[pezos]

Hello,

So at the age of 56, I have decided to make my ST more T than S.

I have looked through the various forums and decided upon 3 mods to make it less of a strain on the back/wrists, whilst at the same time (hopefully) improving on its aesthetics.

At present my ST is a 2012 stock version, other than the introduction of a Booster Plug which has helped enormously at low speeds, and a Kappa rear rack conversion which means the much more practical Givi/Kappa top boxes now fit. The bike is still poor at low speeds in my opinion, and I know I'm not alone in this view, but it still ticks most of the boxes for me. Great fuel economy, gear shift indicator, good luggage system, less than 200kg, heated grips, underseat petrol tank and best of all belt drive.

The modifications I plan to make are as follows:

1) Replace the handlebars with LSL Superbike bars, cut to match the width of the stock bars to help keep the mirrors clear. I intend to use the directions supplied by Helibars to re-route the cables and pipes without having to replace them. If the rerouting is not aesthetically pleasing I will find other solutions.

2) To modify the 'pee pot' bouncing brake reservoir off its bracket and down on top of the master cylinder (aesthetics only) using BMW OEM parts. Nice and neat.

3) I am 6ft and so will replace the stock screen with a taller, less acute angled aftermarket screen.

I am expecting 1 and 3 above to put the rider in a much more relaxed position on the bike with less buffeting. We shall see.

If anyone is particularly interested in any of the above I will take pics as I go and share.

Wish me luck.

 

[pezos]

Hi Flook, thanks for your comments. I want the bike to look as stock as possible but with my mods, so new bars and a better clear screen for starters. I already have the pyramid hugger which has merged into the bike so well I forgot I had it!

 

[pezos]

Hey Flook,

No, I'm here in the UK. SE London.

My bike has cost me the best part of £25 the last 2 times I filled it. I've never actually run it from full to empty but the average mpg never really wavers from 64. I wonder if your fuel gauge is the same as mine where it registers full for most of the time and then drops like a stone before hitting reserve?

Yep, the horn is a bit tinny and not very loud, and I can never find the button when I want it! Thanks for the steer on the madstad screen. I've ordered myself a touring screen from slipscreens. Its much higher and more upright so I'm hoping the wind will go up and over a bit more.

P

 

[pezos]

Hi Flook,

I forgot to mention that I fill up usually with E5 and so that might explain why I'm getting in nearly £25 worth. Like you I have a fairly fixed setting on my dash which is Tyre pressures and mpg. As soon as the fuel gauge drops from full to half - which it seems to do like a step I think about filling up.

Do you happen to know how many miles you can go on reserve (is the warning fuel mark you mention), It then helpfully starts counting up miles from 0. I tend to only go a very few miles so I'd be curious to know?

ps. I'm in Catford/Lewisham

 

[pezos]

Wow 6500 miles is a LOT. No wonder you went for a full on aftermarket seat!

I stripped a chuck of my bike down today in readiness for the new bars and am keen to know if you needed to re-route the clutch cable when you put the bar risers on. I've repositioned the brake line and the throttle cable, but the clutch cable seems to be routed about as well as it can be. The helibars instructions seem to have the cable coming up the same side as the lever.... maybe I'm misunderstanding it but I defo don't want to do that.

New bars are slightly wider and although I plan to cut them down I don't think I'll be able to get them quite as short because of the control length, Grrrrr!

 

[pezos]

Interesting. I'm hoping just having moved the brake line to the outside edge of the forks will do it! I guess I'll find out when my new bars arrive next week.

 

[pezos]

Hi Flook,

No not looked at the Anglian F800 riders yet. Got my hands full with a brand new dog!! Very much looking forwards to getting the new bits on my bike and taking it out. I will report back. Thanks for all of your input so far. P

 

[pezos]

Thanks ccramerisc, I've just got back from a Vegas to Yellowstone road trip with my daughter via about 10 parks and 7 states. It was HOT, but beautiful and we had a great time. I imagined what it might be like on a bike and realised that it would be too hot for me, maybe in the cooler months. I have 2 friends and our ambition is to buy 3 Enfields and ride the across the top of Europe and down through Asia to Australia. I retired at Christmas, just waiting for the other 2 now!

