Long distance feedback Mods

[Armyguns]

Mods:

Murph's risers
Spencer's LD Supracore reshape
Givi 55 with backrest
3 inch drop on passenger pegs.

Drove two up with the wife from Asbury. NJ to Leola, PA on Thursday afternoon.  101 miles.  We left Leola, PA at 10:00am yesterday.  One hundred one miles later I dropped her off at home, grabbed some clothes and departed solo for Colchester, Vt.  Arrived at my daughter's at 7PM.  Grand total for yesterday was 452 miles. Grand total for the two days was 553. 

Feedback from the passenger seat is that the peg lowering is just about perfect.  No undue pressure on the knees.  She loves the seat reshape as she can sit 'flatter' without the forward pitch.  She likes the 'security' that having the back rest provides but wants it extended lower.  The stock pad sits at the correct height, but should cover more area.  It is only attached to the top of the Givi shell.  I can fix this with some sort of add on.   I'll say that there is almost no squirming around from her during the ride.  To me, this means she's comfortable. 

Feedback from the front seat.  Well, 452 miles in a day without having my body screaming at me to "GET OFF" say it all.  I have to say that the combination of the risers and the seat are the two most important and highest pay-off mods that I've made.  I won't say there are NO pressure points on the seat, but they are so minimal that they really are not a problem. A short break for filling the tank and empyting the bladder is enough to 'reset' the body and the seat. 

Heading back to NJ on Sunday for another 350 miles. 

[S.Ga.Rider]

I have thought of getting some risers for mine. How bad does it effect handling in the curves?

[Armyguns]

I'm probably not the one to be able to answer the question as to before and after affect on handling since I put them on almost as soon as I got the bike.  However, with more than 3500 miles on it so far, I can't say I've noticed any adverse handling affect.  I'm not dragging pegs, but I only have about 1/4 inch of 'chicken strips" on the rear tire so I am leaning it over!

[sherob]

I have a set of risers, and Phil's wedges added.  I ride some pretty good twisties in the Rockies, and at a pretty decent pace... my strips are ~ 1/8 of an inch on my Storm II's.  My bike handles real good, and I don't lean off the bike doing any knee dragging.

The risers + wedges still give me a decent lean forward for the twisty bits, and a good upright position for the long distance rides... good combo for me anyway.

[kennqc]

i just put phil's wedges on os can not speak to them.  i put risers on a year ago and have no idea why i waited so long, big improvement and i like the twisties.  i just put on a spencer mod seat am loving it. does not take away all the hot spots but a big inexpensive improvement over the stocker.  i just got a deal on a rick meyer seat so will report back on it later.  coincidentally will have a spare spencer mod. 

ken

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I have Murph's risers and I can honestly say that I can't tell a difference in the handling.  I did put my risers on around the same time that I went from a 190/50 to a 190/55.  That could be part of why I didn't notice any difference since the tire made such a dramatic difference.  For the comfort and price I think it is hard to beat risers and wedges.  I might invest in the LSL setup but I would have to find a set used or on clearance.

[COGnosticat0r]

I went the opposite way.  I had risers and took them off and installed the LSL bars.  It made the bars lower than with the risers and brought them back closer to me.  This makes handling in the twisties a 1000% better.

I just got back from NY, 6 days and 2,300 miles with two of the days at 600 miles, butt the Russell Daylong was the key to long trips.

[lddave]

I have installed the risers, Laminar Lip, Russell Day long seat in leather, ThrottleMeister throttle lock, and a 1 gallon hydration system . I have the wedges but have not installed them yet.

[Conhardcore]

I have had risers on (2" Heli's), off and back to stock, back on and now back to stock with just Phils Wedges.  I'm good with the bars at the lower height, the subtle turn up of the grip angle and small increase in pull back.  I'm one who did notice a difference in turn and cornering crispness with the risers.  I think the bike is at it's best with stock or near stock height.

[SVonhof]

I got the bike with Heli Bar risers on it and after riding for a few hundred miles, pulled them off. After riding a while including a longer than normal day with the wife on the back I decided to put the risers back on. I did notice a difference in the cornering when I first put them back on, but it's really no big deal once you get a few hundred miles under your butt.
I rode 1100 miles over 4 days through plenty of twisty stuff and was fine with the risers and got down to very small chicken strips:

[ZZG1400RIDER]

I rode 964 miles in 16 hours and my a$$ is still paying and I have to ride back.

[dolomoto]

I rode 964 miles in 16 hours and my a$$ is still paying and I have to ride back.

I like the stock seat and throw on the $8 beaded seat cover when I ride more than a couple of hundred miles.

[Mike_M]

Longest ride in a single stretch, I did (3) 1500 miles days in a row then I did (2) 1000 mile days after that.  6500 miles in a week.

