Back in the fold....

[Barryboy]

After four years since I sold my last Bird (riding a CBF1000, Hornet 600 and Triumph Adventurer in the interim) I have finally realized what I was missing and come to the conclusion that I will have to live with the backache and bought this one...

A 100 mile non-stop ride on Saturday has convinced me that I need mirror extenders and higher bars. The mirror extenders are a simple purchase but as far as the bars are concerned it appears that there are three options, and I would appreciate some advice from anyone who's had to solve this problem:

1) Bar raisers from Jaws. Reasonably priced and an easy fit.

2) Straight bar conversion from Jaws. More expensive and more work to fit but does this give any more height than the 28mm bar risers?

3) VFR bars. Difficult to find and expensive but an easy fit. These give about the same height raise as the Jaws bar risers but can they be used in conjunction with bar risers? I wonder if the cabling is long enough to allow that?

Pleased to hear your thoughts.

Rob

 

[slim63]

That looks very smart in yellow, if someone had said yellow suits a bird I would have laughed but I really like it @tu*

As for the risers I got on well with the old version of the jaws bar conversion because I could angle or even change the bars to suit me at will I don't have any experience of the later version

 

[Pugwash]

That looks great in yellow. :yo:

 

[noobie]

Jesus ! there should have been a warning in the title, do you know murt? :-0)

Welcome.

 

[Jaws]

And its a proper 2000 model too....
Nice looking bit of kit @tu*

 

[noobie]

Lovely vfr 800 there :-0) Joking, welcome.

On your bars mention, depends on how much and how often you ride?

Personally I would try the jaws risers and the footpeg lowering kit. Both are reasonably cheap, easy to fit and seem to change your position slightly. Then if you still have issues the bar conversion seems to be popular by those who have done it.

Plenty of comments in here as to personal experience on all

 

[andyBeaker]

Personally I am not convinced about bar risers. I had back and neck problems but these were resolved on my first Bird with a bit of attention to my riding style - essentially learning to relax on the bike. A Corbin seat did make a difference though, a massive increase in comfort over stock and it absolutely helped me relax.

My second Bird came with bar risers and peg lowererers (sic) - i honestly don't think they made any difference. The pegs being lower obviously gives a bit more room - while at 6'2" this was nice, I didn't feel it was necessary.

I would also endorse changing the levers to 'dog leg' style if you, like me, tend to cover the levers while riding. Takes a ton of strain off the hands and wrists.

Just my thoughts about what worked for me. Initially My advice would be to focus on whether you have any tension in your hands/wrist/neck/back when you are riding. If you have then sorting this out will have more benefit than messing round with the bike. Deal with the cause rather than the symptoms.

Good luck@tu*

 

[Lee337]

Aside from what Andy said re riding style (which helped me a little, I also fitted Jaws risers, which has also helped.

I already have a touring seat, which while ideal for Mrs L, does raise my body a little from the standard seat. However the rise is more than offset by the bar risers. When fitting them to my 99 registered Carbie, I didn't need to lengthen any cables of brake lines but any higher & I would have.

You could possibly fit VFR bars and risers but if you want to go down that route, a straight bar conversion would be better & far more adjustable.

For what it's worth, do the riding style thing first & if that don't help, try the bar risers, and if that don't work try footpeg lowerers, then if that don't work try a straight bar conversion.

Personally, I've never given footpeg lowerers a thought but I'm only 5'10".

 

[Pugwash]

I only lowered my pegs because I was getting achey knees (6ft1). It made no difference above the waist.

 

[DEG5Y]

I had risers but swapped to vfr purely for looks.

I was in no hurry so I just watched ebay and bought them individually for less than half the price they were selling for as a pair. @tu*

 

[andyBeaker]

Re the seat I actually felt the Corbin, which was a fair bit wider and more sculpted than stock, made me sit more 'in' the bike rather than 'on' it. The effect was that the legs felt a lot more comfortable, less need to tense the legs and more of an ability to lean forward and put a bit of weight on the tank via the stomach when on long runs - which again was aided by having a well stuffed tank bag.

I know it is a mere pootle up the road for some, but I did a 460 mile round trip in one day without any significant discomfort once I got myself sorted out riding style wise - in good weather on mainly motorways which of course made it easier. No way could I have done that without making a determined self critical effort to sort my riding stale out first.

If I were to only change one thing to improve comfort it would be to bin the stock seat -'it was only when I rode a Bird with a decent seat that I appreciated what a plank the standard item is.

But a standard bike should be fine for most provided they are reasonably relaxed body wise. Someone once told me that if you can't flap your elbows like wings when you are riding then you need to sort yourself out - sounds weird but I think it is a pretty good gauge. I had a one to one with Steve Plater :bow: many years ago and he told me that he rode with 'only balls of feet, palms of hands and bollocks in contact with the bike, using them to caress it into movement when needed' .

 

[noobie]

Changing the seat to a comfort one, I presume would mean no more single seat cowl?

It's also worth noting that this thread was started in August and the o/p hasn't replied once in this thread :dunno:

 

[seasan]

Blame JAWS, he commented on the thread after 3 months ! :yo: 8rfl@

 

[Flymo01]

I watched Fleabay and picked up a pair of VFR bars for ?37 including postage. Still haven't gotten round to fitting them. This winter I'll get them on.....