Howdy. So I'm planning on removing my rt fairing for the summer and so I can repair the cracked fibreglass from being dropped. I figure (hope) that it'll be pretty simple, remove fairing, install aftermarket/secondhand round headlight, install aftermarket/secondhand indicators, make some brackets for the horns, and put some protective mesh over the radiator. Easy, right??
Also I want to install some rs handlebars. I'm hoping I wont have to change any cables or wiring as I would like to make it a simple process to add/remove fairing and swap to a naked bike for the summer and easy swap to a faired bike for the winter.
On the agenda also will be progressive springs upgrade for the front.

So is the handlebar conversion as easy as I imagine?

rt to rs no real issues as all, the cables are longer than required going from rt to rs  ...might have to reroute or change the angle of some things ...but don't see any big issues ....

the fairing fix is usually to do with the fibreglass mounts breaking ..especially on the lower mounts ...but with a good bit of fiberglass fixing can be done in a weekend .   don't looser the broken off bits after you unbolt them from the fairing tree ...they can be reused ..

good luck ...

for me I have chosen to keep the rt upper going all year ...currently working on a upper to lower modification that should see a good flow of air all year round ..

Thanks for the reply, that's what I wanted to hear.
I have actually already modified my fairing somewhat. I am quite tall and so for a long time my knees were kinda jammed in behind and it wasn't comfortable. After months of contemplation I finally got out the angle grinder and shortened it somewhat. The fairing was in pretty bad shape before so I didn't feel too bad. I'm glad I did. So much more comfortable for me, and alot more air flow happens in the warmer weather. I'll post some pics some time.

RedRT wrote:Howdy. So I'm planning on removing my rt fairing for the summer and so I can repair the cracked fibreglass from being dropped. I figure (hope) that it'll be pretty simple, remove fairing, install aftermarket/secondhand round headlight, install aftermarket/secondhand indicators, make some brackets for the horns, and put some protective mesh over the radiator. Easy, right??
Also I want to install some rs handlebars. I'm hoping I wont have to change any cables or wiring as I would like to make it a simple process to add/remove fairing and swap to a naked bike for the summer and easy swap to a faired bike for the winter.
On the agenda also will be progressive springs upgrade for the front.

So is the handlebar conversion as easy as I imagine?

Your mods will not be difficult to achieve, but I suspect that it will not be a simple matter to regularly swap between winter and summer modes.

Alternatively, you could add to your kollection and pick yourself up a bike that is already in her summer clothes:

https://www.k100-forum.com/t11602-rosskko-bike-prep-for-sale#138265

That way, you would have a cool neekid bike for those hotter summer months and a proper faired bike for the winter and/or longer tours. 

Rosskko had a set of spare RS bars as well - ask KKlompy if they are still available.

When Rosskko loaned me his neekid RT back in April, it had the RT bars fitted (my choice - when asked, I figured RT bars on a RT was right...wrong!). Without the protection of the fairing, the riding position with the RT bars is too high and you really notice it above 100kph!

Good luck

Alternatively, you could add to your kollection and pick yourself up a bike that is already in her summer clothes:

https://www.k100-forum.com/t11602-rosskko-bike-prep-for-sale#138265
Quote from BAE

That way, you would have a cool neekid bike for those hotter summer months and a proper faired bike for the winter and/or longer tours. 

Rosskko had a set of spare RS bars as well - ask KKlompy if they are still available.

When Rosskko loaned me his neekid RT back in April, it had the RT bars fitted (my choice - when asked, I figured RT bars on a RT was right...wrong!). Without the protection of the fairing, the riding position with the RT bars is too high and you really notice it above 100kph!



Good luck[/quote]

Hi KKlompy here....Bars have gone but i know that a chap on Facebook has some K1100 RS bars which are wider and higher than K100...good choice I think. Oh I am also happy to deliver to Tassie if the RossKKo machine meets your needs :O)

Thanks for the replies guys. I have some rs bars I found at Discount Motorcycles in Melbourne for $90 delivered the other day. Not too sure about heated grips comparability though.

Compatibility

K1100 bars wider and higher tan k100, noted.

Wider, but not higher. I have both(original K100RS and K10016v/K11RS) on the shelf in my garage. They are approx 2" wider.

Re the heated grip compatability, non heated grip bars have open hollow ends and the bar end weights fit internally.  Heated grip bars have machined ends welded in so that the grip wiring can pass through from the end, the weights simply bolt to the ends, also there is a hole in the bars between the handlebar clamps(underneath) where the grip wiring escapes the handle bars. I have both heated grip and non heated grip wide bars sitting gathering dust if anyone needs them.

