Lowering Footpegs

[twigg]

Has anyone successfully managed to lower the front footpegs on a 1st Gen.

 

I am 6ft tall with a 33" inseam. The bike, despite its bulk, is cramped. Even with the pegs adjusted as far back as they will go there still isn't room for me to fit the two front pockets without my knees catching them.

 

For the first 500 miles this isn't much of an issue. After that, up to around 1000 miles I start getting cramp in my knees and pelvis. This can be alleviated some by a combination of shifting my feet onto the highway pegs, or riding with just my toes on the riders pegs. Standing on the pegs helps too, but the wind blast is no fun!

 

So I am thinking that "unbending" the knees a bit would actually help quite a lot. That could be done by raising the seat, or lowering the footpegs. I can deal with the seat but was wondering if anyone had managed to drop the pegs by about an inch.

[Keemez]

I am 6ft tall with a 33" inseam. The bike, despite its bulk, is cramped. Even with the pegs adjusted as far back as they will go there still isn't room for me to fit the two front pockets without my knees catching them.

 

I'm 2 inches shorter and inseam in the 3-4" shorter range... and my knees hit those bags too. I removed them and never looked back- they were more annoying than useful.

[Max]

6'2 with same issues. Picked up a set Kuryakyn 'Longhorn Offset Dually Highway Pegs' last week.

What a difference! Only have a few hundred miles on them, but definately a whole new comfort level for this cat (knees don't creak as much now:hihi:) Got about an extra 3.5" footroom.

http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/460/Longhorn-Offset-Dually-Highway-Pegs

[Flyinfool]

I have a 29 inseam and still can't use the bags either, my knees are right up to the faring.

 

If you lower the pegs it will reduce your max lean angle, I have scraped the pegs as is.

[camos]

Has anyone successfully managed to lower the front footpegs on a 1st Gen.

Instead of lowering the pegs why not move them ahead? It has been done before when guys have chopped the Venture.

[Condor]

Just a note. The pegs on the MKI's are adjustable forward and aft by about 3 inches. I always swap out the fixed MKII OEM's for the earlier style. They are interchangable. I have 34" inseam and there's room without the bags. Also try lowering the peg shift position to allow shifting up or down without taking your foot off the peg....It's also a bit more comfortable.

[msshearin]

get a second gen!!!!!!!!! will solve the problem

[Condor]

get a second gen!!!!!!!!! will solve the problem

 

You think so huh?? The big problem with a 2gen is the passenger seat is seperate and sits higher than the drivers. For those of us that are longer in the inseam, and extra padding in the rear end, we end up pushing back trying to get off the tank and bang into the front of the passenger seat. Talk about numb butt... At least with the 1stGens the seats are one piece and allow a little more slide to the rear without undo pressure on the tailbone. So seating on the 2ndGen ain't neccessarily a panacia, and the answer ain't the pillowtops with the extra padding which pushes you forward even more. Don't ask how I found all this stuff out. I'm seriously thinking about riding down to Corbin and have them build me a one piece custom pan seat for the '99RSV.....

[motorcycle_1300]

I put a set of Motorcycle Larry lowered pegs on my FJR. Tended to scrape the pegs a bit more when I rode agressivly, other than that they worked great

 

Al

[twigg]

Just a note. The pegs on the MKI's are adjustable forward and aft by about 3 inches. I always swap out the fixed MKII OEM's for the earlier style. They are interchangable. I have 34" inseam and there's room without the bags. Also try lowering the peg shift position to allow shifting up or down without taking your foot off the peg....It's also a bit more comfortable.

 

Thanks for the replies folks.

 

On the "peg-scraping" ... Yes, I get that but on my LD bike I don't ride so aggressively. This is a bike I need to be comfortable while I "sit there, twist that" for up to twenty four hours.

 

I have the pegs adjusted fully to the rear, which helped, and I plan on having Russell build me a seat with the sitting position raised a little. I was just wondering if anyone had successfully lowered the pegs too.

 

I don't have to move my foot from the peg to shift up or down, or use the brake. I took care of that a while ago. I also don't mind not using the pouches because I have a decent tankbag permanently in place.

 

I know that my request is unusual, because, quite frankly, I am an idiot for taking such long rides .... but it's what I do and I am at the point of simply trying to tweak the bike to perfection (for an '86)

 

This year, to date, I have four Long Distance Rides completed. An 1800 mile weekend (thirty two hours), a 1300 miler (thirty hours), 1100 miles (30 hours) and 1000 miles, two up last weekend.

 

Heh ... They seem to be getting shorter

[timgray]

Padding the seat to make you sit higher will be more comfortable in the long run. I added not only more foam but a "gel" insert and it made the seat taller by an inch and a whole lot more comfortable on longer rides.

 

You want comfort? do the seat not the pegs.

[dacheedah]

Consider adding padding to the seat, a whole lot cheaper alternative.

