YYYYYYYYEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!! Time for another bike! Tall rider needs mod input please!

SLIM

SLIM

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Hey all. Looooooooong time no see and hear. I am back! Yes, lucky you! :p

I am 6'3" tall with a 35" inseam. Tall, scrawny bastard I am. Previous bikes were 1992 CBR600F2 and the VTR1000F. LOVED the VTR and miss it dearly, but I couldn't handle more than 2 hours on it because my knees were killing me along with my hip joint. The culprit was that the riding position was too aggressive for me - my legs were too "crunched up". (kinda confusing with the hip, though, considering the VTR was a narrow bike)

I'd like to know more about how certain mods change a bikes feel/handling/geometry. Stuff like putting on a riser bar in place of clip-ons, lower (Buell) pegs and having a custom (thicker/taller) seat made. How do these things affect the feel of the bike? I understand how the balance of weight can be shifted around, but do these seemingly-subtle mods really have a big enough effect to make drastic (negative?) changes in a bike?

I ask because I can't get the RC51 out of my head. I'd kill to have it as a next bike, but it's even more aggressive in riding position than my VTR was. Perhaps a riser bar, Buell pegs and taller seat would help ... or perhaps ruin a good bike.

Thoughts please? Experienced input greatly appreciated. :)

I know i'd be happy on a 919 or Blackbird, but they seem hard to come by "with decent numbers" ... and they're just not twins. :rolleyes:


As always - PATIA!
 
I assume you have a long reach so I doubt you want/need to raise the bars.

If I were you I'd raise the whole bike up if at all possible (taller profile rear tire, thicker seat) and then lower the pegs a bit. Should do the trick.
 
mmmnaked said:
I assume you have a long reach so I doubt you want/need to raise the bars.

If I were you I'd raise the whole bike up if at all possible (taller profile rear tire, thicker seat) and then lower the pegs a bit. Should do the trick.
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Yes, long reach. Apologies for not clarifying. And thanks for your input.

I don't know if I need to worry about the bars or not, but imagine it would help reduce the angle of my hips (torso, in relation to my legs).

Again, I don't know how it was my hips were bothering me, especially on such a narrow bike. Never had any problems on my F2. *shrug*
 
Raising the bars means you'll be sitting more upright. I imagine with a long reach you're already sitting more upright than most of us so I don't see how you'd benefit from higher bars.

I would think your hip/back/whatever problems were probably more related to the cramped position of your legs than anything to do with your upper body. I'd focus on getting lower foot controls. This can come at the expense of ground clearance though, so raising the bike up would be a good idea. Also, get a thicker seat or have some material added.
 
Check out a Triumph Tiger 1050, quite the high seating position and quite comfortable seating position. A V-Strom would also be okay, but it is a bit smaller and a bit shorter.
 
I was just about to post this, tiger 1050 is great tall people. Go sit on it and you will love it, take test drive only if you have room in the garage :)

revrandy said:
Check out a Triumph Tiger 1050, quite the high seating position and quite comfortable seating position. A V-Strom would also be okay, but it is a bit smaller and a bit shorter.
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I have a KTM 950 Supermoto I will be selling soon....It's like a 100 hp SV on crack.
Awesome bike, but I am 5'4" with a 29" inseam. I can't even reach the sidestand to retract it so I can ride away. It has a very high seat height. At a stop, I am tippy toe one foot, and the other foot is tippy toe on the footrest.

Superbike wheels, brakes, and suspension, with upright nakedbike riding position.

LMK if interested.
 
I was in a similar position as you Slim, as far as the knees go. I put the Buell pegs on the ZX6, which added about 2 cm of extra legroom. The shifter and rear brake were adjustable without any modification, fortunately. It felt slightly easier to ride, since I could move my boots more freely.

The pegs certainly helped add another hour (to about 3), but the soreness still crept in, from the lack of proper circulation. The bike came with (incorrect) risers, but that was obviously dangerous, so I reverted to stock. Never had much of a problem with the above-triple clipons.

Using the Motorcycle Ergos simulator, I discovered most bikes (the ones I wanted/could afford) were going to leave me in a similar situation. Then I had to consider...ALTERNATIVES! Long story short, I ride a Burgman 650 now. Knees getting a bit stiff? Just shift to one of four different positions. It's not going to get better than that.
 
Thank you all very much for the info everyone. It's all greatly appreciated.

Flywheel - care to further comment on alternatives you tried before buying the Burgman?

I spent some time with Mike and Rob at Ready Honda Powerhouse this evening. Sat on a whole bunch of different bikes. Pleasantly surprised by the CBR1000RR, the 07 fit perfect (drool!). The CBF1000s felt really good, too. They had an 05 FZ1 that really caught my eye. Very agreeable ergonomics. Sat on a V-Strom 1200 and the Varadero - both very upright and kinda made me feel like I was sitting on a tall cruiser.

