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Can i double up the bar risers? 2012 R1200RT

mule

New member
Short guy with...short arms.

2012
R1200rt

Purchased helibar risers which really help. But... I really want max satisfaction which = sitting just a little more upright.

Can I:

Double up the risers for twice as much up and back effect? Seems plausible as the whole pattern is ready for it.

I do understand clutch cable needs extending but o/w see any issues?

Fwiw i am really not interested in pursuing a different bar riser. This question really is a generic question re: doubling up ANY bar riser...
And...
I understand the yoda position thing so dont spend alot of time trying to explain how i should be bending fwd a little anyway. Thanks.

Ok go
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I remember seeing some photos from someone who did this with excellent results. Try a search on this and Luxury Touring forums. I'm sure the cables would need to be lengthened.
 
I am short-armed and short-legged with a long torso. This required a lot of adjustment of the RT. I won't go into the inseam accommodations but here goes for the arms...

My sleeve length is 33" and I was riding with stacked, double bar-backs from Suburban Machinery. The clutch cable was fine but it was the front brake cable that needed replacing. You will need to snip a few zip-ties to allow a little more play in the wiring. This worked pretty well but I still needed a bit more back and up.

I did a bit of research on the various options and found that the CVM Touring bar-backs actually move the bars up and back quite a bit more that the Suburban Machinery ones. I ordered two sets. These are *really* high quality bar-backs and show unusual attention to fit and design detail. However, with the CVMs stacked, the upper set collided with the tank bag rack. CVM's excellent customer service took one set back right away with a full refund.

So, now I have the CVMs mounted to the tripple tree and the Suburban Machinery stacked upon them. This has moved the grips up and back an additional 0.5-0.7" compared to the stacked Suburban Machinery sets. I'll need to free up just a smidge more wiring flexibility and check the throttle free play, but all looks good so far.

Here is a photo as I was figuring out the best combination (black = CVM; silver = SM):
IMG_1196.jpg


Remember, I did have to lengthen the brake line...

HTH,
 
One additional comment about stacking bar-backs...

Those folks who spend most of their time in a relaxed "touring" mode may find this mod a benefit. However, those who spend most of their time in a more "sporty" mode of riding may find that this change could tend to "disconnect" the rider from the bike a bit. I'm not sure why that is, but without bar-backs I felt a bit more connected to the dynamics of the front end. I suppose as my body raised up and back, the extension of the bars absorbed a bit of the feel before it got to my hands. Not sure if that accounts for it but I thought I'd mention it for those who are sensitive to this.

FWIW,
 
Where did you get the brake lines made ? And what about the throttle

The top brake line (singular) I ordered from Spiegler and specified (IIRC) +3" in length. It is a high-quality line and cost about $65. I had my dealer install the line at the same time as they did the (front lower) brake line recall.

The throttle cables were fine with the stacked SM bar-backs, but with my new configuration, they are a tad tight in full-lock toward the right. When the weather warms up a bit, I'll take off the tupperware again and see if I can get a little more free-play. If not, I'm not sure I'll try to get lengthened throttle cables as the tightness is only apparent a full right lock. I rarely travel at speed in full right lock, anyway ;). Also, with the motor running, I notice no change in rpm in full right lock and the throttle-on and off action is smooth.

The wiring needed to be freed-up from its factory (tightly!) zip-tied configuration even with the stacked SMs. I think someone's brother has a zip-tie plant in Munich; Motorrad does not spare the zip-ties nor the over-tightness (IMHO) with which they are installed! I should note that an inspection of the semi-freed wiring last fall during a throttle-body sync showed no evidence of chafing or kinking in the freed areas.

HTH,
 
I'm curious. What kind of tires do you have and how many miles on them?

Original Pilot Roads (NOT 2s or 3s) with about 9,300 miles on them. Front and rear center treads are flattening out...time to change.

I'm also curious...why doth thou ask?
 
I meant the original poster but it still is a data point. I'll tell you why. First, understand I'm not meaning this to be derogatory in any way. It's just an observation.

I find that people with bar risers, and I figure ESPECIALLY double bar risers, are not aggressive riders. Therefore I figure they likely are those guys you hear who post "my tires last 10k miles." I get about 4-5k miles out of a set of PRIIs. Sometimes less, depends on where I'm riding.

That's all.

