I used a length of copper wire with the insulation stripped off. I can imagine the frustration of trying to ret-thread the wire without some kind of aid.hirsty wrote:After taking off the connectors, I taped up the leads to the thin end of a spare cable tie and used that to poke it through, much less fiddly.
Non BMW bars on a Rockster?
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Beancounter
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I've just fitted some non-standard bars to my Rockster and they have totally transformed the bike! 
Bar details:
Manufacturer: LSL
Model: Sportego
Sold By: Wunderlich
Bought Through: BMW Bike Bits
Price: £75.00 all in
These bars have the cut outs for the heated grips and are able to take the standard bar ends.
They are slightly swoopier than the standard Rockster bars but not as much as the 'R' bars. Overall a nice compromise. They also retain some of the aggressive looks of the standard Rockster ones.
A couple of problems arose whilst fitting them.
You need to remove both mirrors to locate a tiny screw which holds the switchgear together. You can't see this screw until the mirrors are off.
The standard bars have a hole on the the underside at each end to accomodate the hot grip wiring. The Sportego's have one hole drilled in the centre of the handlebars which quite frankly isn't adequate. As long as you have a vice, you should be able to drill holes in the same manner as the standard bars (22.4mm from the end of the bar btw).
We also had to cut the hot grips wiring and re-connect using spade connectors. Nothing major there, just adds time to the job.
The major PITA is using the GS handguards again. The bolt for these handguards simply isn't long enough for these bars. We got around this by using two longer screws from B&Q. Not pretty but they do the job. You also need to make sure the screws aren't too long otherwise they will foul the hot grip wiring.
If I going to do it again, I'd probably just buy a set of Renthals, replace the standard bar ends with standard UJM ones and using a Dremel, make the necessary cuts for the hot grips wiring.
Bar details:
Manufacturer: LSL
Model: Sportego
Sold By: Wunderlich
Bought Through: BMW Bike Bits
Price: £75.00 all in
These bars have the cut outs for the heated grips and are able to take the standard bar ends.
They are slightly swoopier than the standard Rockster bars but not as much as the 'R' bars. Overall a nice compromise. They also retain some of the aggressive looks of the standard Rockster ones.
A couple of problems arose whilst fitting them.
You need to remove both mirrors to locate a tiny screw which holds the switchgear together. You can't see this screw until the mirrors are off.
The standard bars have a hole on the the underside at each end to accomodate the hot grip wiring. The Sportego's have one hole drilled in the centre of the handlebars which quite frankly isn't adequate. As long as you have a vice, you should be able to drill holes in the same manner as the standard bars (22.4mm from the end of the bar btw).
We also had to cut the hot grips wiring and re-connect using spade connectors. Nothing major there, just adds time to the job.
The major PITA is using the GS handguards again. The bolt for these handguards simply isn't long enough for these bars. We got around this by using two longer screws from B&Q. Not pretty but they do the job. You also need to make sure the screws aren't too long otherwise they will foul the hot grip wiring.
If I going to do it again, I'd probably just buy a set of Renthals, replace the standard bar ends with standard UJM ones and using a Dremel, make the necessary cuts for the hot grips wiring.