Barback Advice Sought

[racer7]

Spent this past weekend on the Dragon, Cherohala, some stuff in eastern TN, Blue Ridge for most if its length, etc - a lot of turns and a couple long days all in weather no worse than elevation fog.

Mine is a stock 08 RT as far as bars and pegs go. I noted for the first time that I was getting sore spots near the inside of my shoulders from carrying a bit too much weight on my hands. Hadn't noticed it previously on a few 400 mile days on less demanding roads.

I think a good set of barbacks will solve the problem and I don't want to block my view to the mirrors, etc. I'm 6" 0" about 195 lbs.

Of the various options, what is recommended re bar backs?

Thanks for any advice.

[Funride]

I put a set of barbacks on my bike about a month ago and it made a big difference for me.

I am 6' 4" and sit way back on the seat. Leaning forward to the handlebars certainly works well for racing but after about a half hour I would get the pain behind my neck and into my shoulders. I used to stop every hour and try and work the pain out.

Now with the barbacks I can ride all day no sweat. I think everyone is different but they really helped for me.

[Polarbear]

My GSA may take a different type, but I have the ROX Brand on mine and its all the difference in the world having them. Would never go back to the stock mounting. 85$ by ROX. Randy:thumb

[RTFlyer]

As far as mirrors go, my hands are actually more out of the way with the risers.

[lawman101]

Barbacks will help. Mirrors work better with barbacks but I still use GS mirrors. I really like being able to see behind me...

[Beemeup]

I put on the Moto-Techniques bar backs and they make a world of difference and actually give me a better view in my rear view mirrors, I also added a set of K1200RS sport mirrors so I can see better behind me when I'm fully loaded with gear. Both additions work great. Don

[leadfoot]

The two good investments I bought for my RT was barbacks and footpeg lowering blocks from Bob's BMW. The barbacks he sold me not only brought the bars up, and back, but also moved them slightly wider, which I love.

I agree on the aux mirrors, I just put RS mirrors on and find that I use them 95% of the time over the originals. I thought I would want to use them primarily when I have a lot of gear on the back and it blocked my sight, but I really like them for general riding. I adjusted the originals different from the RS mirrors to increase my overall rear vision.

[planepaul]

Let me offer another angle (pun intended!). I noticed on my (then) stock '05 RT that I was getting some pressure soreness on the little finger ends of my palms, a sign to me that the stock handlebar lateral angle was too much. I concluded, as I, too, was getting the between the shoulder blades hot spots, that I needed to reduce the lateral angle of the bar, and not just simply bring them up and back. I had a machinist friend of mine make me a set of custom "barbacks" that were offset drilled so that the bars came back at less of an angle. The net result is that the bars are at about the same reach, a little higher, and with slighly more of a drag bar (gross exageration for a better visualization) angle. All I can say is that it completely worked for me. I just did a 2,300 mile tour and it was all good.
Paul in CA
'05 R1200RT