Rob
 
Hmmm aggressive vs relaxed and barbacks

The last poster brings up an interesting twist. While I am a new RT rider, I have been riding smaller bikes for thirty years. Aggressive body position is critical to me when riding the twistys. But when I am going down a hugely long straight road I begin to think about:
1. The grips far from me and below horizontal of my wrists
2. The way the air hits my helmet even tho I am short which it seems is because I am shifted forward trying to reach the grips

There was a comment also above which alluded to losing touch of the front wheel a little. I think this is because of the increased length of the lever arm which is formed by the distance between the axis of the forks and the hands with barbacks. Bicyclists talk about this relaxed position quote alot and contrast it with the racing position which uses a shorter stem (stem is the lever arm connecting the forks to the handlebars...). The lack of a long stem or lever allows for more of a rotation or twisting of your hands vs moving them thru an arc when a lever is put into the mix.

Anyway, i guess the answer is going to be something like, you need to take your pick between aggressive riding and relaxed riding. But also which is easier to adjust midride, 1. relaxed into aggressive position by leaning forward or 2. aggressive into relaxed by staying bent over and just dealing with the discomfort of stretching out for the grips over hundreds of straight miles.

Lastly, i think its possible that I do in fact have short arms that require the bending forward more than is normal without needing to consider that I am just ultra conservative easy slow loungelike with tires that last longer than the motorcycle. No offense please taken btw just need to address all variables.
 
I meant the original poster but it still is a data point. I'll tell you why. First, understand I'm not meaning this to be derogatory in any way. It's just an observation.

I find that people with bar risers, and I figure ESPECIALLY double bar risers, are not aggressive riders. Therefore I figure they likely are those guys you hear who post "my tires last 10k miles." I get about 4-5k miles out of a set of PRIIs. Sometimes less, depends on where I'm riding.

That's all.

Rob

Going in circles must get boring after awhile.
 
Hi Mule,

Please read: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?46055 - I've added that info to your thread title. It's rather obvious that your question applies to a certain model Hexhead, since no other models use the same sort of bar mounting as the RT as far as I know. Info like this helps draw people who may have useful info to pass along to open your thread. It also helps other people looking for the same info later on.

Please put this in any future post titles to the tech sections.

Thanks for your cooperation! And welcome to the forum!
 
X input = Y response?

Okay now the next mystery, let's say no bar backs and X input equals Y response. Now you add a bar back or two for that matter. Now X input equals what new response? Probably less than the initial Y, but how much less? And is this "response decrease" linear?

I just had to ask this...
Its been keeping me up nights!:lurk
 
Okay now the next mystery, let's say no bar backs and X input equals Y response. Now you add a bar back or two for that matter. Now X input equals what new response? Probably less than the initial Y, but how much less? And is this "response decrease" linear?

I just had to ask this...
Its been keeping me up nights!:lurk

Why would it be less? Does he lose leverage or gain it? The thing about all vehicles is that they are made to work well with a range of human dimensions. If a rider or driver is on the ends of the bell curve, it just doesn't work as well or at all given a particular vehicle. From my observation, the RT was made for someone 5-10 to 6-00 tall with a 32-34" inseam and weighs 150-180 lbs. Fall outside of that and it gets uncomfortable.
 
Because of the arm

Why would it be less? Does he lose leverage or gain it? The thing about all vehicles is that they are made to work well with a range of human dimensions. If a rider or driver is on the ends of the bell curve, it just doesn't work as well or at all given a particular vehicle. From my observation, the RT was made for someone 5-10 to 6-00 tall with a 32-34" inseam and weighs 150-180 lbs. Fall outside of that and it gets uncomfortable.


Expanding this a little...
Let us just imagine that the handlebars are 5 feet back and connected to the forks with an arm or lever. Now how much movement do the handlebars need to achieve a given amount of front fork mvmnt? The same as if they are directly above the forks?

Btw, i DO think yur correct about the RT design.
 
Expanding this a little...
Let us just imagine that the handlebars are 5 feet back and connected to the forks with an arm or lever. Now how much movement do the handlebars need to achieve a given amount of front fork mvmnt? The same as if they are directly above the forks?

Btw, i DO think yur correct about the RT design.


Measure the arc of movement in length or distance. shorter arcs may imply greater response, but also require higher effort.
 
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