New K12RS Owner

[justiceafteraflash]

I’ve recently purchased a K12RS. I moved over from previously owning a GSXR. I had lots of reservations about purchasing a BMW as I thought they were old man bikes. A dear friend of mine went me bike shopping. He never said a bad thing about the bikes I was looking at but brought to my attention the negative aspects of them such as safety hazards even the salesman didn’t know about.

 

Now I have this kick ass K12RS in my garage I can’t wait to ride every time I get home. I have a couple questions though. I’m used to riding a sport bike where the only comfort you can add is more clothing.

 

My questions are:

 

I now have heated grips. The problem is that my throttle grip is like grease. The bike only has 10,000 miles on it but the grip wears our my throttle hand. Can I buy normal grips or do I have to buy special grips because they are heated.

 

Bar (risers) (backs) (extenders) *whatever you call them* which are the best. I know you’re going to say “you came from a GSXR to a K12 and you’re wanting bar backs”?

I researched a little before just running out and buying a set of bar backs. I want the most comfortable ones on the market. There are several companies that make them and they have different angles with different lengths but I don’t understand all that. I understand comfortable. Please chime up with yours and I will pick the one with the highest rating.

 

Thanks for your help for a new K12RS owner.

[ericfoerster]

Go back with the BMW grip. Is the throttle too stiff? If so you can release a spring to make it better.

 

Wait on the bar backs unitl you get a few miles under your belt.

 

Welcome to our site

[justiceafteraflash]

I don't know if its a stock grip or not but I can tell you this.....it's slick. The entire grip is smooth. I've got almost 1500 miles on the bike and my only complaint is that my right hand is tired after 20 miles. Then I start using the cruise control to ride. Can I use another grip or do I need a BMW specific heated grip?

[justiceafteraflash]

Oh...wait...where's the spring. That might be it.

[JerryMather]

Go back with the BMW grip. Is the throttle too stiff? If so you can release a spring to make it better.

 

Wait on the bar backs unitl you get a few miles under your belt.

 

Welcome to our site

+1

 

Do you know about this or that?

[justiceafteraflash]

I've read as much as possible with my schedule. My time is very restricted due to new baby and job. I'm sorry if I'm being redundant but as I get time I promise I'll read through the site.

[justiceafteraflash]

Thanks Eric, I'll try my hat there.

[ESokoloff]

my only complaint is that my right hand is tired after 20 miles.

 

I think you might need a device such as the throttlerocker.

Unfortunately the original design was changed so I can not comment on the present version.

Here is a similar product. I have not used this product either but at least you have choices.

 

Also read/learn Dick's MYRP.

 

Good luck to you on your new ride

[JerryMather]

[Also read/learn Dick's MYRP.

That's the first thing I'd do..........You may find out that you don't need the stuff your thinking about getting afterwards.

[Tool]

A little help - for those who would help you...

 

What year is your K12RS? They've been around for a few years, and have gone thru some mods... enough to make advice a little different for modifying ergos, depending on the year.

 

 

That said, I would offer my experience on my Y2K K12RS, which I love mucho:

 

After I bought it, I ratcheted-up the bar mounts as high as they would go. Then, I added some 30mm "bar backs' to the setup. I also mounted a "comfort windscreen" of some mfg, I cannot remember the make... does not matter. I also ordered - and paid (dearly) for - some peg lowering brackets.

 

 

After some serious road time to get things set right...

 

First - I decided the peg lowering brackets weren't for me; I lost too much clearance, so my boots would scuff, and the folks behind me would whine about the smell of burning rubber!

 

Second - I was getting too much turbulence right at the top of my face shield, so I removed the "flip-lip-style" screen and went back to stock. I preferred the clean air of riding with the screen DOWN in all but the colder conditions (I do live in SoCal, so...)

 

Third - I found that once I had some wind on my chest, I actually needed to be leaning forward a bit more, and so I took off the bar-backs. Then, I ended up ratcheting DOWN the bar mount to as low as it would go!

 

All this to say that if you study and put into practice >>>MYRP<<< as mentioned above, you will (possibly) discover that if you ride the bike the way those darn BMW engineers WANT you to ride it, you can be awfully comfortable!!

 

Or... not. YMMV!

 

 

{EDIT} OK... let's see if I can offer any help here: Try some >>>Grip Puppies<<< - they are slip-on covers that add to the diameter, and give a bit of traction at the same time. I don't know how much they'll affect the thru-put of the heated grips, but at ~$8, you can afford to experiment!

 

 

est wishes.

[fastzeat]

You don't say what year. My 2002 K1200RS has heated grips and cruise control.The grips incorporate the heaters and replacing then (stock) is expensive. I don't want to give up heat. The throttle is also stiff partially due to extra cable with cruise control. I definately do not want to give this up. My bars are slotted and adjusted 3/4 back. No need for bar backs. And my adjustible windshiels is set on low. Life is great.

[Carnadero]

I don't know how much they'll affect the thru-put of the heated grips, but...

Heat up is delayed a bit. With regard to intensity of the heat, each grip will still warm up the hand quite adequately.

[justiceafteraflash]

Thank you for your help. My K12rs is a 2004 so I don't know if that means anything.

[justiceafteraflash]

I've had many bikes in my life, 9 to be exact. BMW is new to me. It's a new riding style, new creature comforts and new issues. The bike is like brand new. Only 10,000 miles with exhaust, chip and carbon fiber stuff. All that aside, every other bike I've ever owned has had better hand grips than this one. I've worn out grips and replaced them with no problem. If I planned to ride the bike hard I'd secure them with adhesive and piano wire. I don't know what to do with the heated grips. Are they normal grips with a heated element under the normal grip that you can purchase at any given cycle shop or are they the actual heated and wired part of the bars?

 

After approximately 1500 miles in one month I'm finding shifting to be a little different than I'm used to. A friend mentioned "Pre-loading". I'm learning the difference between a sport bike and sport touring slowly.

 

Don't get me wrong, everytime I look at my new bike, I can't wait to get on it and I've never had that feeling. I actually love riding it and not just riding.

[GJBushman]

There are some other forums that are dedicated to K-bikes that might give you more infommation. Not to bash this site, it is a good one. But the K-bikes forums have a lot of KRS/GT specific information. Do a web search on "k-bikes". Many of us visit all boards. There is a technique for removing old grips and installing new ones. There are heating elements under the rubber. Slice off the rubber (carefully) and you can install new grips. I agree with all that has been said about peg lowering and bar-backs. After two years of riding I removed them all.

[jskene]

To make the grips less slippery, you might try bicycle handlebar wrap. I did this to my K12 with excellent results. Your gloved hand will not slip on this stuff. It also slightly increases the diameter of the grip, which I find more comfortable.

 

One unexpected benefit is that it increased the heat delivered to my hands from the grip heaters. I'm not sure why, but it was quite noticeable.