HANDLEBAR CHANGE ?

[JON12A]

I am looking to change my handlebars mainly because mine are rusty and generally tat.
I need something with a similar width that can be exchanged with ease .
Does anyone have any experience of this and can recomend a handlebar.
I ride a 2000 gs1150 with heated grips.
Any advise appreciated.

CHEERS JOHN

 

[Deleted account 210214001]

A number of folks around here have done the swap, I believe. Renthal TwinWall and Renthal FatBars seem to be popular. I'm putting the FatBars on my '01 1150GS right now.

Others will chime in, I'm sure.

Bohdan

 

[motobiker]

A few months back a bike appeared for sale on here... I saved the pictures. and list of parts used. I'm afraid thpugh I cant remember the chaps name.

Magura Fat Bar Conversion and Adventure Workshop billet riser/setbacks..

Even if this isn't your thing... it might give you some ideas.


Tony

 

[Mech]

I am looking to change my handlebars mainly because mine are rusty and generally tat.
I need something with a similar width that can be exchanged with ease .
Does anyone have any experience of this and can recomend a handlebar.
I ride a 2000 gs1150 with heated grips.
Any advise appreciated.

CHEERS JOHN

Cant you just take it off and paint/spray it ?? that's what i did with mine

 

[Zpider]

I put ceramic coating on mine, turned out great

 

[Steptoe]

Try 1150R bars.

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

I put fatbar conversion on, spec'd for heated grips. No prob except there is a harsher vibe at 4.5K rpm than with original bars which had the rubber sleeve.
I might fix up the old bars and refit them if I can't cure the vibes.
Mind you, at same time, I fitted y-piece so a hae ma doots.....

 

[falcoron]

vibs

I put fatbar conversion on, spec'd for heated grips. No prob except there is a harsher vibe at 4.5K rpm than with original bars which had the rubber sleeve.
I might fix up the old bars and refit them if I can't cure the vibes.
Mind you, at same time, I fitted y-piece so a hae ma doots.....

Used to fill the bars with silicone on any thumpers i owned stopped the bad vibs

 

[spondon]

bin where did ya get the bars for heated grips in Ireland...what make are they....steve

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

Came from Tourtech, Pt. No. 01-041-0904-0 Magura.
You get 30mm risers, afaicr.
I refitted the std handguards and ziptied them to the bars.
Would I change them again - prolly not, I am sure the rubber sleeves in the std bars are there for a reason.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

pretty AND cheap

The BMW handlebar is 22mm diameter, which works out to .866 inch. Seven-eighths of an inch (any "normal" handlebar) is .875 inch. This is close enough. The BMW clamps grasp a 7/8ths handlebar just fine. The hand control modules slide on and snug up just fine, too.

I mounted a Malcolm Smith Racing (MSR) "Dominator" handlebar, in the "CR-mid" bend, on my '02 R1150GS. It's probably similar to any manufacturer's "CR-mid" motocrosser bar, and the cost is a fraction of the "fat bar" solutions. This is a thick-walled 6061/T6 aluminum bar, of 7/8ths diameter. Dang, it's pretty, and it works great!

I'm 6'3", and the riding posture enabled by my new setup is reminiscent of early '80s Superbike; just what I wanted. I get a slight forward lean and plenty of leverage. The grips are still about a twelve inch rise from the seat, but they are much farther away, about 32 inches from the center of the pilot's perch to the center of a handgrip. Lock-to-lock, the clutch and brake reservoirs miss the instrument cluster by about 3/8ths of an inch. Aluminum damps the vibes, so the bars are not buzzy, even without end-weights.

Because of the handlebar material, special precautions must be taken when drilling holes. This is because surface flaws can readily propagate into cracks. The manufacturer goes so far as to recommend that the bars be replaced if they are nicked! YMMV. And you didn't hear any of this from me.

I drilled a single hole for the handgrip heater wires, in the center of the handlebar, between the clamps. The clamps isolate this area from bending stresses, so I feel safer with this location. Even so, I drilled only one hole, smaller than either of the holes in the OEM bar. I chamfered the drilled hole and polished the chamfer with oil-wetted sandpaper, leaving no sharp edges or surfaces scratches. I gave the mounting holes for the left handgrip a similar chamfer and polish treatment.

