The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: georgesgiralt on May 25, 2016, 02:22:21 AM
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Hello Folks,
I'm with a big problem. The wife prefer the Honda to the R65 when traveling. Why ? Two reasons, the first one being that the rear suspension (Fournales air shocks) are too hard on her back. The most important one is that the Honda has a big grab rail for her to hold and resist the fulgurant acceleration and/or heavy braking :D
I'm working on the suspension problem by fitting custom adapted Shock Factory elements. So this problem would be solved soon using some Euros...
The remaining problem is the grab rail. And it is not a simple one !
Do you have any ideas, plans, commercial product to help me make her love the BMW again ?
I would be indebted !
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Sounds like a doable chore for a decent welding/fabrication shop.
I have seen belts worn by the pilot; designed with hand holds for the passenger.
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I also would like a grab rail although my Mrs is a pretty good pillion and hasn't fallen off yet. The little hump at the aback of the seat helps. That and the fact that an R45 two up doesn't pull many G's in acceleration.
The original seat cover on the early models had a grab strap. Could a grab strap be fitted to the later seats ?
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If you don't mind changing the look a little you could keep an eye out for an LS seat and cowl. It has a pair of grab handles built in.
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Also don't forget parts from other Airheads. Quite a few had small racks/grab rails over the cowl like this seat cowl on eBay for an R80. With a little work it could possibly be made to fit and look near factory.
I wanted a rear rack on my LS and ended up using a rack designed for an R60/6 that I picked up at a swap meet. It wasn't a straight bolt on but it wasn't that difficult as most of these bikes have similar dimensions.
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If I have a female passenger on one of my Airheads, it's usually the R100S. It has a nice grab bar over the tail piece.
On the R65s, the pillion grab strap always hit my butt in an uncomfortable way so I removed them. Much easier to move around while working in the twisties. The grandkids ride with me on the 65s but the rule is you'll keep your arms wrapped around Grandpa at all times.
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but the rule is you'll keep your arms wrapped around Grandpa at all times.
That sounds like a good rule for your female passengers as well. ;D