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 Our
risers are now available for the BMW R1100GS, BMW R1150GS/GS Adventure and the
BMW R1200GS/GS Adventure. The hunks of 6061 aluminum are transformed into
our own design custom risers which we feel fit into a very unique part of the GS
market. They started life from a drawing on a napkin (what a cliché') and have
come full circle to a very functional yet cool looking set of handlebar risers
for what we feel is some of the best motorcycles available today.
The risers
come in two sizes 35mm and 65mm heights respectively. The height is straight up
from the stock location and the setback is straight back from the stock
location. 35mm riser-20mm setback, 65mm riser-22mm setback. We now offer
the risers to fit the current stock bars (7/8 on the 1100 and 1150GS, fat bars
on the 1200GS) on all the bikes we build them for in addition to offering riders
who have upgraded their bikes to the Pro
Taper /Renthal/Magura fatbars for 1100GS and 1150GS owners.
The risers come in a
highly polished finish and of course being made from aluminum they are easy to
customize to whatever color you want.
Risers for BMW
R1100GS/R1150GS/ADV Fat Bar 35mm (Renthal or Protaper) $125
Risers for BMW
R1100GS/R1150GS/ADV Fat Bar 65mm (Renthal or Protaper) $125
Read the reviews!!
 I'd
also like to thank our testers and there level of unbiased reviews. We sent them
the kits with no instructions and just a bag O' bits. They all took so much of
their valuable time to make sure that the product fit their needs and made each
setup work perfectly. You guys rock!!!
I have had the set up
on my bike for quite awhile and would never go back to stock.
The
height is straight up from the stock location and the setback is straight back
from the stock location. 35mm rise-20mm setback, 65mm rise-22mm setback. The
picture to the left is the first prototype installed on my bike. These are the
65mm risers and they put me at very level position on the bike which provides
great feed back and a very light feel to the front.
The top
clamp has four (2) predrilled holes for the ever so popular Ram ball mounts. The
Ram ball that we predrilled for mounts with 3/8 X 16 threads.
Reviews from testers:
From Greg:
Want to make a good bike better??????? You just have to try Andrew's
Riser/Bar setup as soon as they become available. I have tested his setups for
about 1100 miles as in both the 35 mm and 65 mm flavors with a Renthal Fat Bar.
Testing was done on an 04 Adventure without any modifications except the seat
which is the Sargent standard height. For what its worth, I am about 5'11"
215lbs. with an approximately 32" arm length.
Below are my observations:
As these were beta pieces the machining, as one would expect, was a little
rough. However, the important issues such as fit, nice beveled/round edges,
hardware and design are obviously top-rate.
Install is as promised a 10 minute job (had fat bars installed already, just
changed out the risers) well actually a little more when you factor in some
rather minute tweaking. Also, there is absolutely no rerouting of cables
necessary even when using the 65 mm flavor.
I first tried the 35 mm version riding about 300 miles in a mix of city stop &
go as well as uninterrupted highway use, specifically Natchez Trace Parkway.
Because I am a bit short-armed and have a serious neck problem I found these a
bit too short. That being said I found, and it may well be my imagination, but
it seemed that the bike reacted quicker or perhaps seemed smoother through turns
with the lower risers when compared with the stock bars. Further, it should be
emphasized, that the "too-short" comment may well be function of my neck problem
so I for that matter the 35 mm are no for me.
It should also be noted that there is virtually no vibration when compared to
the standard bars and I believe less than I experienced with a previous set of
custom risers/handlebars.
Next up were the 65 mm risers with the same bars and as discussed above
everything lines up perfectly. Also, it should be noted that the hardware is of
high quality, clean threads on both the screws and the risers all very nice and
smooth.