[twigg]

Consider adding padding to the seat, a whole lot cheaper alternative.

 

Here is the problem with the "seat padding" suggestions, although I do thank you for them.

 

Seats are an art! The stock seat is useless. If all you ever do is ride a couple of hundred miles, then it's fine. After that it makes its limitations felt ... painfully felt. Even the Saddlemen Road Sofa I have is only good for about 500 miles.

 

So I have a stock seat with an AirHawk (the new one), covered with a gorgeous sheepskin.

 

That, I find, is good for anything up to about 1000 miles. It is not good enough for successive days like that, for that you need the Russell (about $600 ... ouch!)

 

Adding stuff like gel pads and padding will help, but only for a while. With the trips I have taken this year I don't get the kind of butt ache that extra padding or gel inserts would take care of because it is the basic riding position that is the issue.

 

I can have a seat built that raises me up, unbending my knees somewhat, and lowering my feet would help some more if that could be done.

 

It doesn't take much to make a massive difference.

[johnnydemonic]

I am usually thinking of ways to rig a forward control style setup, rather than lowering them, but...

 

Theoretically, lowering the pegs should be relatively simple, take a couple pieces of 3/8 inch steel plate, drill holes and make a couple of lowering brackets for each peg, bolt the peg to the bracket and the bracket to the original mounting holes, and viola!

 

The difficult part will be adjusting/reworking the linkages so they still work correctly.

Depending on how far you lower them, there may be enough adjustment/range of motion for the linkages, at least on the brake side.

The shifter linkage might be an issue.

 

Take that all with a grain of salt, I am sitting at my work desk trying to picture the whole thing in my head, so please, anyone who sees a glaring mistake in my thinking, feel free to point that out.

[twigg]

I am usually thinking of ways to rig a forward control style setup, rather than lowering them, but...

 

Theoretically, lowering the pegs should be relatively simple, take a couple pieces of 3/8 inch steel plate, drill holes and make a couple of lowering brackets for each peg, bolt the peg to the bracket and the bracket to the original mounting holes, and viola!

 

The difficult part will be adjusting/reworking the linkages so they still work correctly.

Depending on how far you lower them, there may be enough adjustment/range of motion for the linkages, at least on the brake side.

The shifter linkage might be an issue.

 

Take that all with a grain of salt, I am sitting at my work desk trying to picture the whole thing in my head, so please, anyone who sees a glaring mistake in my thinking, feel free to point that out.

 

You are thinking along the same lines as me.

 

I'll go take a look shortly, but, sitting on the sofa, I too wondered about the gear shift and brake positions. I think there is enough adjustment up and down, it's the side shuft that could be the issue.

[johnnydemonic]

Yeah, with 3/8 plate, you would of course be moving the pegs 3/8 of an inch further outboard, as well as lowering them.

I figured 3/8ths because I think 3/8ths plate is stiff enough on its own to avoid too much flex, but 1/4 might do the trick too, and the linkages might allow for 1/4 outboard movement without too much massaging.

[twigg]

Yeah, with 3/8 plate, you would of course be moving the pegs 3/8 of an inch further outboard, as well as lowering them.

I figured 3/8ths because I think 3/8ths plate is stiff enough on its own to avoid too much flex, but 1/4 might do the trick too, and the linkages might allow for 1/4 outboard movement without too much massaging.

 

There is another way.

 

I could fix a plate behind the current mount, then make the plate thicker at the lower area, effectively moving the peg back out again.

 

That would make the whole new mount adjustable front to back too.

[Prairiehammer]

Steve, I feel your pain! I am 6'-4" with a 36" inseam.

 

When I bought my '90 on eBay and drove 275 miles to pick it up, I was planning to continue on to Lake Superior and ride my new acquisition around that lake. As soon as I swung a leg over and sat, I knew I wasn't going on that trip. I headed back for home. That 275 miles seemed the longest 275 miles I had ever ridden on ANY bike.

It turned out the previous owner was very short and had removed foam from the seat bottom and edges and had added foam to the "cantle" part of the stock seat. The bike came with a Markland backrest and although I adjusted it as far to the rear as it allowed, I had to stop after fifty miles or so and remove the backrest; there was simply not enough room for me. I also removed the fairing pouches at the first gas stop, but had to put them back on after ten miles. The male snap bases were eating my knees!

After much trial and error, I finally reached a compromise by removing all the foam the PO had added to the cantle and removing much of the stock foam forming the cantle and by adding high density foam to the seat under my butt and even more foam to the area in front of my crotch to help with the sliding forward. There is a limit to how much padding can be added to the cushion before there is not enough vinyl seat cover to cover the foam and still be able to wrap the cover over the pan and staple it.

