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The more I look at it, and read about, the more I am convinced there is not only a common problem here, but also a common solution.
A few years I had a 2002 BMW R1150R, and oddly enough it had a very similar stock handlebar bend. It was a bit narrower, but the sweep, rise, etc. were much the same. And I had the same thumb-numbing, hand-tingling, and middle-of-the-back pain reported here and in other thread. About the time I got really tired of it (2004) on lots of BMW forums, as well as ADVrider, there was a guy named Ricardo Kuhn, and he had a web presence at his site - Moto Macondo. He was sort of a self-taught ergonomic guru, but also a hell of a machinist, and though he was a bit eccentric he did have a lot of followers for a product he called "Ricky Bars". He made these for only R1150R's and R1150G/S's. Essentially it was a set of beautifully machined riser/bar-backs and cut-down set of Renthal MX bars. It was best to talk with him on the phone, but he also exchanged e-mails, and after I talked with a few times I decided to spring for a set of "Ricky Bars"...
In a nutshell it was the best single accessory/farkle I have ever put on a motorcycle, and one of the most amazing experiences seeing how what he had been preaching to me on the phone was *EXACTLY* right. Why? Because it completely transformed that motorcycle. It went from a bike that would drive me nuts any day I spent more than 200 miles in the saddle, to one that literally I could ride endlessly without discomfort or fatigue. I swear it even handled better (as he said it would). I know a lot reading this may think I'm exaggerating, but I assure you it was true - at least for me.
Unfortunately, by his own admission and proclamation , Ricardo was not the best businessman, and sadly he finally ceased producing the "Ricky Bar" kits. If any of you folks were fooling with R and G/S Beemers at the time you probably saw many a rider lamenting the demise of "Ricky Bars" - because they worked. I wish he was still around making bar kits, as he not only made the gorgeous riser/bar-back clamps and cut the Renthal MX bars to fit you, but also made the proper inserts for inside the bars to use the bar-end weights, a Throttlemeister, etc. And he could ask you a number of questions and know which bend bar you needed and how wide it needed to be.
How does all this relate to the problems some of us are having with our S-10's? Well, some of the basic information Ricardo relayed to me seems to be very applicable here. He was adamant that most all street bike bars had too much sweep back, and while this seems to feel great on the showroom floor it is not a natural position for one's wrists or back muscles between one's shoulder blades. That's why all the bars he used to cut-down were MX bars, all having very little sweep. He also believed the bars should neither angle up or down much, if any, from level. A bit of droop was OK, and for some people even a bit of up-tilt. For most, though a near level bar at the grips was best. A lot of street bike bars he also thought were too narrow. The MX bars he used were very wide, so he had to cut them down, but most often they still ended up wider than the bike's original bars.
Now the Super Tenere's bars are plenty wide enough. In fact, I think Ricardo would have had most cut them down about a half-inch to an inch shorter. But I know Ricardo would have said the S-10's bars had way, way too much sweep. *WAY* too much, and with too much down-droop at the ends, too, along with being a bit too low overall, also.
Fortunately a good friend has my old BMW R1150R, complete with those precious "Ricky Bars" (and he loves 'em, too), and I've been able to get another good look at 'em, so I know where I'm going... I'm shooting for a bar with about a 60-65mm sweep (stock is approx. a 142mm sweep), about 95-100mm high (stock is approx. 82mm), and about 780-800mm wide (stock is approx. 820mm). I think a handlebar with those dimensions, used with the fixed Rox Riser bar-backs I have, will just about match what Ricardo would have recommended and should work good for me. Hopefully some of this data and those dimensions will help some of you, too.
Now all I have to do is solve the problem of using the stock handguards, bar-ends, and Kaoko or (name of prototype redacted for now...
) cruise control, etc. Either that or I am going to have to change to some other handguards, bar-ends, etc.
Hope some of this rambling helps others... ::26::
Dallara
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