.

OG

They're the BMW non-heated grips from a K series with the open end for bar end weights and they are the best for my hands. The bar end weights themselves are Throttlemeister.

www.throttlemeister.com from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

yes i remember 77 pretty well twb ...had just bought the duke for $250.00 it had a chrome tank and many bits that dated it back to the 60s era including a bullit looking light shell and rock hard seat ...slipery as anything...

i made that old gal sing with a bit of work ...mind you it had an extreemly long throw on the crank and 5500 rpm was almost max revs i could get out of the old gal, i think i broke 6000 one time when i slipped a gear ......grin ( the desmo models made later used to go much further)

i had fitted some dirt bike type bars on it with about 100mm lift and quite wide from memory .....not quite as high as those ones in your pic those are kinda looking 120-130 or so but worthy of a look mate

i like the idea of those risers and have seen a few on the net and some with rear ward offsets as well. but your current setup is awesome .

i guess ill have to find something which is comfortable to my wrist-hand grip and angle foward more than anything, but i guess as cf has suggested else where, the bars do take a little "manipulation" but im not sure the rs bend and weld would be altogether happy .

See that little ABS plastic thingameebob on the end of the throttle side? It's a Throttle Rocker and combined with the slight tension of the Throttlemeister does a bang-up job of keeping my right elbow and wrist from locking up on 200 or 300 km+ rides.

Did find some useful stuff in another forum, maybe not that useful for Charlie99.
But since the topic is handlebars, it could become useful for someone else later.

K-handlebars.

Bike ergonomics.

Inge K.

inge ...thats a good bit of information ...thank you

Nice summary. File under...wish I'd done that.

i like the spread of that 1100rs version twb ...nice huh ...

It's about what my 'bars are like with the internal extensions. Yep.

ok did a little venture into checking out the local "bm shop" today and saw what they called the "s" bar s on a naked type k100



the lift i though measured about 75 -100mm and the bar width/length was a little narrower than i thought .



but i did see some bars off an older r series for use with a fairing ...which had about the same width and slightly lower rise ....pity they were new stock ..(and worth a fortune at his prices )



so now, having seen what i need ill be keeping my eyes open



thanks everybody for the excelent tips and info

Inge K. wrote:Did find some useful stuff in another forum, maybe not that useful for Charlie99.
But since the topic is handlebars, it could become useful for someone else later.

/snip K-handlebars.

/snip Bike ergonomics.

Inge K.

Takk, Inge! This is exactly what I was looking for. Need a little wider/higher bars for my K

Good info in here

Charlie I used to use the standard K75c bars. they were shorter than the K100rt bars and may be what you are looking for, You should ask Chris at BM Shop if they have any of them. I left mine there in 1997 so doubt they are still available Keith

thanks keith ...a good tip

i think i have seen them on the motobins website for about 30 pounds

i guess il make an email enquiry with them to do a little measuring .



chris didnt have (or didnt show me ) all he had in that style ...but i did see what im after ..



cheers mate ... happy riding !!