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TECHNICAL MOTOBRICK WRENCHING In Remembrance of Inge K. => The Motobrick Workshop => Topic started by: frankenduck on May 21, 2011, 07:40:07 PM

Title: Curing mushy handlebars on a K1100RS or K1100LT - good bang for your buck mod
Post by: frankenduck on May 21, 2011, 07:40:07 PM
Can be done for the price of two washers.  Doesn't take very long if you're just adding the washers.

When I got my K1100LT the rubber mounted handlebars were kind of mushy.  I found this (http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/solid-bars.shtml) and decided to give it a try.  For the cost and effort it makes a big difference.

I got my K1100RS several years later and after having firmed up my LT bars the RS bars felt like mush so I decided I had to firm those up as well.  The bike was a Malibu bike and even though the rest of the bike didn't have signs of corrosion I was somewhat shocked when I pulled the handlebar mounts apart.

(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j246/smithduck/k11rs_mods/barsoldnew.jpg)
The handlebar mounts on the right are the ones that came out of my RS.  :o Both the studs of the lower mounts and the metal tubes they go through were pretty nasty.  So I replaced them with mounts and lower clamps from a parts bike. (Left side of the picture.)

Those rubber mounts were kind of hard to get out.  This is the "BMW special tool" I came up with for extracting them - a long 1/4" ratchet extension and some Vice-Grips.

(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j246/smithduck/k11rs_mods/bearstool.jpg)

And here's the stainless washers I used underneath them to help compress the rubber mounts and firm up the steering.  I don't know the exact dimensions of those washers but the key is to use washers that have a large enough inside diameter that the studs can pass through and an outside diameter small enough to fit in the hole in the upper fork tree.

(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j246/smithduck/k11rs_mods/barwashers.jpg)