Al

Thanks Al...it seemed any bar was higher and wider than the K100RS bars...took the old girl for a ride to Motohansa and it felt very weird after the K1100LT bars...and mine have risers 2 inch up and a little back.

May look at the heated RS bars next time to compare...

Cheers KKlompy

Thanks for the info on the bars. Unfortunately I'm not sure whether the ones I've ordered are for heated grips or not until they arrive. I didn't think about this. I have heated grips.
I might hit you up for a pair if these aren't heated.

You will have some extra cable length to deal with if you fit RS bars. Clutch and throttle cables will not tuck in under the tank. If its only temporary then I would put up with the RT/naked arrangement till you get the fairing back on. I found above 80km/h it gets difficult.

I went thru that whole process with my '89RT. Upper fairing off and on quite a few times as I re-fiberglassed the mounting points. Due to other additional problems I eventually ditched the fairing altogether.

You might want to check the front 'antler' bracket also. They're only pressed metal and with a little rust and vibration they fatigue and have a habit of cracking along the centre weld seam. This in turn will stress the fibreglass mounting points. The forward side brackets also have a habit of cracking too.

Just a suggestion, but if its only a temporary arrangement, you could see if you could find another upper fairing to fit while you did the repairs. With the number of Ks going under the knife due to the cafe movement these days, you're sure to find one somewhere. Maybe even in the same colour.

Too be honest, I enjoy my old girl much more naked with RS bars, but as Al said, the 100RS bars are a bit narrower. I much prefer the bars on my 1100RS.

RedRT wrote: Unfortunately I'm not sure whether the ones I've ordered are for heated grips or not until they arrive.

On the 2VRS the same bar is used with or w/o heated grips...as the 2VRS
don't have bar weights, the grips is closed on the end.

Inge K. wrote:

RedRT wrote: Unfortunately I'm not sure whether the ones I've ordered are for heated grips or not until they arrive.

On the 2VRS the same bar is used with or w/o heated grips...as the 2VRS
don't have bar weights, the grips is closed on the end.

OK Inge, I was thinking they'd be much the same as 2v K-RT bars

Al

AL-58 wrote:

Inge K. wrote:

RedRT wrote: Unfortunately I'm not sure whether the ones I've ordered are for heated grips or not until they arrive.

On the 2VRS the same bar is used with or w/o heated grips...as the 2VRS
don't have bar weights, the grips is closed on the end.

OK Inge, I was thinking they'd be much the same as 2v K-RT bars

Al

My 8V RS has bar weights as I have fitted a cruise control friction thing on the RH side...and it has heated grips..mmmm

Cheers KKlompy

klompy the grey brick wrote:My 8V RS has bar weights as I have fitted a cruise control friction thing on the RH side...and it has heated grips..mmmm

The reply was meant for RedRT who was wondering if he had ordered RS bars which was for heated grips or not.

And it was not about if it is possible to add end weigths on a RS with heated grips or not.

Thanks alot guys. Today I pulled my fairing off for a look see and a clean. The antler bracket was indeed cracked. The whole fairing is in worse shape than I thought so now I'm looking to get this naked conversion done soon. Just gotta find a suitable headlight.
My bars haven't arrived yet, I hope they're from an 8 valve so I can fit the heated grips.
And oh yeah might get a bit breezy over 80ks.

I reckon a broken antler is probably the main reason the fairing mounting points crack off.

If you're permanently going naked, here are some things to consider.

• Ditch the old RT cables etc and buy RS. Its worth putting an order in to Motorworks in the UK. They'll arrive inside a week but you being in Tassie.... your guess.
  
  
• You'll need to replace the front brake line also. Simple.
  
  
• Don't forget the choke cable as well.
  
  
• IMO you're better going for the 1100RS bars as Al suggested. A bit easier to control at lower speeds. However, I do like the feel of the narrower bars on my K100NKD when I throw her into a nice corner at speed. I've pulled them back a little (so they just miss the tank) which lowers them a bit.
  
  
• You'll need mirrors. I bought these ones. But these are correct fit. Threaded section was about 15mm too long on the ones I bought but I think they look better. They're not oems but Italian aftermarket reproductions. Quality is very good and well priced too. They're sold singularly not as a pair. Be aware that the threaded section on BMW mirrors is a little narrower than on most other bikes.
  
  
• I bought this style headlight bracket. They're well made and look good.
  
  
• You'll need an 8" headlight but it's difficult to find a good headlight anywhere. My advice would be to avoid the crap they sell on ebay and places like Third Gear Accessories. THEY ARE RUBBISH!! Start looking for a second hand one asap. Others may have a different story.
  