I
completed about 800 miles with most of the mileage in stop & go city traffic
which I believe is much more difficult at least on my neck/shoulder area than
longer-distance rides. I did manage to slip in some day trips again mostly on
the Natchez Trace Parkway in order to maintain some consistency. Right away I
found that this setup was absolutely perfect. My hands fell just right on the
grips. The "feel" into turns as I described with the 35 mm risers was slightly
different (I was of course looking for differences) certainly not bad just
different. Maybe, it was the comfort factor that made the handling different,
perhaps I was more relaxed because of I certainly felt much better on the bike.
I do feel that I am now a bit more aggressive with these risers and again I
think it is because they are the greatly increased comfort eliminates
distraction. Additionally, there is only the lightest bit of vibration reaching
my hands (no gloves by the way) and I can only attribute that to a lighter grip
because as I earlier my hands just fall onto the bars. No need for the death
grip.
Did I mention that I was incredibly comfortable?
Regardless of the risers you end up with a fantastic feature that Andrew
included are the 4, 1/4-20 holes. Using Ram mounts I was able to mount both my
GPS (Garmin 2610) and either Roady2 or Escort 8500. What a fantastic idea as it
will save you quite a bit if you opt for some of the expensive mounting
solutions. Further, there was minimal sight line interference over the 2610 to
the instrument panel. The idiot lights at the bottom are the only things
obscured and only partially, i.e., less than 1/2.
Obviously,
I am thrilled with the fit offered by the 65 mm risers. Finally, after a more
than a year of screwing around trying to get comfortable this bike is now what
everyone says it is fantastic.........
If I may paraphrase that overused
line by Charlton Heston, "Fekete will have to pry these risers out of my
lifeless or bikeless hands if he ever expects to see them back."
Anyway, run don't walk, hand deliver the money, don't mail, PayPal whatever if
you must threaten bodily harm to Fekete you just have to get these risers.
I took a 1 week vacation (no bike) and during that time I had the 65 mm risers
polished, I guess you just can't take the chrome away from a former HD guy and
they look fantastic. The less than perfect finish noted above is now nearly
perfect. I would love to post some pics but I am clueless as to how to get that
done. So it you want to see what they look like raw and/or polished with some of
the pictures showing my Garmin mounted so you can see how it looks please
contact Andrew.
You just have to try these. For me they created a whole new bike.
Greg
Another review:
Adventurer's Workshop 1150GS Renthal bar kit
Just got back from the first 100 mile test ride. Short initial assessment:
In general, my hands are now more perpendicular to the bike, which is to be
expected given the decreased pull-back angle. Also, I really enjoy the neutral
weighting of my palms - I can sit up almost perfectly straight or I can hunch
slightly as laziness kicks in, but I'm no longer putting any weight on my
hands... a HUGE difference!
Vibration in the bars, even while the bike needs a bit more throttle body
balancing, is noticeably reduced. The best indicator I have is that I'm using
K12RS mirrors, which are known to be more vibe-sensitive, and I no longer have
to pull in the clutch at 4K to see what's behind me.
Initially, over-control was something of a problem due to the increased leverage
and overall better (for me) riding posture. Once my body got used to being
weighted in the butt - rather than on the crotch, a la sport bike - this wasn't
an issue. For the most part the bike feels about 100 pounds lighter as soon as
you take it off the center stand!
I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've only had the opportunity to put about
750 miles on this kit, but I'd promised to write a review and the way my
season's shaping up it's now or never!
Andrew Fekete at
Adventurer's Workshop was kind enough to send me a pre-production kit of
his high and low risers, the clamp top plate and two sets of Renthal Fatbars
(RC and RC High bends). Though the machined aluminum bits were not anodized or
polished, they've remained shiny and clean despite NorCal's damp fall/winter
weather and promise to polish up beautifully as was done by another tester:
For a comparison of the stock bars vs the various combinations supplied by
AWS, feel free to check the
full thread in the Vendors section or my
specific comparison photo post.
