The BMW K1300S, like the K1200S before it, is a big bike. The seat is a bit higher off the ground than other sports bikes. By sports bike standards, it is a heavy bike overall, at 569 lb. So, it naturally attracts taller riders.

However, the ergonomics aren’t best suited for a tall rider. The handlebars require the rider to lean forward, potentially creating back and neck cramps. The default position of the foot pegs may be uncomfortable for longer legged riders. Fortunately, these can all be addressed with some minor modifications to the handlebars, foot pegs, gear shift lever, and brake lever.

Handlebar Risers

For K1300 riders, there are two very good choices of handlebar risers: Helibars and Verholen. The original owner of my K1200S purchased and installed the Verholens. Then, he removed the risers. At 50mm, the Verholens are significantly higher than the Helibars. A trained technician needs to install them because they involve a clutch line extension and rerouting of cables. Not only are they relatively expensive but installation costs will more than double your investment. Personally, I find the Verholens look too tall for a sports bike. But, they may be a better solution for very tall K1300S riders or those riders with bad backs.

For my 2015 K1300S, I purchased the Helibars, shown here. They extend the handlebar position by 32mm taller, 13mm rearward, and 38mm wider. They cost about half the price of the Verholens and didn’t require me to take my bike to a BMW Motorrad service center.  The initial installation took me less than an hour. I was able to keep the original brake and clutch lines. One snag that I found (literally) was that the brake and clutch lines caught on the front of the handlebar when I turned it flush left or right. I fixed this by adjusting the angle at which they were mounted on the handlebar.

Finally, I added a pair of Grip Buddies and a Crampbuster for added comfort and vibration isolation.

Lowered Foot Pegs

To lower the foot pegs, you have more choices including a Verholen peg lowering kit, an SSR relocating kit, and Knight Design‘s lowered foot pegs. After reading the online forums, I selected the Knight Design pegs in silver anodized with the Sidetrax tread. They lower the foot position 32mm from stock. They are built from aircraft grade billet aluminum. I was able to install them in ten minutes.

My only complaint with the lowered foot pegs was that I found both the gear shift lever and the brake lever, in particular, difficult to use afterwards. If I kept riding without investing in a gear shift lever extender and brake lever extender, perhaps I would have become more familiar with their position relative to the lowered foot pegs. I preferred to extend the gear shift and brake levers and not ‘relearn’ how to ride. (I think this is a universal issue with foot peg extensions, not specific to the Knight Design units).

Gear Shift Extender

Extending the gear shift lever was a trivial effort. Verholen makes an extremely high quality motorcycle shift lever extension. It is a simple slipon, that you pinch in place with a pair of vice grips.

Brake Lever Extender

I wish that there were a similar Verholen extender for the brake lever. Verholen does make a brake lever extension but it’s not the same design or affixed the same way as the gear shift extender. It fits over the original lever and is held in place with a set screw. The Verholen extension that I purchased is not shown in the picture because it disappeared somewhere on the interstate between Philadelphia and Washington DC during my first ride. Since I didn’t have much confidence in the Verholen brake lever extender, I didn’t want to buy a replacement.

My buddy Jerry fabricated what you see here. It is an aluminum tube that we reshaped using a hydraulic press. For better contact between the motorcycle boot and tube, we covered it in FiberFix, similar to the material used to by doctors to create casts for broken bones.

Seat

Finally, I upgraded the K1300S’ original seat to the Sargent World Sport Performance Modular Seat System. It is gel free so it doesn’t overheat in the Summer sun. It is far more comfortable for extended rides.

Updated on March 14th, 2019