Later, I installed a Bead Rider beaded seat cover. This helped a fair amount as far as monkey butt and it raised my butt another ½". I also elongated the seat mounting tab holes to allow the entire seat to be positioned about ½" rearward. This combination allowed for a 500 mile day on our trip around Lake Superior, but...it is no Iron Butt candidate.

 

Currently I am using a Saddlemen Road Sofa with a built in backrest. When I received it from Dano, I excitedly installed it and hopped on and argghh! My knees were back into the bags and at an acute angle! Even though the Road Sofa had been modified by Rick Butler with his Butt Butler, I was squirming within fifty miles. The Road Sofa sits me noticedly taller in the saddle, but it is HARD and much more constraining than my modified stock seat. I added the Bead Riders to the Road Sofa and again they helped the butt burn and raised my butt a bit, but I can't back up enough to get any legroom. My next step is to remove foam from the cantle of the Road Sofa. The bucket of the Road Sofa also seems too narrow, pushing in on my hips. Foam will be removed from there as well. The backrest on the Road Sofa offers enough adjustment to fit me comfortably and is the only reason I am keeping the seat, for now. I measured from the nose of the seat pan to the cantle on the Road Sofa and compared it to the modified stock seat. I am able to sit a good 1½" more rearward on the modded stock seat than the Road Sofa.

 

One consequence of raising my butt as opposed to your desire to lower the pegs: buffeting around the helmet became annoying as I was sitting partially outside the envelope of calmer air provided by the windshield. I have mostly solved that problem with a Laminar Lip attached to the stock windshield.

 

Debbie commented that her portion of the Road Sofa is a bit taller than the stock seat. She also said it is quite firm and that her...umm...lady parts fall asleep after an hour or so.

Jodie's mileage may vary. How did Jodie like the Road Sofa on her last LD ride?

 

How did you adjust the pegs on your '86? My '90 does not have any adjustment in the pegs, unlike my '83. I measured the '90 peg position and compared it to the '83 pegs in their most forward position and found the dimensions identical.

[johnnydemonic]

There is another way.

 

I could fix a plate behind the current mount, then make the plate thicker at the lower area, effectively moving the peg back out again.

 

That would make the whole new mount adjustable front to back too.

 

Brilliant and more importantly, simple, solution.

I would try that if I were you.

 

As long as you have the tools, it can't cost much more than 10 to 20 bucks for some steel plate.

[twigg]

Seriously Kevin, thanks for all that.

 

I am not using the Road Sofa. On my 1700 mile trip the damned thing nearly killed me. It's probably better than the stock seat (so would be a wooden plank), but in the end it fails.

 

I am using a stock seat with a Roho AirHawk, the latest one. That is covered with a sheepskin, about 1 1/4 inch pile that I bought on eBay. It covers the entire double seat so Jodie has stock seat plus sheepskin.

 

That arrangement works for me in terms of actual seat comfort, at least for seven or eight hundred miles. Last weekend we covered 500 miles Sat AND Sun, with no butt problems (well Jodie did, I need to fix that).

 

BeadRider is a great product, but it depends. After reading a lot of reports it seems that those with a skinny butt cannot use a BeadRider effectively, those who have a little padding love them. The skinny butts do better on the AirHawk.

 

All of this is tinkering, when the answer is to get a custom seat made, that supports correctly and places you right where you need to be .... that is the expensive option but some of my rides are extreme, so I might just have to bite that bullet.

 

The problem of windblast is easily dealt with by fitting a Madstad Adjustable Windshield ... a project that is on the list.

 

So ... butt raised, feet lowered and an adjustable shield should take care of it.

[Prairiehammer]

Seriously Kevin, thanks for all that.

 

BeadRider is a great product, but it depends. After reading a lot of reports it seems that those with a skinny butt cannot use a BeadRider effectively, those who have a little padding love them. The skinny butts do better on the AirHawk.

 

Well, I don't know how they define skinny butt, but I think I have skinny butt. (6'-4", 200 pounds of pure muscles).

[twigg]

Well, I don't know how they define skinny butt, but I think I have skinny butt. (6'-4", 200 pounds of pure muscles).

 

It's just that BeadRider is loved and hated equally. There is no doubt that Chris has a great product, but try before you buy.

[Flyinfool]

What has this site come to.

Guys discussing guys butts.............

[twigg]

What has this site come to.

Guys discussing guys butts.............

 

We are just being inclusive

[Drkngas]

I ordered the Ultimate Bead Rider this summer (top pic) and so far it's been great in the Texas heat. It is made with ceramic beads. It fits really well on my Mustang Seat and actually allows enough air flow under me to add a cooling effect. My previous seat cover was 2 sheepskin washmits sewn together with wooden beads ($8 Walmarts) cut to the shape with kitchen drawer nonslip paddingon bottom (bottom pic). My butt never went numb with that setup. I still carry the washmitt seat cover (wood beads removed) to put over my ceramic beads if needed but havent needed it so far.

 

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/jsnl7q.jpg