Tonight I realized that the knee problems i've had might not be as related to knee angle as I first thought. I think it might have more to do with the "width" of the pegs - the whole width of the bike at the area of the pegs. This would cause side-loading on the knees which I know others have had problems with. Gotta talk with my physio doc about this! This, of course, makes me want to go straight to a cruiser where this problem might no longer exist. :/

Bugger!
 
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SLIM said:
Tonight I realized that the knee problems i've had might not be as related to knee angle as I first thought. I think it might have more to do with the "width" of the pegs - the whole width of the bike at the area of the pegs.
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I don't see how the width of the pegs have anything to do with an angle at your knees. How do you figure?
 
mxs said:
I don't see how the width of the pegs have anything to do with an angle at your knees. How do you figure?
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They don't, at least not as far as I can see.

What I was saying, in that quote, was that I suspect that my initial conclusion was wrong. I first thought my problems were just a result of me knee angle, but after sitting on so many bikes and noticing peg widths (and tank widths for that matter) I think the stress on my knees may have been caused more by width than angle (ie wider bike puts more "twist" into the leg/knee).

Does that make sense?


So no input from anyone on how swapping parts will change handling? I was hoping this would turn into more than just bike recommendations (but I DO appreciate the thought!).
 
SLIM said:
Flywheel - care to further comment on alternatives you tried before buying the Burgman?
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GS500 and ZX6 as personal bikes. Tried V-Star 1100 and KLR. Both had their charms. No idea about long term. Went to the December MC show. Sat on everything except the Ducatis (basically a big FY as far as ergos go) and BMWs (monopolized the whole time by old people).

TU250, S40, M50 (but not C50), DL1000, SV650 (a real puzzle, considering), Gladius, Shadow RS, Phantom, CBF1000, Bonneville/Scrambler, Enfield 500 (maroon/gold paint job was the best) and the V7 Guzzi offered possibilities. Can't say how they would have held up over time, but they weren't immediately annoying.

Everything else was somewhere between the ZX6 w/Buell pegs and forget it. I never though much about scooters, although I was aware of the Silverwing, Burgmans, Majesty, T-Max 500, MP3s, etc. They just didn't seem as visually appealing as bikes. Each successive ride had me reappraising that notion, however. Regardless of the advantages of a car, riding shouldn't be an ordeal. It's supposed to rock!

So the decision was made to start from the cushiest platform I could afford. That would be the Burgman 650. It DID check off the boxes: easy commuting (which I do quite a bit), spacious internal storage (beer isn't getting more compact), highway capable, low insurance rates, fuel injected and the coveted multiple seating positions. The results? My knees get unhappy in ANY position for extended periods. Straight, bent or in-between. The big burger accommodates that, fortunately. Also, it's absolutely hilarious to ride, sounding more like George Jetson's flying car than the twin tucked between the runnning boards. Just watch the speedometer. The CVT delivers power in a very devious manner.
 
It's about time you got yourself back onto two wheels again poser.:cherry:
 
Englishj said:
It's about time you got yourself back onto two wheels again poser.:cherry:
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Hey man! Yeah, been dyin' here!!!!!!!!!!!!! Concentrating on getting the missus sorted with her ride first, so getting the research done. ;) Need to get more seat time, not just sittin' time.
 
Get a V-Strom 1000.... great for taller riders, nice torquey engine, and comfy for long trips. What more could you ask for?
 
SLIM said:
They don't, at least not as far as I can see.

What I was saying, in that quote, was that I suspect that my initial conclusion was wrong. I first thought my problems were just a result of me knee angle, but after sitting on so many bikes and noticing peg widths (and tank widths for that matter) I think the stress on my knees may have been caused more by width than angle (ie wider bike puts more "twist" into the leg/knee).

Does that make sense?
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Sorry, no it still does not. The width of pegs would have a merit to your hip or groin area. The width would have to be extreme in my opinion to a point where you could not lean the bike at all. In my experience it's usually three things .... height of pegs or how far back or front are they compared to your butt and height of your seat. Playing around with the three usually gives you enough variables to find ergonomics you 'd be comfortable with. To a degree of course, which in your case would probably be a pretty massive changes to the bike you had. So you could be outside of the possible window .... As you said maybe you do need a physically larger bike.
 
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SLIM said:
I know i'd be happy on a 919 or Blackbird, but they seem hard to come by "with decent numbers" ... and they're just not twins. :rolleyes:
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Try calling this guy:
http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...uring-2000-Honda-CBR1100XX-W0QQAdIdZ299698068
it's been on the marked for a really long time... (I remember seeing it way back when I was shopping). It's decent shape, if seller is willing to work with you... Only thing you could do to it is - lower the pegs, otherwise, it fits the bill, and that thing is one of the best bikes honda ever built... my2c
 
Well, look who's back from the land of the lost! :p

Sorry Slim, we have a new policy now, once you leave, you can't get back in buddy.
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