Non BMW bars on a Rockster?

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:18 am

Hi, anybody here fitted non - BMW handlebars to their Rockster. Standard bars seem a bit flat and forward.

I've considered risers, but I've a nice set of Renthal bars sat on the shelf and just wondering

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:57 am

If you have heated grips you may need to drill holes and a few make mods.

See the end of these bars in this pic.. http://www.motomacondo.com/popups/prota ... taper6.jpg

You should check out these..Ricky's bars...although they are not cheap...I've heard they're the best.. http://www.motomacondo.com/protapers.html

I have heard of people using Renthal bars also...let us know how you go with it.

DJ

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:04 am

Thanks for that, the picture was just what I was after, wasn't sure on the bar weights / wiring set up.

I've got the heated grips (essential at my age

) so bar risers may be the way to go for convenience.

frevrod · Post by **frevrod** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:04 am

I've installed the standard R bars on my Rock for just the reasons you stated.

No real problems doing this, around an hour using the instructions I got from another board.

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:31 am

Yep - that was going to be my suggestion too. It'd be also worth checking with the BMW dealer whether there's any difference in the bars between the R1150R and the R850R Classic (in UK, or 'Comfort' in mainland Europe) as both will probably fit. I think they are higher still, but do check - I read somewhere online that they are 'Police spec'.

Also, Wunderlich do a selection of aftermarket bars & risers for both R and Rockster - it might be cheaper / quicker to try some risers first? Slotting in another piece with new bolts has gotta be easier than remounting your grips & cables etc etc.

Beancounter · Post by **Beancounter** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:58 pm

I'm simply bumping this thread 'cos I'm interested in the result of changing the bars.

I'm used to riding a TDM, so the Rockster bars are quite alien to me and I find myself unable to judge filtering gaps with any confidence or certainty.

I've browsed the Wunderlich catalogue and am interested in the vario risers. Sadly I cannot find a price list.

Any ideas on how much standard R bars cost?

TIA.

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:05 pm

Beancounter wrote:I'm simply bumping this thread 'cos I'm interested in the result of changing the bars.

I'm used to riding a TDM, so the Rockster bars are quite alien to me and I find myself unable to judge filtering gaps with any confidence or certainty.

I've browsed the Wunderlich catalogue and am interested in the vario risers. Sadly I cannot find a price list.

Any ideas on how much standard R bars cost?

TIA.

I fitted some SW Motech bar risers in the end. They lifted the bars by about 1" and back by a similar amount. I didn't need to change any hose or mess about with cables.

Result was just enough to make the bike much more comfortable for me.

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:45 am

joe bar wrote:
Beancounter wrote:I'm simply bumping this thread 'cos I'm interested in the result of changing the bars.

I'm used to riding a TDM, so the Rockster bars are quite alien to me and I find myself unable to judge filtering gaps with any confidence or certainty.

I've browsed the Wunderlich catalogue and am interested in the vario risers. Sadly I cannot find a price list.

Any ideas on how much standard R bars cost?

TIA.
I fitted some SW Motech bar risers in the end. They lifted the bars by about 1" and back by a similar amount. I didn't need to change any hose or mess about with cables.

Result was just enough to make the bike much more comfortable for me.

Did you also need to cut the cable ties fixing the wiring loom to the headstock?? Otherwise you might be putting the wiring cables under tension at full lock??

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:26 am

riceburner wrote:Did you also need to cut the cable ties fixing the wiring loom to the headstock?? Otherwise you might be putting the wiring cables under tension at full lock??

I did cut a couple of the ties and checked for stressing on lock to lock as I'd read of the odd failure in other threads, but all seems fine.

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:59 am

joe bar wrote:
riceburner wrote:Did you also need to cut the cable ties fixing the wiring loom to the headstock?? Otherwise you might be putting the wiring cables under tension at full lock??
I did cut a couple of the ties and checked for stressing on lock to lock as I'd read of the odd failure in other threads, but all seems fine.

cool.

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 12:11 pm

riceburner wrote: cool.

Also managed to get the GS handguards fitted at the weekend

Beancounter · Post by **Beancounter** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:26 pm

joe bar wrote:
Beancounter wrote:I'm simply bumping this thread 'cos I'm interested in the result of changing the bars.

I'm used to riding a TDM, so the Rockster bars are quite alien to me and I find myself unable to judge filtering gaps with any confidence or certainty.

I've browsed the Wunderlich catalogue and am interested in the vario risers. Sadly I cannot find a price list.

Any ideas on how much standard R bars cost?

TIA.
I fitted some SW Motech bar risers in the end. They lifted the bars by about 1" and back by a similar amount. I didn't need to change any hose or mess about with cables.

