'09 R12GS handguards for R12R

[ Friday - January 2, 2009 ]

With LA weather being colder than usual, it's hard to keep on riding without the hands wanting to freeze and fall off.  At speed the heated grips fail to work because of the wind chill factor.  As a final resort I've elected to mount handguards for the R12R.  I've seen plenty of folks mount the R12GS handguards on their R so why not do the same.  When I contacted the dealer, they told me that they no longer sell the older handguards.  They only have the newer handguards.  Once again I'm treading into new territory.  How different can it be?  Right?

It turns out that my procrastination is paying off for once.  Yes, the new handguards are more expensive (e.g. $180) as opposed to the older version (e.g. $75), but they are also better constructed and are a little taller.



As for how I handle the bar ends, I've lucked out because I kept the original Throttlemeister for the '05 R12GS.  With a little modification with an aluminum tube and Quicksteel, I created a new spacer for mounting the Throttlemeister on the R12R.  The fortune of using a Throttlemeister for a R12GS is that I have handguard adapters.


Outside Throttlemeister handguard adapter.  I substituted the bolt with a standard M8 x 65mm from OSH.
It's not pretty but it works really well.


Inside Throttlemeister handguard adapter.

I had forgotten that using the Throttlemeister along with the handguard adapter extends the handlebar by 1/2".  As a result, the handguard handlebar clamps falls a little short.  I ended up creating some extenders with stock aluminum strips I have on hand.  With a vise, I bent the aluminum strip at about 30-45 degrees and split the 1" aluminum strip down the center lengthwise.  I tapped two holes per extender and mounted the handguard to the clamps.








It all fits!

The cool thing about this handguard is the ability to remove the gray cover to allow air flow when it gets hot.  So instead of removing the handguard from the handlebar, it's just a matter of removing the top section of the handguard.  Cool beans!


Undoing this little screw allows you to remove the gray part of the handguard.
This give plenty of air flow for those hot days.

The test ride proves these handguards are really good.  It's worth the $s.  Now my hands are warm on those cold days.

Written on: January 2, 2009
Last modified: January 2, 2009