 

[pezos]

Thanks Phil, I'll do some research. I'm not sure if its the fuelling I'm unhappy with or the gearing. P

 

[pezos]

I looked at loads of Rear Huggers and the best / fitted without having to cut things or change things was the Pyramid. It's glass fibre with a high gloss finish that they make in the various body colours. It's not easy to fit though and not cheap either. Had to get the rear wheel off mine and jig it around a bit to get it straight. Now it's on though it looks pretty stock, save for a small Pyramid logo on the side.

https://pyramid-plastics.co.uk/collections/huggers/bike-model_f800-st

 

[pezos]

i looked at loads of rear huggers and the best / fitted without having to cut things or change things was the pyramid. It's glass fibre with a high gloss finish that they make in the various body colours. It's not easy to fit though and not cheap either. Had to get the rear wheel of mine and jig it around a bit to get it straight. Now it's on though it looks pretty stock, save for a small pyramid logo on the side.

https://pyramid-plastics.co.uk/collections/huggers/bike-model_f800-st

please note the gt hugger is not the same as the st on account of the slightly longer swing arm

https://pyramid-plastics.co.uk/collections/huggers/bike-manufacturer_bmw+bike-model_f800-gt

 

[pezos]

So a couple of developments today....

1) the LSL bars that I thought would work are not right - neither the flat superbike bars or the regular superbike bars. They are a fair bit wider than the stock (bad for cable lengths) and don't give much in the way of lift or pull back. I only plan to change the bars once and so they need to be right (ie make the difference I want). I'm looking for a couple of inches up and the same back (or a combination thereof), whatever feels the best.

This has led me to buy some Renthal bars. Road mediums!! With the same horizontal angle as the OEM bars I get an extra 2" up and 2" back and only an inch or so at either end of extra width. If the cables won't reach when I put them on the bike I will cut the bars down to match the OEM's. Fortunately with the Renthals the control width is long enough to do this. Amazing. Just what I was after. They have an internal diameter of 14mm and so an M8 Rawlbolt fits perfectly inside and means I can use the original BMW bar ends, which is precisely what I wanted to do. It has meant that I have needed to buy 100mm M8 bolts to run the full length, but these were easily sourced on ebay and will help with both with the stock look and the stock performance. I have also learned that nail polish remover will take off the Renthal logo on the bars to make them completely plain, with perserverance!

2) My replacement screen - made by Slipscreens in Wales UK, came to day. It is a thing of beauty. It is made from 5mm Perspex and hand finished. It is much more upright than the OEM screen and I'm hoping will compensate for the extra height that the bars will impose on the rider's position - time will tell....

 

[pezos]

So, Renthal Road Medium bars are on. I didn't cut them down because if I had the banjo from the front brake hose would have hit the bend in the bars and forced the grips forward and made them peculiar/ badly positioned. I positioned the bars at exactly the same angle as the OEM bars and they are close to the (false) tank on full lock, but do not hit it. I might when I've ridden the bike roll the bars very slightly backwards to get a little more clearance.

The biggest job by far was the rerouting of the cables/hoses. Against my better judgement I did have to move the clutch cable to the same side as the clutch (as per the Helibars instructions). It is a little tighter, bend wise than I would have liked, but does seem viable/workable, so I will see how I get on. If it feels weird or compromised I will call Motorworks and see if I can get a longer cable and route it back the original way. One thing to be super careful of is that the clutch cable may fall between the stop on the head and the head itself restricting the movement of the steering. I managed to route the cable so that this wouldn't happen, but please be careful to observe this possibility!