I have avoided doing anything with the handlebar ends. I have left them open, allowing for the handgrip heater wires. I located the hand control modules so that the handgrip tubes overhang the ends of the bar itself by about 5/16ths inch. The wires don't hang out or look ugly. The heaters work OK.

The BMW handguards are too bulky to fit with the new handlebar location. So I attacked them with my aviator snips, trimming about two inches from the inside ends, and leaving the stubby end with a nice organic curve. After I drilled a couple of holes in the hanguards, I lashed 'em securely to the handlebar and mirror stalks with zip ties. The handguards are definitely not a "factory" install, but they look good enough for me. Plenty functional, too.

The magical (and unexpected) part is that the change of riding posture enabled by these bars puts my head in a "no buffet" zone. Stock windscreen, no Tobinators necessary.

Hope this helps,

 

[JON12A]

THANKS

Thanks for all the replys guys it all gives me plenty to think about.
cheers JOHN

 

[PhaedrusMC]

I put fatbar conversion on, spec'd for heated grips. No prob except there is a harsher vibe at 4.5K rpm than with original bars which had the rubber sleeve.
I might fix up the old bars and refit them if I can't cure the vibes.
Mind you, at same time, I fitted y-piece so a hae ma doots.....

And now I'm putting an OE handlebar back on...

Yep, old thread. But replying on this one beats starting a new one, no? Even with my OCD I couldn't wait another few days, to make this post exactly 10 years after the last one... EDIT: Hah! Just spotted that this post is exactly 10 years to the day after OP's thread-starting post. OCD nightmare averted! Phew...

I plan to fit the OE handlebar I got from Timolgra in the next month or two, on Bin's risers (see pic below - these are Rox risers, adjustable for handlebar angle, no?).

I might keep the risers that Bin Ridin fitted, and mount the OE handlebar on them - I find the current set-up (presumably unchanged since Bin fitted them) a little low and a little far forward for my liking. I also feel that the angle of the grips (ie, the bend in the actual handlebar at the grip ends) isn't quite where I'd like it. I'd have thought that Bin Ridin's lower (than OE) bars + the risers should logically keep the bars at a similar height & position to the OE handlebar without risers?

Bin Ridin - what bearing did fitting the fatbars & risers have on the choke & throttle cables, electrical wires, and brake & clutch hoses? Everything seems to work fine now, so whatever you did in that regard - if anything - is grand.

But by re-fitting the OE handlebar - on those risers - should I expect to have to replace any of those cables, wires or hoses? I reckon the risers Bin has fitted place the handlebar mount height at ~1.5"-2" higher than OE - for anyone else who's fitted risers with the OE handlebar to an 1150, was there a need to replace any OE cables, wires or hoses to allow for that kind of height increase?

If the brake hose (non-OE braided steel) and/or clutch hose are too short after fitting the OE handlebar on the risers, might the Helibars extension (link at the bottom of this post, featured at 13:10 in the video) be a cheaper solution than replacing the complete hose section(s)? Anyone know if Helibars have a UK or EU distributor?

Another option - if there is an implication for the brake & clutch hoses - might be to remove the risers Bin has fitted, and replace those with a simpler 1" riser; that 1" height increase, along with the OE handlebar, might be enough for me (over the current set-up), and possibly negate any need for replacing any cables, wires or hoses.


When new to me, I did feel significant numbness in my right hand, but I can't say that's still an issue - maybe I just got used to those vibes, or maybe I've just adjusted my hold on the grip? I do have Nippy Norman grip sleeves fitted. Don't know, but with the OE handlebar back on, I guess I should feel less vibes?


I do think Haynes manuals are great (I've bought & used them for pretty much every car & bike I've owned, including my 1150), but I'm not crazy about the dearth of pics, nor that the pics aren't in colour, nor some of the writing - I sometimes find the descriptions are less than crystal clear. So I do appreciate the advice given on forums.


https://www.helibars.com/products/Hydraulic-Line-Extension-%2d-5-1{47}8-inch-(13cm)-length/618.html

 

[flatdog]

I've got that set of risers on my oe bars. *
Nothing looks different to me in that photo to mine.
The braided hose is slightly stretched at full lock so I'd extend it if budget allows.

My bodge was to undo the brake pipe mounting on the head stock and cable tie it to allow flex…

* Not too sure whether your bars are the same od as oe?