Lowered my footpegs today

[RapidRobert]

Motorcycle Larry shipped me a pair of his peg lowering blocks (fast service, too - shipped the same day I ordered, and I had the package in Texas just three days from California). Easy to install, and it made a big difference in comfort for me.

Here is the stock position for the pegs for reference. Note that the bike is on the centerstand:

And here I am seated on the bike with the pegs in the stock position. For reference, I am 6' 0" with a 32" inseam:

Now here are the pegs in the new, lower position:

You can see the difference. And here I am seated with the newly positioned pegs. Note the angle of my thigh and knee bend; I deliberately wore the striped athletic pants to make it easy to see my leg bend:

After installation I took a nice, hour-long ride. I LOVE the pegs in their lower position. I haven't done any adjusting of the brake pedal or shift lever yet. I can probably learn to live with slightly lifting my right foot to use the rear brake (I'm not much of a rear braker). Shifting up was effortless, though like the right foot, I had to raise my left foot slightly to downshift. I can probably adapt over time, but if I can tweak the brake and shifter a bit I might not have to adapt. Anybody got any tips for adjusting the brake and shifter?

 

[Bear]

I did the same thing, and it made quite a difference. Did you also get MCLs handlebar risers? That also makes a great difference. I like dealing with Motorcycle Larry. He is one of us.

 

[RapidRobert]

I didn't feel the need to go with the bar risers, at least not yet. The bar height is so far OK for me, but .... I do experience some right wrist & hand discomfort, more from the angle of the right grip than the height of it. It if were angled inward just maybe two degrees or so it'd be perfect. Curiously, the left grip doesn't cause me the same discomfort. I tend to ride with two fingers covering the front brake. I've noticed that if I don't do that, the discomfort pretty much goes away. So I may yet try the bar risers and see if they make any difference for me. Also I intend to do some hand strengthening exercises to see if that make any difference.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Robert, one of the things some of us who have the bar risers have noticed is that it's not the additional "rise" of the bars that makes them useful, as much as it is the possibility of rotating the bars downward. By rotating the bars downward (clockwise if you're looking from the left side of the bike), we get a better angle at the grips. I'm not even sure I could tell you how it's better, but my bars are just as low as the stock position, but now the grips are much more comfortable for me.

 

[banjoboy]

Thanks for the review. This has been something I've been considering and this is not much money and if it worked, it would be a nice addition.

Terry

 

[Phil Tarman]

The only problem I've found with lowering the pegs is that, now that I've got BT-023s on my NT, I'm dragging pegs a lot. Of course, if I had my pegs in the stock position, I might be falling down a lot more.

 

[Bear]

I didn't feel the need to go with the bar risers, at least not yet. The bar height is so far OK for me, but .... I do experience some right wrist & hand discomfort, more from the angle of the right grip than the height of it. It if were angled inward just maybe two degrees or so it'd be perfect. Curiously, the left grip doesn't cause me the same discomfort. I tend to ride with two fingers covering the front brake. I've noticed that if I don't do that, the discomfort pretty much goes away. So I may yet try the bar risers and see if they make any difference for me. Also I intend to do some hand strengthening exercises to see if that make any difference.

Robert,
The reason I got the bar risers was not so much for the height, but to have more room to adjust/angle the handlebar. Without the risers my handle bar would make contact with the tank.

Rick mentioned the Crampbuster. I will also not ride without one. On my right hand, I rest the wrist on the crampbuster and have three fingers resting on the brake lever and one finger under the brake lever. That prevents me from grabbing too much brake in a panic stop.

 

[Cnille]

It looks like MCL has two different peg lowering kits. One adjustable and one not. Is it worth the extra money to get the adjustable ones?

 

[RedLdr1]

Is it worth the extra money to get the adjustable ones?

Disclaimer: I don't use either... But I would always choose an adjustable over non-adjustable so I could "tune" it to fit me....

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've got the adjustable one and have each side adjusted differently. Oddly enough, on the right side, the one with knee that won't bend very far, I've got the adjustor higher than it is on the left side.

 

[RapidRobert]

So, Phil and Sailariel, you guys have both lowered your footpegs. Have you also adjusted your brake and shift lever? Just wondering what's involved with that, esp. the brake pedal, there doesn't seem to be a good way to access it. I've done this before on a BMW when I lowered the pegs on it, but that peg kit came with new, longer bolts to help adjust the brake and shift lever.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Robert, I lowered the shift lever (easy-peasy) and the brake pedal (nowhere as easy). I can't even tell you what I did to lower the brake pedal, it was so long ago. I remember loosening things so I could at the brake light switch to adjust it. IIRC, I just studied my shop manual to figure out how to get at it.

 

[charlie b]

I agree with the bar settings after putting on the risers. Rotated back till they just clear the tank. I also rotate the controls to a better position for me.

I have bad circulation in my hands so they go to sleep easily. I use a Vista Cruise throttle lock on mine. I usually ride with my palms just resting on the grips, one or two fingers cover the front brake and clutch.

I've been considering moving my pegs back a bit instead of down. I frequently ride with the balls of my feet on the pegs, or, toes on front pegs and heels on rear pegs. My inseam is 32" as well.