  
• While you're at it and are rearranging the wiring, you'd be wise to install headlight relays. I've bought a couple of H4 car H/L relay Plug 'n Play harnesses off ebay. Very simple to install and cheap as chips for under $15. You can spend 4 or 5 times the price on sealed relays +harness if you want to go down that road.
  
  
• One thing you'll notice is that with RS bars, the instrument pod looks like a shag on a rock. You could fashion a bracket to lower and tilt it forward so it looks better.
  
  
• While you're farting around with the front end its a good idea to check the steering head bearings. My guess is that they'll be shot. You'll get noticeable improvements in steering at low speeds and cornering out on the road with new bearings.
  

Welome to the world of Knaked. The best fun you'll have naked with your clothes on.

Hi Red, hope you enjoy the customising. Coincidentally I am in the process of doing something similar to my K1100LT.

This project of mine was brought on also by a broken "antler"/ front fairing bracket and a thought of having the bike stripped down a bit for the warmer months (of which we probably get a bit more than you do down in Tassie) but be able to refit the fairing for winter trips down south e.g. Alpine Rally etc. When I got the fairing off I found quite a bit of damage to the top half around the mounting points and also a few external cracks caused by a minor accident a few years back.

I have a few points for you to consider, learned when I customised a K75 a couple of years back. Build thread here

Indicators - LED indicators are very popular but I opted for miniature 21 watt halogen units that are small, bright and compatible with the OEM flasher. Look at photos in the K75 thread - from Supercheap and been going for 40,000 km.

Horn - on both bikes I have mounted the horn behind the radiator on the right hand side inboard of the intake air snorkel. In the case of the K1100 which had twin horns I just fitted one small flat style unit for it's naked look and will have the twin horns in the fairing for the winter look. Ran new wiring back to the electrical box for the summer horn on the K1100 and left standard wiring for the winter.

Headlight - as Holister has mentioned the naked K bikes use a larger headlight than most after-market types (about 210mm diameter from memory) but they are very hard to find and expensive (A$240-260) second hand.

Mirrors - for not a lot more than EEbaay you can get original mirrors from Motorworks in the UK for around $38-40 (25 pounds), worth looking at.

With a screen fitted I have found the naked K75 a joy to ride and am looking forward to the same with my K1100 in summer mode. Photos of all comments in K75 thread.

Cheers

Thank you Holister , thank you Gaz, I very much enjoyed reading your posts! Ok so my rs bars arrived - no place for the heated grips. They are quite narrow too, maybe should have gotten 1100 bars. I really don't want to do any cable ditching. Sounds extremely expensive. If I can get away with the rt cables, they will do for the meantime. I still need a headlight. Thanks for the tip on the headlight relay from supercheap. Maybe you saved me as I have actually been looking at those headlights from ebay. I would really prefer a second hand one as you suggest).

Thanks alot guys 😃
PS. I plan to do my first clutch lube this weekend. I can't really wait for my staburags paste to arrive as i need to ride the bike so I will have to use Honda moly... Pps...could anybody tell me the torque specs for doing my gearbox bolts up, any other bolts I need to torque?? Cheers guys,😊

My .02 after skimming this thread:

1 - I get why you would want to do this. RS bars are much better for getting your weight in and over the tank for a better aggressive riding position.

2 - Especially if you are tall, will RS bars have your helmet banging against an RT windscreen? (I guess that's not an issue if you're now ditching the RT fairing though.)

3 - From measurements I took at one point (rough) the 4V RS bars are about 1.5" wider and set back 2" compared to a 3" setback on 2V RS bars.

4 - Heated grips. The 4V RS bars have the bar end extension welded on with a hole for HG wiring. The 2V HG RS bars have notches in the ends for HG wiring and HG compatible inserts for the bar ends.

duck wrote:
4 - Heated grips. The 2V HG RS bars have notches in the ends for HG wiring and HG compatible inserts for the bar ends.

These notches is only present on 2V models which have bar end weights from factory.
2VRS don't have bar end weights from factory, same bar is used both with and w/o heated grips.

Right you are. Forgot about those.

Hmm ok I must have the 2vrs bars - they are just hollow bars nothing welded, no notches, do I need to buy some kind of bar ends for the heated grip wires?

If you want to use the heated grips from the RT bar on the RS bar,
you must replicate the notches you have on the RT bar.
Then you can move over both the heated grips and the bar end weights.

Ah yep, thanks Inge

Red you have probably already done your spline lube but if not there is a product available in Australia which has a 50% moly content and is sold as an assembly paste. I was familiar with it from industrial applications and purchased mine through Backwoods online.

Its made by Molybond.