I going to widen the handle bar on my K75S to make it more maneuverable at slow speeds and just pushing it around. At a smidgen over 500 lbs it is harder to deal with the  the r1150GS and just shouldn't be, getting old here.  There is quite a few threads on here about this but it's a little bit here/a little bit there.  robmacks post was the gem that fixed it for me, all there and I know what I am going to do.
   I am going to remove the 1" back/1" up risers and go with Flanders/ 5/6/ then trim the bar ends back 2" or so.  With luck I may be able to keep the exiting cables.  Does anybody see a downside to this.

   Flanders   BMW Handlebars by Flanders Bars (sideroadcycles.com)

   Thanks robmack

    Al

     robmack's post
The following was the results of my research to locate handlebars for my project bike:

Handlebar Measurements
All measurements are made in normal riding position.

Height or Rise: Total height measured in a level plane.

Pull Back: Vertical lines from the furthest forward to rear in a level plane.

Center Width: Straight flat section before the start of the bends.

Width: Total overall tip to tip width, no grips or bar end weights.

Height:
Early S ----2 3/4"
Late S -----2 3/4"
C -----------4 3/8"
RT & T -----5 3/4"
Flanders /5 /6 (B21) chrome ------- 4 1/2”
Flanders R90S (C20) chrome ------ 3”
Bikemaster LTD ------------------------ 4 3/4”
Emgo Euro 23-12563 -------------------2”  <--- This is what was purchased. Similar to R90S (C20) bars


Total Pull Back:
Early S -----5 1/8"
Late S ------5 5/8"
C ------------6 1/8"
RT & T ----10 3/8"
Flanders /5 /6 (B21) chrome ------- 9 1/2”
Flanders R90S (C20) chrome ------ 4 3/4”
Bikemaster LTD ------------------------ 7 1/4”
Emgo Euro 23-12563 -----------------5 1/2”

Width:
Early S -----23"
Late S ------24"
C ------------25 3/4"
RT & T ------27"
Flanders /5 /6 (B21) chrome ------- 28 3/4”
Flanders R90S (C20) chrome ------ 25 1/4”
Bikemaster LTD ------------------------ 30”
Emgo Euro 23-12563 -----------------  29 1/2”

Center:
Early S ------4 3/4"
Late S -------4 3/4"
C -------------5"
RT & T -------5"
Flanders /5 /6 (B21) chrome ------- 4 1/2”
Flanders R90S (C20) chrome ------ 4”
Bikemaster LTD ------------------------ 4 3/4”
Emgo Euro 23-12563 ----------------- 4 3/4”


Diameter:
Bikemaster and Emgo bars are 7/8" OD (.867"measured 22.12mm)
Flanders and BMW bars are 22mm exactly
S bars are .695-.700" ID

C, RT, & T bars are .615-.622" ID



Last edited by robmack on Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:02 am; edited 1 time in total

__________________________________________________
Robert
1987 K75 @k75retro.blogspot.ca

Time To Ride wrote: Does anybody see a downside to this. 

The only one I see is trimming the bars too much so they can't accommodate the OEM switch gear and front brake master cylinder.

Carpenter, "I've been cutting this bloody plank all day and it's STILL too short!"

Yes,  measure twice cut once!

   The new bar is 4 3/4" wider with a 5" more pull back then stock so there is lots of bar to play with when it comes time to do the cutting, doesn't mean I can't mess it up but....  The angle will be sharper at my wrists but it worked for the 5/6/ folks.
   Had a thought that the I.D. of the pipe may be wrong for the bar end and the tightening device.  Could not find info on the ID so rolled the dice and ordered the bar, my be a field fit thing I guess.

Time To Ride wrote:Yes,  measure twice cut once!

   The new bar is 4 3/4" wider with a 5" more pull back then stock so there is lots of bar to play with when it comes time to do the cutting, doesn't mean I can't mess it up but....  The angle will be sharper at my wrists but it worked for the 5/6/ folks.
   Had a thought that the I.D. of the pipe may be wrong for the bar end and the tightening device.  Could not find info on the ID so rolled the dice and ordered the bar, my be a field fit thing I guess.

BMW K & Airhead 'bars are 22mm diametre, almost everyone else is 7/8" (22.225mm)or a red pubic hair thicker than 22mm.

22mm O.D. , my worry is the inner dimension, how thick is the wall of the pipe Flanders used compared to BMW.  If the wall is more then a little thicker the bar end may not fit, if it is thinner it may not tighten (doubt this).  I have seen no mention of this in my searching, just looking for things to worry about. 

Time To Ride wrote:22mm O.D. , my worry is the inner dimension, how thick is the wall of the pipe Flanders used compared to BMW.  If the wall is more then a little thicker the bar end may not fit, if it is thinner it may not tighten (doubt this).  I have seen no mention of this in my searching, just looking for things to worry about. 

Flanders 'bars have been used by BMW riders for yonks. I often reached for their catalogue before others for replacement BMW Airhead 'bars for myself and for customers. I reckon you'll find that they are no different in I.D. than the Magura 'bars BMW often came stock with.

I was keen to do something just to gain an inch or two - even adding bar end weights for instance but was put off by the fact that the heated grip wires went in from the outer ends so would get  ruined

SteveWilson wrote:I was keen to do something just to gain an inch or two - even adding bar end weights for instance but was put off by the fact that the heated grip wires went in from the outer ends so would get  ruined

   No heated grips on my bike, would be nice though.  Maybe splice some more wire onto the power end and then the install would be the same?

My concern would be the cable lengths required.  

Using the dimensions provided above, if you trim 2" off both ends of the stroke 5 or 6 bars then you would be a smidgeon wider than the S bars currently fitted.  That may still cause a problem as the bars are swept further back than the original S bars adding some required length to the cables.  

If you are widening the bars to allow greater manoeuvrability then one of the popular modifications for the 75S was to fit 75C bars.  However C bars are hard to come by.  It was also recommended that you fit the longer cables when doing this.   

A quick squiz at Motobins identifies the clutch cable lengths as: 

• S/RS = 1510mm 
  
• C/RT = 1625mm 
  

So with a difference in length of 115mm I would be inclined to fit the longer cables as well to prevent any control restriction.  

I have a 75S with C bars fitted and in comparison to my standard S, the C would appear to have the longer cables fitted.  

Hope this helps.

Thanks for taking the time TacKler it does help.  I should have looked into this closer and now what I see is a problem, to achieve the extra width (leverage) I want I will not be cutting anything off of that bar but that means living with the full pull back.   Not what I wanted to do, I drew it up and we are talking wheel barrow handles in my lap   The extra 4” with the RT cables will probably work being only half an inch to short but…….  The bars are almost here so gong to see how works, will give it a try.