BKE Racing AHIS (Advanced Handlebar Isolation System)

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BKE Racing AHIS (Advanced Handlebar Isolation System)

Postby little_wing » Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:01 am

first off here is a video from BKEracing.com so everyone can see the producthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l16MCBtjL0w

now for my extended review

Suspension for your handle bars is not an original concept. In recent years products such as Flexxbars, Twisted Engineering handle bars as well as a few others have paved the road heading toward success.
Success equates to eliminating the dreaded arm pump and wrist pain from harsh and sharp hits on the trail and track. These hits can end a great day of riding early, with tender wrists and a horrible case of arm pump.
Bryan Kowalchuk, (owner of BKE Racing) has been racing dirt bikes for a couple of decades. He also has numerous years of engineering for major car and aviation companies. With this experience, Bryan set out alleviate the issues with his arms and hands that were holding him back from having enjoyable days on his bike.

BKE Racing was conceived with AHIS. (Advanced Handlebar Isolation System) AHIS is suspension for your hands, wrists and arms. Most riders know that a professionally tuned suspension can make riding feel effortless and can permit faster and longer rides. Forks and Shocks can only do so much AHIS takes suspension to the next level.
AHIS simply replaces your handle bar mounts. Install is extremely straightforward; there is no reason to remove anything from your bars such as your clutch, brake or throttle tube.
My experience with AHIS
I ride a Beta 250RR. The install for me was quite typical. I removed my handle bars as an assembly with everything still attached to them. I placed them on top of my headlight. At this point I was able to remove the two bolts for my handle bar mounts. Included with AHIS comes 2 mounting bolts and the mounts themselves.
Installing AHIS there is a choice of Firm or plush feel. Mount bumpers forward for faster, rougher ground like desert racing or faster cross country races. Install bumpers back for a softer feel on slower terrain like you might get in more technical enduros or endurocross.
For myself, I installed the mounts in the firm orientation. Overall installation took 4-5 minutes tops. I was impressed to see blue tread locker was pre-applied on the two supplied mounting bolts. After tightening AHIS down, I placed my handlebars with everything attached as an assembly on to the new mounts and installed the top handlebar clamp. During the install there was no reason to remove my full wrap round hand guards either. Now that the install was completed I started to admire the fit and finish.
One thing that I noticed after the install was that the AHIS system did add approximately 13 millimetres of handlebar rise. The factory Beta mounts have 16 millimeters of rise, the AHIS mounts have approximately 29 millimeters of rise. The reason for the word “approximately” is that AHIS has a preload adjustment set screw that preloads the bumper. Changing the preload will fine tune the firmness of the bumper. Secondly, it will change the amount of rise. This change in rise is very diminutive. The preload adjuster is purely meant to alter the preload and not the rise.
As for the weight, I do not feel the system adds any more or less then the factory mounts. This was a deciding factor for me over Flexxbars. From information I have found in many places on the internet Flexxbars are much heavier then than normal handlebars and pounds heavier then AHIS.
Other factors for me going with AHIS were that I can use my current handle bars and my current full wrap round hand guards. With many other options, I would be forced to purchase custom full wrap round hand guards and mounts in order for the flexxbars to work as intended. This would add to the already high price of the flexxbars. The price of nearly half of the cost of the flexxbars was much easier for my household finance department (aka the wife) to approve.
The ride report
I normally ride forest single track, with roots and rocks. Some of these can exert sharp fast hits that at times even with a professionally tuned suspension would be transmitted through to my hands, wrists and arms. This is why I was in search of a solution. My first ride after installing AHIS was late October. During this time of year here in Ontario Canada, leaves have started to fall and cover some of the roots and rocks. When leaving the staging area of my local riding area I usually warm up on a very familiar trail. This trail was blanketed with leaves. As I rode this trail many times in the past, I know where all the roots and rocks are. On this day the roots and rocks were hidden by leaves. I would have to say that I completely forgot about most of the roots and rocks on this trail. Nor did I notice AHIS. For me this is perfection.

Before installing AHIS I had a few chances to ride bikes equipped with flexxbars. I did not like the fact that I would noticeably feel the flexxbars moving. The bikes where set up differently with the interchangeable elastomers. Both bikes felt weird, in terms of the bars moving. At times I could distinguish the left and right bar moving independently of each other. Some people might like this, I certainly did not.
That was not the case with AHIS. The system works to absorb the sharp fast hits while being undetectable. Did the system eliminate all of the large sharp hits? No. Did the system soften all of the large sharp hits and almost remove the smaller hits, while being invisible? Absolutely
For me this is Success. I found that I was able to have a loose grip on the bars. I also felt more comfortable with just riding over most roots, instead of lofting the front wheel to minimize the jarring. This can only be a good thing. A loose grip on the bars will definitely help with arm pump. With less forces being transmitted to my hands, wrists and arms allowed me to have the loose grip.
Overall
I am pleased to see a fellow Canadian rider, designing and producing a product that works great while being affordable. Currently AHIS comes in a light shade of orange. Through chatting with Bryan he has plans in the very near future of Black and perhaps silver. With my Beta color being mostly red I don’t mind the light shade of orange of AHIS. The system has great build quality and is pleasing to the eye while being simple and effective. AHIS is Success
2015 beta 250RR
little_wing
 
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:19 pm
Location: ontario canada

Re: BKE Racing AHIS (Advanced Handlebar Isolation System)

Postby Dezzzmomike » Sun Nov 04, 2018 3:19 pm

Nice review! Yes, other colors please for sure. Red, Blue & Black a must for my other bikes.
Ducati 955 Corse
Bimota DB8
MV Agusta F4 RR
BMW K1200S
BETA 430 RR-S
Dezzzmomike
 
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:11 pm
Location: Santa Barbara


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