With the new bars on and the clearances checked from lock to lock, I now have a very good looking install which if you didn't know it might have been an original set up. As previously mentioned I've gained 2" up and 2" back without having to replace any cables/hoses, and just sitting on the bike feels so much more comfortable. The test will of course be in the riding, which I've yet to do.

My next job will be to replace the 'pee pot" brake fluid reservoir to down off its elevated clamp onto the master cylinder/lever, to make it less conspicuous/like an afterthought. I will let you know how I get on. I have taken a bunch of photos so far which I am happy to share, but they seem to disappear from the forum after time so I will only post if someone wants them.

So far I'm very happy with my install, I hope it rides as well I had hoped for. Slipscreen now installed - so far so good!
P

 

[pezos]

Good luck, Pezos! I just purchased a 2012 ST. I am 6'3" and 57 years old. I want to do some of the same mods you are describing, especially the raising of the handle bar, and a taller screen. Please let me know what parts you end up installing and any problems you come across when it comes to re-routing or extending the cables and/or the brake hose. - Apumotor

Hi Apumotor, glad to help if I can. So most of what I did is documented in various posts above this one. In short I went for a set of Renthal Road Medium bars rather than use bar raisers and so they look like stock bars. To get the bar ends to fit I simply bought 2 x 100mm long M8 allen bolts and a pack of M8 rawlbolts that fit beautifully into the end of the renthal bars. The only mod to do to the bars themselves was to drill a 3.5mm hole through the left hand grip side to take the small bolt that holds the left grip on.

To start with I rerouted the brake line, the throttle cable and the clutch cable as per the Helibars conversion instructions, but I was not really happy with it. The brake line especially, it just got too bent up for my liking and so I had a new one made by HEL here in the UK. I believe Speigler in the USA will make one too or even sell one for raised bars. This would be the bare minimum I would do if I were you. Although the throttle cable is OK it just doesn't feel right having it behind the bars and so I will replace this very shortly. Likewise with the clutch cable. It is now on the 'wrong' side of the forks and although I've secured it out of the way is just wrong and left to its own devices would jam in the head stop and restrict the movement of the bars - not nice, so that will get replaced too. Venhill in the UK will supply known cables in any length you like. You just add however many inches you want. In short, new bars and 3 new cables/lines to do a proper job. Looks great though and I'm super happy with the new position.

Because of the more upright position I installed a new screen too. Beautifully made in Wales by Slipscreens it is taller and less acute, again looks perfect.

Hope that helps.... good luck

 

[pezos]

Awesome. Thank you for your guidance, Pezos! I have done the same modifications on my Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor. It is good to know ahead of time what parts I will need to order.

Don't go higher than a set of Rental mediums, else the switchgear cables won't reach!

 

[pezos]

Awesome. Thank you for your guidance, Pezos! I have done the same modifications on my Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor. It is good to know ahead of time what parts I will need to order.

Don't go higher than a set of Rental road mediums, else the switchgear cables won't reach!

 

[pezos]

Having decided to replace both the throttle cable and clutch cable as threatened above I ordered up some custom build cables from Venhill. They had the pattern for the clutch cable and so I just added 90mm to order, and sent them the throttle cable to copy, adding 65mm extra length. I also got them to add a proper nut at the engine end to replace the thumbwheel so that I could avoid taking the bike to bits (as per the Haynes manual) just to replace the throttle cable. If you are patient and careful you can get the old cable out and the new one in and get a couple of spanners in (just) to tighten the nuts. I also added a little loctite blue for good measure. I also pulled through some wire when I took the old cable out so that I could attach the new one and pull it though the right way. I did the same with the clutch cable.

So this is my higher bars project complete and to my satisfaction, here's the end result. You can see that the bars are a different shape and a fair bit higher and further back than the OEM's. Much more comfy!

 

[pezos]

Just as a finishing touch I was lucky enough to find a seller on eBay who made me these brilliant 40mm mirror extenders - complete with 70mm Torx fasteners. The listing is for the GT but he has a pattern for the ST as well. Very pleased with mine!