1. Russell seat
2. Helibar Horizon Bars
3. Rosta Cruise Control
4. Ultra tour windshield
5. J&M CB with Sirus radio hooked in.
6. Hydration system
7. Five gallon Aux fuel cell  (440 mile range)

Other than being tired from the heat, my back, neck, butt and wrists never felt any stress or pain the entire time.  Spend the time researching and the money on what you need to put on the bike for long distance riding. 

[gflint]

Air Hawk.  Turned uncomfortable 600 mile max days to comforable 800 mile max.  I used to require 2 or 3 beers to get my butt to feeling good at the end of the day.  Now my butt feels just fine with no beer so I drink one just cause I like beer.

[B.D.F.]

My experience modifying a bike for long distance has been that various things have to be tried and tested with a long ride. You just cannot tell how handlebar position, peg position, seat position and type, etc. will be after ten hours in the saddle just by sitting on the bike or taking a short ride (less than 1/2 hour or so). In fact, I have found it really hard to tell what is causing discomfort after a long ride also- I have thought I needed the pegs to be lower only to find out that slightly higher pegs are more comfortable.

In the end, large windshields, large saddles and an Airhawk cushion have been the keys to my long distance comfort.

And for whatever it is worth, if you can ride a bike for 10 hours straight (not even getting off when fueling) and then get off the bike and walk around without any great or specific discomfort, then a longer ride will not be any worse. Something like ten hours is the saturation point, at least for me so if I can ride that long, I can pretty much ride open- ended or until fatigue rather than discomfort ends the ride.

Brian

Mods:

Murph's risers
Spencer's LD Supracore reshape
Givi 55 with backrest
3 inch drop on passenger pegs.

Drove two up with the wife from Asbury. NJ to Leola, PA on Thursday afternoon.  101 miles.  We left Leola, PA at 10:00am yesterday.  One hundred one miles later I dropped her off at home, grabbed some clothes and departed solo for Colchester, Vt.  Arrived at my daughter's at 7PM.  Grand total for yesterday was 452 miles. Grand total for the two days was 553. 

Feedback from the passenger seat is that the peg lowering is just about perfect.  No undue pressure on the knees.  She loves the seat reshape as she can sit 'flatter' without the forward pitch.  She likes the 'security' that having the back rest provides but wants it extended lower.  The stock pad sits at the correct height, but should cover more area.  It is only attached to the top of the Givi shell.  I can fix this with some sort of add on.   I'll say that there is almost no squirming around from her during the ride.  To me, this means she's comfortable. 

Feedback from the front seat.  Well, 452 miles in a day without having my body screaming at me to "GET OFF" say it all.  I have to say that the combination of the risers and the seat are the two most important and highest pay-off mods that I've made.  I won't say there are NO pressure points on the seat, but they are so minimal that they really are not a problem. A short break for filling the tank and empyting the bladder is enough to 'reset' the body and the seat. 

Heading back to NJ on Sunday for another 350 miles.

[Mike_M]

I agree with you BDF.  When I first get a new bike I ride it as long as I can to see what begins to hurt and how long it took to get to that point.  I fix that and go for a longer ride until something else hurts and fix that.  Eventually you come to a point where you have dialed in exactly what you need to do to make the bike comfortable for long distance.  I think 10 hours is a good round number to shoot for because if your not hurting by that time, then another 6 or 8 hours will not make that much of a difference.    Lets face it, even riding in a car for that long can be painful for some.

Riders also have to define "long distance riding" for themselves.  Some riders consider long distance to be X number of miles when others think the number is much higher.  Find out what the number is and make your bike fit you for that period of time.

It took me almost two years to get my C14 exactly the way I want it for me.  Others may not like the way it feels or even looks, but who cares.   I always bought function over form every time when it comes to comfort.

[sherob]

It took me 6 months to dial my C14 in after I got her.  I did some decent 500+ mile rides on it to find what I needed to do, other than the usual.  Then my 1k+ IBA ride to Moonshine to shake her out, some little tuning when I got back, and she has been set since.  I tinker here and there with lights and such, but seats, bars, shields, and such are pretty much static. 

[RIP50AK]

For someone who uses one how much height does the Airhawk add? Some of us vertically challenged folks might want to know.

[CrashGordon]

For someone who uses one how much height does the Airhawk add? Some of us vertically challenged folks might want to know.

Almost none, because when it is properly inflated you are not really floating. It's not really a cushion, it more like a space filler for all the areas that don't normally contact the seat. It just spreads your weight over a larger contact area. In practice I notice a slight difference in height, but not a lot. I have a 30" inseam so I am by no means flatfooted on this bike.