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Steve -
A large part of the reason my RS became an S was ergonomics.
Mostly lower back but also some neck discomfort. Sometimes my left hand would experience numbness, perhaps from weight due to the forward lean. It was mostly the outside (small and ring fingers), the heel of my palm, and a little in my wrist.
I think (not sure) that taller riders suffer less (I am about 5' 8" or so).

My first mod was K75S bars. Same width, 2" taller. That helped somewhat and is an affordable experiment.

It wasn't enough, so I went for the S fairing (E-Bay) and S bars made by Flanders. It was a lot more parts and money (brackets, signals, mirrors, headlight ears, cables, brakeline, etc.).
After 2 seasons I would say I am more comfortable with the bike now. (except on really cold days).

My RS has definitely been a pain in the neck.
I get numbness in my thumbs, index and middle finger.
I don't do anything about it except go for another ride and get tingly gingers again

Oh, and use the throttle lock so I can hang my hand/s down by my side which makes it go away for a while.

A buddy of mine put K75C bars on his rs, nice fit and they worked well for him.

Most of the riding I've done on my RS is from Calif to Montana or Oregon. Long trips. I'm good for about one or two hours. After that, I'm getting tight in between my shoulders. It's mostly upper back pain for me.

I tried to make some handlebars that would be more like a road bicycle's handlebars for that bike. I did some serious work. Made about three different configurations with two of them incorporating adjustability. The fairing is so tight that my bars didn't work. I think having a more "fore and aft" orientation would help me to be more comfortable on the bike for longer periods.

I love the RS fairing for cold or wet traveling.

Chuey

Have K75s bars on my 82RS - no pain, no numb fingers, no back pain...

Have standard RS bars on my 77RS...went for first long ride (500kms) last weekend...neck OK, some finger numbness, no back pain. Has the vibration absorbing grips. Used throtlle lock (old Schneider) to give throttle hand relief...was OK after waving them around a bit. Going to find K75S bars and use...like them a lot on the other RS.

Seat height on the 82 RS (with K75S bars) is a bit lower (maybe 1" lower- is Corbin dual seat) than the 77RS which has the 3/4 seat on it. Think that changes "lean" position on standard RS bars. Going to put the lower dual seat off the 82 RS onto the 77 RS to see if that makes a difference. Will let you know when rain stops pissing down.

Sidenote: Have S bars on my R100CS and they are a perfect ergonomic fit. Don't think the S bars will fit with fairing on RS (too wide I think?).

moosehead wrote: Don't think the S bars will fit with fairing on RS (too wide I think?).

Correct. They do not fit. I tried it.

What about some sort of riser?

ME 109 wrote:My RS has definitely been a pain in the neck.
I get numbness in my thumbs, index and middle finger.

Do you notice that mostly when you reach for wallet?

The tingly thumb, index finger and middle finger can come from the median nerve being pinched where it comes out under vertabre(sp?) C-6. If you get tingling on the top of your shoulder close to your neck and the back of your upper arm close to your elbow, the trouble is in your neck. If the numbness is just in your hand, then the problem is in your wrist angle of pressure on the fleshy part of your thumb pad in your palm. Google numb thumb to read all about it.