• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Adjusting Handlebar Controls ('06GS)

bobframe

New member
I just adjusted my handlebars by loosening the 4 bolts that hold the bars in place and rotated them "forward" which had the effect of raising the bars and moving them towards the front of the bike. Following this, I thought I'd adjust my front brake lever and clutch lever positions, i.e., the bar adjustment tipped them both downward and I'd like to rotate them back into the same relative position as before. Clear as mud?

Problem is, I can't seem to do this. What's the process?

Thanks,

Bob
 
The clutch controls are aligned to a pin on the grip unit. The grip unit is attached to the grip. The grip is held to the handlebar with two screws. You'd have to remove the screws and rotate the housing enough to drill new holes to reposition the controls. That's more that I wanted to do so I never bothered looking to see if the throttle side was the same.
 
The clutch controls are aligned to a pin on the grip unit. The grip unit is attached to the grip. The grip is held to the handlebar with two screws. You'd have to remove the screws and rotate the housing enough to drill new holes to reposition the controls. That's more that I wanted to do so I never bothered looking to see if the throttle side was the same.
Maybe I can avoid all this. What set me off on this quest was noticing that my brake and clutch reservoirs are now tipped forward, i.e., the lids are no longer level. Does this pose a problem?
 
I don't have a GS, but Haynes tells me that the GS is the same as my R. I've been through control realignment as part of replacing the handlebar with a custom setup. My bike has seriously non-level reservoir caps now, and it doesn't matter. If it did matter, it'd be a problem, as the reservoirs can't be moved without moving the clutch and brake levers, and for me, correct lever position is critical to accurate and easy use of these controls. For me, appropriate grip position + appropriate lever angle = reservoirs that aren't level.

On the clutch side, the heated grip is held to the bar with two self-tapping screws, as Marc describes. The grip contains a plate, to which the control pod is screwed. The control pod's inner face has a ridge, which is captured by the two pieces of the mirror/clutch lever clamp. Thus, one can't adjust the clutch lever position without moving the control pod, which in turn can't be moved without drilling new holes for the two self-tapping screws.

I wanted to change both the control pod's and clutch lever's position. Because I had new undrilled bars, it was trivial to set the clutch lever where I wanted it, then mark and drill pilot holes for the self-tapping screws in that location. However, I think one could also file off the ridge on the pod's inner face - or just mount the mirror/clutch clamp a few mm from the control pod - so that the pod/clamp angle could be varied. I didn't do this, but my memory of the pieces says it could be done.

The throttle side's easy. Remove the front cover from the pod, disconnect the wires, and you'll see a torx screw that clamps (and loosens) the throttle assembly on the bar. Loosen the screw, and the pod and throttle can be rotated to any position. The control pod has a ridge as on the clutch side, but because the throttle assembly and pod can be moved to any position, it doesn't matter: set the brake lever where you want it; if you still want to move the control pod, separate it from the mirror/brake clamp or file off the ridge.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top