Hi just bought a K1000rs 16v with only 17k on the clock one genuine owner. I'm struggling with the ride position and looking at a backbar riser need to move bars back and up any suggestions welcome.

The RS bars are designed to be perfect for that bike. It was developed in a wind tunnel. If you get out on the bike and ride at 80 mph and above you will find that the riding position with the wind at that speed is very comfortable. 
If you are riding the bike around town then you have the wrong bike for doing that.
Perhaps you should have bought a K100RT or LT.

I'm surprised you say that having had many bikes and I accept this is a dated bike and wind tunnel technology was in it's infancy but at 80mph around 4000rpm it feels like it needs a 6th gear anything above 80mph it's a nightmare the gearing is much more suited for round town definitely not for cruising at anything above 80 but hey ho it was cheap and like I've said like new having only 17k on the clocks I'm happy with it will just put some more comfortable bars on it.

Strange that I also have a 16v RS which is smooth all the way up the rev range and has never felt like it needed another gear.
I have had mine above 140 mph and very comfortably kept it there for a while. 
You should have bought the RT or LT with the big screen and different bars. I am not sure that you could just change the bars on yours as that might need longer brake lines, cables and may not clear the fairing anyway.

BobT wrote:The RS bars are designed to be perfect for that bike. It was developed in a wind tunnel. If you get out on the bike and ride at 80 mph and above you will find that the riding position with the wind at that speed is very comfortable. 
If you are riding the bike around town then you have the wrong bike for doing that.
Perhaps you should have bought a K100RT or LT.

+1 that.

I've cruised at 140 to 150kph (87 to 93mph) for literally hours at a time and there is no problem with wind at those speeds and the engine is silky smooth. In fact I've noticed that the faster you go the smoother the flow of air becomes. At 155kph on the RT I've noticed wind noise all but disappears. I've had my K1100RS up to nearly 200kph several times and wind is no issue. You can work out the rpm for that.

Neilzy, I don't know how you can say its revving too high. At 4k rpm the engine is hardly working. The power band doesn't kick in till around 6k rpm. Admittedly, when you first get on a K it seems like its revving too high, but that just because many are not used to a performance 4 zylinder engine. Compare it to any other super bike of its time, even a twin and you'll find that most bikes redline around the 8k rpm mark give or take. The K is no different.

The wind tunnel was invented in 1871. By the 1980s it was a very well established apparatus used for designing aerodynamics and BMW put it to very good use in designing the K-Series.

Welcome Neilzy,

I've never ridden an RS (yet), so can't comment on the wind effect as speed increases, but am inclined to +1 both Holister and BobT's (or is that a +2?) comments above.

New K owners often struggle with the rev thing and there are many posts out there that have spoken of a yearning for a 6th gear. You really don't need it! In the UK, it is getting harder to find places to stretch a K's legs enough to need anything more than 5th gear...especially around Essex, with all those high performance Police Interceptors around (if you believe the TV show)! 

The rev & torque thing is important - there is a huge amount of power lurking in the engine block that often doesn't get released. Early on in my K journey, I regularly got other bikes tearing off away from me at traffic lights and it started me thinking that the K100 was just a heavy plodder. That was until I read a post by Charlie99 a while back where he suggested (if I remember correctly) that many of us change up through the gears too early. I certainly was guilty of that behaviour, generally changing up at 3000rpm - with the torque not kicking in properly until above 5-6000rpm, no wonder the bike felt like a heavy old cart horse in comparison with all those sports bikes! Often, in my daily commuting, round town riding or touring, I don't need that torque so do change to a higher gear as soon as I can, to keep the old girl purring. But sometimes, it is nice to make her scream a little and the difference in acceleration is very noticeable taking her up to those higher revs.

Enjoy your new acquisition - don't give up on her too soon or be in a rush to change the bars. You'll find that higher bars will make you sit much more upright and that will make you feel the wind effect and turbulence far more and lead to an uncomfortable ride.

I've got a '92 K100RS 4V.  It came to me with the higher K75"C" bars.  I rode with them for one season, and swapped them back to the stock bars over the winter.  The bike feels much more comfortable now with the lower bars, and that is with my bad back and shoulders.

My advice is to give it about 5-6 months before thinking seriously about changing the bars.  When I came back to riding after a very long absence my wrists, arms and shoulders would get tense and stiff after a short time.  As I got more used to the bike the tenseness went away and the amazing ergonomics that BMW is famous for came into play.  Now I can ride any of my bikes, two of which have narrow, low bars, all day with no problems.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:

New K owners often struggle with the rev thing and there are many posts out there that have spoken of a yearning for a 6th gear...

Agreed!

I thought my K1100LT needed a 6th gear, now I just rev it, and the whole bike is making sense...

Persevere, it'll be worth it.

Re. the bars: as soon as you change them, the integrity of the design will be compromised.

As mentioned above, give it time!

Neilzy, I bought cheap risers for my RT from Ebay - cca 3 cm up and 2 cm back. Here is a link



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-Silver-Universal-Motorcycle-7-8-22mm-Aluminum-Handlebar-Riser-Clamp-Mount-Ki/142312913313?_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20151005190540%26meid%3D8fff82225e324e019c5e5f6940e89ffe%26pid%3D100505%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26