Result was just enough to make the bike much more comfortable for me.

SW Motech you say........ I might have to give them a try.

I won't be swapping the bars for 'R' bars - South London Motorcycles quoted me 160 quid plus VAT. Taking the piss a bit.

joe bar · Post by **joe bar** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:56 pm

Beancounter wrote:I won't be swapping the bars for 'R' bars - South London Motorcycles quoted me 160 quid plus VAT. Taking the piss a bit.

My thoughts exactly

Bought my SW Motech risers direct from Germany as it was 330 cheaper than buying them from the UK supplier

riceburner · Post by **riceburner** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:58 am

Beanie - IIRC your issue with the bars is mainly one of the width, yes??

The risers (quite obviously) won't change that at all.

Have you looked on Ebay for 2nd hand "R" bars, or tried a breaker? There's a couple of VERY good BMW breakers in the UK who might have 2nd hand bars. Motorworks is the only one I think I have a number for : 0845 458 0077, but there's another one who are just as big.

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:41 am

Just for info: I was at my closest dealer today & picked up some Rockster bars in black paint finish, rather than silver.

The normal UK list price is apparently an eye-watering Ã‚Â£135, but as they were moving premises I got them closer to cost at merely uncomfortable Ã‚Â£105 inclusive.

Right then - sun shining, day off work, mirrors & handguards off, where's the step-by-step walk-thru ...

frevrod · Post by **frevrod** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:38 am

hirsty wrote:Just for info: I was at my closest dealer today & picked up some Rockster bars in black paint finish, rather than silver.

The normal UK list price is apparently an eye-watering Ã‚Â£135, but as they were moving premises I got them closer to cost at merely uncomfortable Ã‚Â£105 inclusive.

Right then - sun shining, day off work, mirrors & handguards off, where's the step-by-step walk-thru ...

Here you go

http://kbasa.smugmug.com/gallery/29459/3/1022473

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:46 am

Thanks for that - I'd just found the very same link after wading thru six pages of posts about "heated grips". For cross-reference, the other relevant threads on this board are here:

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t ... ed+grip%2A

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t ... ed+grip%2A

I can't tell you how tempted I am to just chop & re-splice the heated grip cables now I know I have to pull the tank to do it properly... But I can hear my Dad on my shoulder (like in Tom & Jerry) reminding me to do the right thing "but it's up to you of course" ...

Post by **sweatmark** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:53 am

As a first step towards handlebar comfort, installation of bar risers is easy. Bought the Wunderlich 25mm risers (not bar-backs) from BMW Santa Cruz for $60bucks:

http://www.bmwsantacruz.com/Merchant2/index.html

Look within the Wunderlich store, R boxer, R1150R section.

Nice hardware, simple installation, improved my riding comfort by reducing forward lean and weight on wrists and shoulders. The OE setup was fine for shorter rides, but change to a higher Sargent seat and long road trips necessitated an ergonomic adjustment.

All my cable ties at near subframe front have been clipped, and "raising the bar" did not appear to impact strain on wires or hoses throughout the steering motion.

Note that the Beemer bars are 22mm diameter, and that many years' Magura brake- and cutch masters have full-circumference 22mm holes in the castings, plus pinch fittings... using 7/8 inch bars will require some machining to get the mounting to work.

Mark
Oregon

dougpaw57 · Post by **dougpaw57** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:19 pm

frevrod wrote:I've installed the standard R bars on my Rock for just the reasons you stated.

No real problems doing this, around an hour using the instructions I got from another board.

I have also swapped the Rockster bars for Roadster bars. It's a huge difference in the angle of your wrists. Not any higher, just way more comfortable for me. The dealer gave me a discount but the bars were still $211 (USD). One thing that had to be done is the pins in the heated grip connectors have to be removed from the plastic connectors. The connectors won't fit through the holes in the bars.

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:31 am

dougpaw57 wrote:One thing that had to be done is the pins in the heated grip connectors have to be removed from the plastic connectors. The connectors won't fit through the holes in the bars.

That's the tricky bit, along with not scratching the paint on either your old bars or the new ones whilst fitting.

Pulling the tank for the first time wasn't as big a deal as I'd anticipated, but I think I've pinched the right-hand heated grip cable sliding the assembly back onto the new bar - it's a logical job, but you kind of need to do it yourself to understand the 'gotchas'.

After taking off the connectors, I taped up the leads to the thin end of a spare cable tie and used that to poke it through, much less fiddly.

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Non BMW bars on a Rockster?

Non BMW bars on a Rockster?

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