'03 K1200RS bar back experience

Due to a shoulder injury, I'm considering a set of bar backs for my 2003 K1200RS and wondered if anyone who has done this has a recommendation for a brand, and how much were you able to move back and up before needing new cables or lines? Thanks!

I've added barbacks to my K12RS. They've helped get me a bit more upright, but the change is slight.
All the various brands of barbacks I've seen are about the same size, so I suspect they will all have pretty much the same effect. They allow the bars to come back about 1.5" and up about 3/4". I didn't need to change any of my cables or hoses, though I took care to reroute the front brake hose as I recall (it was years ago).
I don't recall the brand I bought, but can look it up if you really care.
Note that the K1200GT Brick comes stock with more upright bars. From just looking at them they appear to be more radical (?) than what you can get from standard barbacks. I believe they can be bolted onto the RS, but will likely require new hoses. If I were to do it again I'd look into using the GT's setup.
I'll also add that the seats I've had on my bike, stock and Sargent, both tend to position me back a bit from the tank. That position forces my upper body to lean a bit more forward to reach the bars; the opposite effect we're trying to achieve with the barbacks. If I force my butt forward on the seat the change in my shoulders and arms is noticeable. Take that FWIW.

For bar backs you may need to pull the tank and clip a zip tie on the throttle cables—I had to on my GT. IIRC the GT cables are a tich longer so switching to those is an option as well. Another option to consider is here, but it’s $$$ compared to the cost of risers. It does allow you to get the bar bend of your choice, though.

Best,
DeVern

GTRider and JeffDiCarlo, thanks for your insights. I had concluded that any bar backs which you could install without new cables would get you a modest change only, and you've confirmand that. The going rate for new ones seems to run from $100 a set to close to $300. I think I will look for a used set so I can test them for a more reasonable cost.

Greg,

I've had bar backs on all three K-RSs we've owned - a 1998, a 2004 and now a 2002.

They never gave me the right feel that I was looking for and I eventually removed them.

Here is a picture of a 30 cm extension set and a 50 cm extension set.

Email me your snail mail address and I'll send them to you to test out.

mehrten said:

Greg,

I've had bar backs on all three K-RSs we've owned - a 1998, a 2004 and now a 2002.

They never gave me the right feel that I was looking for.

Click to expand...

Mehrten,

I could be wrong, but those barbacks look like they primarily move the bars back with very little rise. I'm not familiar with the K12RS, but on other Ks, the bars are mounted close to perpendicular to the fork tubes. So when you move the bars straight back in thier plane, they actually lower. Early K bikes like 1 5/8" back AND 1 5/8" up on the bar backs. The up is primarily to cancel out the drop that would occur if the bar backs were just straight. The grips do come up a little, but no where near the full 1 5/8".

98lee said:

Mehrten,

I could be wrong, but those barbacks look like they primarily move the bars back with very little rise. I'm not familiar with the K12RS, but on other Ks, the bars are mounted close to perpendicular to the fork tubes. So when you move the bars straight back in thier plane, they actually lower. Early K bikes like 1 5/8" back AND 1 5/8" up on the bar backs. The up is primarily to cancel out the drop that would occur if the bar backs were just straight. The grips do come up a little, but no where near the full 1 5/8".

Click to expand...

The OEM mount allows for some up and back adjustment. The barbacks will allow for more.
The picture here shows one of the OEM mounts.
http://pirateslair.net/verbb.htm

This picture shows the OEM mount on a 2002 and newer K1200RS.

98lee said:

Mehrten,

I could be wrong, but those barbacks look like they primarily move the bars back with very little rise. I'm not familiar with the K12RS, but on other Ks, the bars are mounted close to perpendicular to the fork tubes. So when you move the bars straight back in thier plane, they actually lower. Early K bikes like 1 5/8" back AND 1 5/8" up on the bar backs. The up is primarily to cancel out the drop that would occur if the bar backs were just straight. The grips do come up a little, but no where near the full 1 5/8".

Click to expand...

Just for clarity, the K12RS handle bars are in two pieces: the base which is bolted to the top triple clamp, and the handles which bolt to the bases. The joining surface allows for a forward/back adjustment and is at an angle pointing up toward the rider, so moving the "bars" (handles) back also moves them up.

mehrten said:

Greg,

I've had bar backs on all three K-RSs we've owned - a 1998, a 2004 and now a 2002.

They never gave me the right feel that I was looking for and I eventually removed them.

Here is a picture of a 30 cm extension set and a 50 cm extension set.

Email me your snail mail address and I'll send them to you to test out.

Click to expand...

That is a great offer! Thank you so much. I will PM you with my contact information.

GREGFEELER said:

Just for clarity, the K12RS handle bars are in two pieces: the base which is bolted to the top triple clamp, and the handles which bolt to the bases. The joining surface allows for a forward/back adjustment and is at an angle pointing up toward the rider, so moving the "bars" (handles) back also moves them up.

Click to expand...

So the barbacks go between the silver aluminum arm and the black arm in Lee's pcture?

If so, I was totally wrong in my previous assumption (there's the result of that assume thing again).

98lee said:

So the barbacks go between the silver aluminum arm and the black arm in Lee's pcture?

If so, I was totally wrong in my previous assumption (there's the result of that assume thing again).

Click to expand...

Yes. Here are some closeups of my K1200RS and you can see both the serrated adjustment surface and how it angles up toward the rider. So, there is only back and up or forward and down bar positioning.

Here is what the 50 cm looks like.

This is a 2002 K1200RS.

mehrten said:

Here is what the 50 cm looks like.

This is a 2002 K1200RS.

Click to expand...

That looks like it would be significant. I suppose it's a matter of what you need to get comfortable.

GREGFEELER said:

Yes. Here are some closeups of my K1200RS and you can see both the serrated adjustment surface and how it angles up toward the rider. So, there is only back and up or forward and down bar positioning.

Click to expand...

I wish all BMWs had bar adjustments like the K1200RS.

Lee said:

I wish all BMWs had bar adjustments like the K1200RS.

Click to expand...

It does have some advantages. In addition to the fron/back adjustability, you can also rotate the bottom bar mount to change the angle of the bars from closer in (more angled) to wider and less angled. If BMW would have extended the forward/back adjustment range another inch or two it would accommodate a lot more people, although they would have had to put longer cables on which might have bugged some people. Every K1200RS I've seen came with the bars all the way back (and up) and I don't think I've seen any moved forward.

GREGFEELER said:

and I don't think I've seen any moved forward.

Click to expand...

There's a few odd people out there
Mine were all the way forward and Debbie had hers half forward.

Lee said:

There's a few odd people out there
Mine were all the way forward and Debbie had hers half forward.

Click to expand...

That's good to know! Maybe I need to do that and lean further forward!

<< Every K1200RS I've seen came with the bars all the way back (and up) and I don't think I've seen any moved forward.>>

BMW seemed to have a fantasy that the K12RS would be used by some as a sport bike. That seems to be their reasoning in both the low bars/high footpeg option, and also the reason they pushed the exhaust up so high that it took away half the right-side saddlebag.