Handlebars

[Neil178]

I have seen a few bikes advertised for sale with replacement handlebars. The long one that goes on top of the yoke and then angled upwards. Tons of these kits on eBay.
I can’t recall any talk about them on here, anyone tried one or has one on their bike?
I’m guessing they allow you to sit more upright (to get hammered by the air over the screen!).
I’m not looking to get one just now, but maybe in the future.
Any thoughts guys?

[Magic Man]

I put LSL superbike bars on mine, it makes the bike so much more comfortable but does cause other problems.
I needed to put a vario screen on to stop the buffering, then I had to add GS mirrors because I could only see my fists in the standard ones. I put carbon blanks in the old mirror fitments. Then the seat felt wrong so I added a lowering kit which makes a world of difference. Also when you change the bars to above the yoke you must change the brake line. This sounds like a lot but I now have the perfect bike for me.
Hope that helps

[Neil178]

Great information Magic Man, thanks, most helpful. It sounds very much like I thought. I have seen the LSL ones on eBay. Good to know they are okay.
Where do the GS mirrors fit into and where were the blanking plates bought?
I already have lowered the pegs a few summers ago. So much more comfortable for sure.
I’m trying not to get caught out by not buying ‘when available’ and then unable to buy once needed. Can’t keep the years from rollin’ on and I want to keep the bike.

[Al]

Have you tried putting the original bars above the yokes Neil? Gives you approx 45mm, you might get away without needing to change brake lines, varies between bikes.

Al.

[dave the german]

GS mirrors fit into the holes on the brake and clutch levers. The blanking plates can be bought from BMW (they were fitted to the red white and blue Boxercup) but they are not cheap!! Search for posts by Big Rob (think might be in Boxerpics) he has done a conversion to his RWB Boxercup fairly recently

[Magic Man]

As said above the mirrors fit on the bars, the blank plates I got online and were quite cheap but still look good.My son has the normal bars above the yoke, and yes its better than below but not as good as the LSL ones. It doesn't look odd at all, I understand the purists not wanting to change the original look but i think my bike looks great. Id be happy to wattsapp some pis as I understand it can be quite difficult to post pics on here.

[wicker]

Wunderlich used to also sell their own version of the LSL handlebars conversion. I have the Wunderlich version fitted to my S. A new top yoke and bars. New longer front brake lines were required - I think these were sourced from Hell.

Prior to that I had been running with the BMW clip-ons above the yoke but found it getting less comfortable for this aging body.

I always found that the standard BMW seat tended to tip you forward which was fine when using clip-ons but starred to get a bit hard on the knees on long runs. However at some point in the 20 years of ownership I acquired a Sargent seat which has slightly flatter position.

Mirrors - if you want to see more than elbows with the bar conversion then you either need to go GS mirrors mounted in the holes on the brake and clutch or get mirror extenders which add 1 1/2 inches to the reach of the mirrors in the standard location.

Screens - I have flirted with both a used MRA Vario (low) that I acquired, or the BMW high screen that came with the bike. Latter is bit taller than the Vario and I prefer that with bar kit due to less turbulence / noise. The wind blast from the Vario just seemed catch me at neck height (5ft .

I see that there is high MRA Vario available from MV Motorrad Technik and that they also sell the LSL handlebar kit.