Ricky Bars ala R1150R

[kbasa]

Some of you may be familiar with Ricardo Kuhn's Pro Taper or Renthal bar conversion kits for R11/1150GSs.

He's recently introduced a version for Roadsters and Rocksters. Tina's bike didn't fit her too well, as it was kind of a reach to the bars for her. Ricky's bars seemed like the way to go, so we stuck a pair on her bike.

Here's the before picture.
http://kbasa.smugmug.com/photos/1022449-M-1.jpg
It's kind of a reach...

Here's the after picture.
http://kbasa.smugmug.com/photos/1044891-M.jpg

Compare the stock setup here:
http://kbasa.smugmug.com/photos/1022438-M.jpg

With the Renthal and Ricky setup:
http://kbasa.smugmug.com/photos/1043978-M.jpg
The holes on the top are for a GPS mount and some other accessories he's working on.

http://kbasa.smugmug.com/photos/1043980-M.jpg
Industrial strength and very pretty to look at. Bars are available in silver, gray, black and gold. I think the black works with the black bike pretty well.

So, how does it work?

The clamps are beautifully made and the ability to fit different bars is an awesome opportunity.

I rode Tina's bike yesterday (she was working on a paper for school) and the bars put me into a position that was much more natural. The bars felt more connected to the front end of the bike and seemed to vibrate somewhat less. Mirrors were slightly blurred at some rpm range, but not so badly that I couldn't see what was behind me.

I'm the kind of guy that thinks I don't necessarily need a bigger hammer, I just need a hammer that fits my hand better. Ricky bars allowed us to fit the bike to Tina. She'll take it for a ride next weekend and she can offer up her own impressions. Looking at her on the bike, though, it looks like she'll finally have a motorcycle that fits her. :clap.

I give Ricky Bars: :thumb :thumb :thumb :thumb :thumb out of 5 possible.

[ricardo kuhn]

first the bars are 1'1/8' in diameter as oppose to be 7/8" or 22MM like the bmw are.. they are made of a really strong but resilient aluminum alloy that makes them years stronger, they also feature great shock absorption, ,not that necessary on the R1150R also is a detriment in harmonic vibration build up,, again more noticeable on the GS with the cross bar...

another thing is that the mounts are more "compensators" than "risers" do to the BMW bars being Taller, is necessary to lift and move back the "Fat bars" to achieve the "point of departure" and then i can select lower, higher, forward ,backward. any way you get the idea

On tina's case reach was a issue, but each client is treated on a specific case bases, taking in consideration many factors, not only biomechanical ,ergonomic and anthropometric, ,but riding style desire and all the different characteristics..

.in summitry.
this are more or less Taylor made Bars for your needs.

many times can be lower, or forward,, or much higher that tina's if the need arise...

is about 18 models of bars available plus two "positions" on the clamps(Up and back, using spacer) choices rendering about 30 possible permutations(some of them give the same end result,, so i don't count them 2 times)

I hope this is not view as :Spam I just want to clarified a few points

thanks and sorry for the Ingles

ricky

[Cliffy777]

Geez,
What neat and tidy shelves are in the background in a couple of the shots with Ms K on her purdy roadster.
As the Chinese guy Confusion once said: "Tidy shelves indicate messy mind."

[kbasa]

Ha! You ought to see the rest of that garage....

The camping stuff is an absolute mess, I'm sorry to report and my workbench looks like a bomb went off on it.

dave

[lorazepam]

The hamper is full too. I have a 1996 R850R, with the funky bars on it. I also have the stock BMW optional windscreen. The mounts for the screen attach to the bars right at the controls, and I am truly bummed that I cannot move my bars back and up to facilitate a more natural and comfortable riding position. I will be more than happy to take photos and measurements if someone can think of an elegant and practical solution to my bar movement problem. I like the windscreen, and really dont want to ride this time of year without it.

[kbasa]

Originally posted by lorazepam
The hamper is full too.

I have a plentiful rag supply.

:thumb

[lorazepam]

Moving from a house after living there 15 years, to a one bedroom apt surely put a cramp on my storage situation. I wish I had the luxury of a hamper full of rags :p

[ricardo kuhn]

riding around with less pain and more confort

[kbasa]

I can add a vote to that.

They're awesome.

:thumb

totally cool to look at too.....

[ricardo kuhn]

this time the person is about 6" tall and like to ride fast,speciailly on twisty stuff
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419310-M.jpg

kind of front view
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419312-M.jpg

another one
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419313-M.jpg

view from the "Bottom"
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419314-M.jpg

tank bag clearance,,no big deal
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419317-M.jpg

[kbasa]

Those black clamps look awesome!

:thumb

[lorazepam]

No fair!! I want to see the Taj Mahal trio, you west coast guys are so lucky.

[ricardo kuhn]

Originally posted by lorazepam
No fair!! I want to see the Taj Mahal trio, you west coast guys are so lucky.

sorry that I did not get at all..

maybe is just a "private Joke"

[knary]

Originally posted by lorazepam
No fair!! I want to see the Taj Mahal trio, you west coast guys are so lucky.

:lol

Ricky,

take a look at this pic a little closer....
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419314-M.jpg

[ricardo kuhn]

Originally posted by knary
:lol

Ricky,

take a look at this pic a little closer....
http://patineto.smugmug.com/photos/1419314-M.jpg

Oh man you are so Smart,,that "Tree" is being in front of my house for a long time,,,and "shed" leaves all the time,,I tend not to look, because I don't have the means for "entretaiment"..

One thing is for sure at any given day is at least some great cultural activity happned around there I live, not to mension Museums,independent Movies,theather,any thing that "float you boat"

[JULIE]

Wow, those bars are way to cool! I already had risers put on my 1150 so now I'm in a more comfortable riding position, one that looks like Tina's "before" picture. I'm still interested in in knowing about how much one would need to plan on spending to have these custom bars? Where are you located? Please send more info....................Tina, congrats on your R1150R! Your gonna love it!

[kbasa]

Hey Julie,

Ricky's on the board here (Ricardo Kuhn) and his site is here. (http://www.motomacondo.com/)

If I know Ricky, he's going to want to see a picture of you sitting on your bike before he sends you the bars and mounts. He's seen Tina riding around before, so he said "Here. Take these home and put them on."

Of course, he got it absolutely right......

I think he's offering a discount through the end of the year as well.

Discount information (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29639)