Adjusting angle of handlebar controls

[ApexRandy]

Hi, on the 96 RT it was obvious but on the 07 I can't figure out how to adjust the angle of my controls - i.e. rotating the entire clutch/brake/throttle assemblies downward.

 

Any help?

 

Thanks

[hopz]

Yes you can do it to a certain degree, (IIRC).

 

Go to one of the web sites that has a parts fiche, such as Max BMW and study the picture of the parts involved. I think there is a locating pin that may get in the way of a full rotation.

 

Than can be dealt with if needed.

[mneblett]

You can rotate the left grip down a fair bit, but the right grip doesn't move far before the brake line banjo fitting hits the bar.

 

Rotating the grips requires removal of the switch clusters, so that you can reach the Allen-head pinch bolt under each grip assembly. Removing the switch clusters is a pita, as there are several, different-sized phillips screws under and at the back of the clusters (and any additional pods on the bar, auch as an ASC switch pod). As noted above, study the parts fiche to see where these are located, and be sure your screwdriver exactly fits each screw to avoid stripping out the screw heads.

[ApexRandy]

Thanks so much for the info - no wonder it wasn't obvious......cuz....it wasn't!

[gettysburg]

I was able to adjust the whole hand grip assembly just by loosening the bolt(#8 in diagram) which secures it to the handle bar and twisting the handgrip a few degrees. Since the brake and switches are attached to the hand grip, they moved as well.

[mneblett]

I was aware of this option, but decided against it as it is a single-point mounting of an entire control appendage. It may be safe to do it this way, but there's too much I don't know about BMW's approach to this joint, such as whether the bolt is a one-use fastener, whether the threadlocker would still be effective after loosening/retightening, etc. So I was unwilling to risk the potential (regardless of how low) of having an entire handgrip either loosen or even come off, such as by snapping off an over-torqued-on-reassembly fastener.

 

Using the basic equation that risk = (probabilty of event) x (consequences if event occurs), my judgment in this case was that the potential consequences are so high that even with a low probablity, the overall risk was high enough to make me take the time to "do it the right way" with the grip pinch bolt. If others are comfortable taking the chance with the bar-end bolt, that's their business/choice -- no judgment from here.

[ApexRandy]

I was able to adjust the whole hand grip assembly just by loosening the bolt(#8 in diagram) which secures it to the handle bar and twisting the handgrip a few degrees. Since the brake and switches are attached to the hand grip, they moved as well.

 

This was the first thing I thought to do - looking at it it appeared that "hey, BMW actually made something simple!" but when I loosened the #8 bolt there was zero play and I was afraid to exert much pressure, thinking maybe there was a locating pin or the bar end had a spline. Thanks for sharing your experience with it.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I was able to adjust the whole hand grip assembly just by loosening the bolt(#8 in diagram) which secures it to the handle bar and twisting the handgrip a few degrees. Since the brake and switches are attached to the hand grip, they moved as well.

 

This was the first thing I thought to do - looking at it it appeared that "hey, BMW actually made something simple!" but when I loosened the #8 bolt there was zero play and I was afraid to exert much pressure, thinking maybe there was a locating pin or the bar end had a spline. Thanks for sharing your experience with it.

 

My experience with the 1100/1150 grips is that this joint (between the round steel bar that the grip is on, and the heavy cast-aluminum part that connects it to the steering head) is a very light press fit. IIRC the 1100 had a steel roll-pin in place to keep the handlebar from pulling out, but on the 1150 they switched to a bolt in the end of the steel bar, same as what's on the 1200 now. Once that bolt is out/loose, warming the aluminum with a heat gun expands it enough to allow rotation of the round steel bar. Rotate to the desired position, and re-snug the bolt.