A Rairotec Triple Clamp replacement for the BMW R1100RS/RSL

WÜDO offers the usual R & RT tubular bar adapter plates, and they also have a replacement billet machined top triple clamp with bar mounts for these bikes. WÜDO also carries an RS version, manufactured by another company, Rairotec (RRT).

The RRT piece is natural (uncoated) aircraft grade aluminum, billet machined top and bottom (the swirls in the top photograph are machining marks), fasteners are plated button-head hex. The area around the bars is much more open, and you can get fingers on that pesky fairing center screw.

As on the stock arrangement if you know what to cut, the bike is easy to hot-wire, perhaps now even easier. The ignition lock works as before in both positions. Note that the lock fasteners supplied with this triple clamp are not the factory original security type, so the lock could be slid out with a little work if these are used.

In this case I used a K1 handlebar, which allows use of stock RS control cables. This bar is approx 1.5" (4cm) narrower than the stock system. I had planned on using a R90S bar (in memory of my former … sniff), but you can't - there's not enough "hand" section for the controls and the grips combined.So far, the shiny surface has not caused glare, and has held up fairly well for the year I've had it. As an aside, the summer windscreen is in place (a cut down stock clear BMW screen).

You can also see the asymmetry of the fairing/tank design - wonder why BMW did that?

Is it just me, or is there always something slightly amiss with the aftermarket stuff. First off, at full lock, the rear-lower tabs on the RRT triple clamp come real close to the top of the tank, and since the tank is rubber-mounted, under rough road conditions, at full lock, suspension compressed, contact will occur. I suggest perhaps removing or rounding off (with a hand-file) a little bit of the bottom of the tabs. Since the tank is plastic, the hit-spots aren't going to rust, and the plastic is very thick, so a puncture won’t occur.

The open center nut pocket also collects water, I haven't yet found an appropriate plug. The stock one can be modified to fit, but would be cosmetically poor. I am temporarily using one of the black plastic nut covers for the A-arm ball-joint (not shown here).

Here's sort of a "before and after", using a BMW stock photo on the left (sorry, I didn't think ahead and take pre-conversion shots).

"If the mirrors clear, the bags will".

In order to fit the (in this case Napoleon) bar-end mirrors I had to leave off the stock heated grips and ream out the ends of the bar to >.72 (18mm).

I also installed on of the top-mounted throttle lock screws, for "cruise-control".As far as bar vibration goes, remember now there's no rubber mounting - everything's solid. Vibration seems less below the 4100RPM crossover, more above. Bar-snakes and/or lead shot might help, though I haven't reached a pain point yet. Mirror blur is about normal, but they have a much better side-to-side "range".

What's this? Thanks to bicycle technology you can have another trip odometer, assuming you use the stock one for gas monitoring duties. I used the BC1200 model as it has a few more features.  I purchased this unit mail-order from Bike Nashbar. Some additional installation notes for installation of the Rairotec piece can be had here.

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