As was to be expected, installation was non-trivial but realistically only
took a couple of hours. The major complication is in threading the heated grip
wires, but I found that using a bit of #16 wire and a dental pick makes that
job a snap. Feel free to PM me for any assistance in that regard. I ended up
assembling a few things in the wrong order and had to un-do my work a couple
of times - now I'm a pro!
The riser/bar combination is FLAWLESS. Vibration in the bars (when combined
with a decent throttle body sync and valve adjustment, of course) is
practically a thing of the past except when bouncing the engine off of it's
rev limiter. The big Renthal bars absorb any vibes coming through the triple
clamp and it's noticeable not only in my hands, but in the K1200RS mirrors I
have mounted (which are known to expose even the slightest vibration due to
their larger mount footprint).
The overall rise of the high riser/high bar combination allows you to sit
almost completely erect - which is fantastic for me, as any sort of "sporty"
seating position usually gets terminal after about 150 miles due to my pelvic
bones digging into the seat. The impression one gets is that control of the GS
and visibility from the rider's position are greatly improved; the increased
leverage of the new bar combination can actually be a bit disconcerting until
you get used to it. After a few short miles, though, you find yourself amazed
at how easily you can direct the bike's travels - and the GS was always great
in that department as it came from the factory!
If your stock riding position puts you at the edge of windscreen buffeting,
I'd recommend looking at Tobinators for adjustability. The AWS low riser/low
bar combination will still have you slightly more erect than stock, which will
put your helmet that much higher in the airstream.
The rise of the bars may be one of the first things that you notice after
installation, and it's great from a posture standpoint - but after 100 miles
you WILL appreciate the lesser pullback angle of the Rethal Fatbars. The new
angle is natural, and for most riders will likely relieve the pressure points
and hand/wrist fatigue associated with the stock "boulevard cruiser" bend.
With the stock bars, I always developed a sore spot under the first joint of
my middle finger on the throttle side - that's gone. My endurance level is up
a good 250 miles on this point alone.
Off-road, the transition from seated to standing positions is remarkably
improved. You'd expect that control would be improved while standing on the
pegs, and it certainly is, but I wasn't prepared for the very welcome ease
with which I could stand up and sit down with having to lever away on the bars
to do so. This yields better control during the transition itself, and at the
end of the day your shoulders and thighs are much happier. The inherent flex
in the Renthals also reduces fatigue on choppy sections, while the increased
leverage makes rock negotiation a relative breeze.
Andrew got creative with the top clamp and poked a few 3/8 X 16 tapped holes in
it. This readily accepts the RAM Mini ball for mounting your favorite gadgets,
and THAT is damn cool. It's the perfect location for your GPS, XM Roady, cell
phone, what have you, keeping the gadget within your line of sight but leaving
plenty of room to view the dash. For a slab commuter like me, this is a HUGE
improvement over the U-bolt RAM mounts and Velcro arrangements I'd been using
previously.
As is to be expected, there's a slight loss of heat transfer from the stock
heated grips. As difficult as it is to quantify, I can say that with the stock
bars I could rarely run the HIGH heat position without getting uncomfortably
warm in my palm. With the new bars, I run around in HIGH all the time and it's
definitely warm, but not uncomfortable - so I guess I'd say that "new high" is
right about in the middle between "stock low" and "stock high". I should point
out that Andrew hadn't finished the redesign of the hand guard mount clamps,
so I've been riding with my hands in the breeze (refreshing!)... this likely
has a big effect on my heated grip impressions.
A few people have asked me: "I have a favorite bar brand/bar bend. Will I be
able to use them with the AWS risers?". The answer would be YES, as the risers
themselves will accept any 1 1/8" handlebar - but without the specially
machined tip inserts you'll lose the ability to route the BMW heated grip
wires. For some this is not a deal-breaker, as the benefit of being able to
customize your bar choice may outweigh the benefit of having heated grips.
You'd also have the option of using an after market heated grip setup as is
available from a number of manufacturers.
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