V11 Rider comfort

[Delman]

Good morning fox

 

Looking to improve the rider comfort level of my bike for long distance touring (2002 LeMans)

 

saw the thread on Corbin fitment for my model, wondering if that has been resolved?

 

Also looking at Rich's seats, sounds like he needs the bike at his shop, waiting for a reply from him.   

 

 

Besides the seat which I think would be the best bang for the buck there are the following options:

 

• Forward controls (Motra Tech)
• Raised bars (http://mphcycles.com/handle-bar-risers/  has anyone heard/used of of these guys?) 

 

 

any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

best regards

Delman 

[bikelee]

Hey Delman. I have the MPH Risers and love them. Good guys to deal with, at least last year. They had some health problems in the family that runs the business and things got a little disorganized. I think those issues are cleared up now though.  The added height of the bars works for me. If you are good with tools, they are not too hard to install as they give you everything you need. Any questions let me know. Leon   OLD Gitt

 

[Scud]

My LeMans had the bars raised and pulled back, and the footpegs lower and forward, just as you are considering. I took it all off and went back to stock (they were all homemade and not in good condition, so I threw them out - otherwise I would offer them to you). I will say, though, that they worked well and were comfortable for upright, around town use.

 

This may not help at all, but yesterday I did about a 40 mile stretch of freeway and found myself wondering about rearset pegs so I could stay tucked in longer in the quiet air behind the fairing. Raised bars and forward pegs would make that much more difficult, and IMO, take away some of the benefit of the LeMans fairing.  But a smaller raise, like on Leon's bike seems reasonable.

 

How about some cheap advice? Try some padded bicycle shorts on your next long ride before you invest in a new seat.

[JRD]

Delman-My '02 LM came with the bar risers pictured above and I love them. I am 5'9" with a 32" sleeve length and the risers are very comfortable for me. I am still close enough to get the protection offered by the fairing but not so upright that the wind beats me senseless.

The only drawback to the risers is you may need longer clutch and brake hoses, the throttle cable is long enough, you just need to re-route it as shown in the photo. Also, my controls hit the fairing when I turn the forks to the locks but I am sure this is just a matter of some minor adjustment. They felt good in the current position so I haven't done any adjustments. I have done several rides in excess of two hundred miles with now aches or pains.

If you don't want to go with the risers, have you checked out the different height clip-on bars by Tarrozzi, just an option?

Hope this helps----

 

 

Jerry

[PDoz]

I've got the motobits pegs http://motobits.com/guzzi.htm and rich maude seat , it's a VERY comfortable combination so long as speeds remain above 90 km/hr, and it works well in the tight stuff- recently did 3x600 km days of corners with nothing but smile muscles hurting.

 

The pegs made my knees a lot more comfortable but left my hips a bit too cramped, this was fixed with the slightly higher seat.

 

I love the adjustability of the levers - infinitely adjustable for possition as well as having 3 different spots to attach the tip ( for different length feet) . Gearchanges seemed to improve, I'm not sure if this was from better ergonomics or less friction.

 

I HATE the non folding pegs. Realistically, my pipes and pegs touch down at about the same time, but if I'm relaxing through corners I sometimes find my toes dragging back onto a rigid peg - I hope they never get caught under it!!!

 

Edit, 5'11" and longish arms

[Scud]

I am 5'9" with a 32" sleeve length and the risers are very comfortable for me. I am still close enough to get the protection offered by the fairing but not so upright that the wind beats me senseless.

The only drawback to the risers is you may need longer clutch and brake hoses, the throttle cable is long enough, you just need to re-route it as shown in the photo. Also, my controls hit the fairing when I turn the forks to the locks but I am sure this is just a matter of some minor adjustment.

 

I have done several rides in excess of two hundred miles with no aches or pains.

 

Good idea adding stats about the rider. I am 6'0" and wear a 34" sleeve shirt - a 2" bar riser on your bike probably puts us at about the same angle.

 

The PO managed to re-route the stock cables and hoses on mine - and nothing hit the fairing. However, the throttle cable was too tight, got a kink and needs replacing. So if you do this, check all your cables and hoses at full steering lock in both directions.

 

I wore gel-padded bike shorts on a recent 550-mile one-day ride from San Diego to San Jose (mostly twisty roads). My butt was buzzin' when I got on the slab between Monterey and Santa Cruz... comfy the previous 400+ miles. 

[Tom M]

I'm a little over 6' tall too.  I mounted Ballabio bars and risers on my '02 Lemans because an old shoulder injury gave me problems after about 3 hrs of riding with the stock clipons.  If not for the shoulder problem I would have stuck with the clipons.  I like the bars but I wish they were a little narrower.  If I shortened them the controls would hit the fairing.  Sitting up higher does make the fairing less effective too.

 

I'm also running the Motobits foot controls and I really like them.  The Motratech moved the controls too far forward for me.  Like PDoz I didn't really like the non-folding pegs Motobits pegs so I added some.  I added rubber shifter and brake pegs too.

 

I haven't tried a different seat but I might do that some day.

[ratguzzi]

I just rode my Nero Corsa yesterday on a 520 mile trip to Meadville, PA and all felt good the first 300 miles or so but then I could feel it in the wrists and my ass. I am used to longer days than that but usually on a T or a T-3, a few times on an EV.

Those bar risers look good.

Interested in a better seat as well. I am short at 5'8".

JB

[stewgnu]

Mine's a ballabio with the stock handlebars + pegses (but the screen removed so it looks like a sport).

It's duckin great.  Only when I'm really tankin along at motorway speeds, 100 - 120mph, do I wish I had rearsets and clips.

I have found that the pillion pegs can be used as rearsets...  after a fashion!

Then I saw these which are sorely tempting me:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131329992767?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Oh, I'm a scrawny 5'11" with reet long plasterers arms.

[Steve S]

I've got these on my Nero, you need to order 54mm clamps

http://www.apexmfg.com/all-products/apex-clip-ons/apex-3-riser-clip-on-set

[PDoz]

. Like PDoz I didn't really like the non-folding pegs Motobits pegs so I added some. .

Tom, how did you add folding pegs?

[Delman]

thanks for sharing your experinces

just did a 600 miles this weekend nearly all interstate miles

Need a couple more experiments like last weekend to figure out what modification would suite me

 

I can tell you one thing for certain that a more comfortable seat than stock would make a big difference

 

any good seat experiences out there? 

[fotoguzzi]

Airhawk saved my butt for many miles on a stock V11 seat. tried a Corbin, too hard and you must be just the right hieght, I was too short at 5'10 to fit in the pocket.

I have a set of new risers similar to the MPH bar risers, my friend who made them wants $200. here's the ones I had, they went with the bike.

 

 

[Tom M]

 

. Like PDoz I didn't really like the non-folding pegs Motobits pegs so I added some. .

Tom, how did you add folding pegs?

 

 

I had a bushing machined to adapt a pair of Rizoma folding footpegs to the Motobits assembly.  I attached the bushing drawing which has the Rizoma part number for the pivot assembly. 

 

I don't have a picture of the finished product but I could take one tonight if you want to see what they look like.

PEG BUSHING.PDF

[JRD]

Fotoguzzi- ummm....err, what is that long black tube protruding from the right bar and over the speedo?