Rode the Commando today. Very uncomfortable.

montelatici · Oct 8, 2011

I have a 2008 Moto Guzzi 1200 S Breva and a 2007 Harley 1200 Sportster. The Sportster is garaged in Italy after a European tour this summer. Have rode both bikes a lot this spring and summer and decided to take the cafe' racer Commando out today.

1. Battery, though on a battery tender all year, could not turn the starter motor.
2. Big sweat kick starting from cold.
3. Rear sets and clip ons make it quite uncomfortable.

Going to remove the Telefix clip-ons, going to remove the rear sets. Going to put the standard foot pegs back on. Going to put the standard Euro bars back on (lower than the standard US ape hanger style bars).

At 60 can't do the cafe' racer thing anymore.

Rohan · Oct 8, 2011

Wasn't that the whole thing about cafe racers and race replicas - take a perfectly good bike, and turn it into something uncomfortable and difficult to ride ??

Only usually its the next owner that has to deal with that - and turn it back to something usuable again. You get that fun twice ?

Have fun...!

dave M · Oct 8, 2011

Why not try changing the handlebars and leaving the rearsets first. I did this on a cafe racer and it worked out very well. I feel (as do some others) that the standard footpegs are too far forward and the ergonomics of bars with a modest rise together with rearsets is an improvement over either set-up.

Hobot · Oct 8, 2011

ha ha ha ha serves ya right going by pure fashion instead of good function. I just got back form 1000 mile ride last weekend and was very pleasantly surprised by missing sleep till wee hours to fix broken axle damage and sleeping in open two nights to find I was refreshed all day long ride back and didn't want the flowing trace to quit.
I am too tall for the factory Roadster configuration but still did squirm or wear out, amazing to me, so want to do a lot more of it and have not been in a cage for 8 days now on almost bald tires on both ends since riding a C'do again from late spring onward.

I suggest keep the rear sets by trash the stupid drag bars and get some rise in them and see how that fits. Oh yeah its well known amoung Brit Iron riders that a thumb commensor lowers ones IQ.

Jeandr · Oct 8, 2011

hobot said:
Oh yeah its well known amoung Brit Iron riders that a thumb commensor lowers ones IQ.

What is a "thumb commensor" :?:

Jean

Rohan · Oct 8, 2011

Jeandr said:
What is a "thumb commensor" :?:

Jean

Chuckle.
Sometimes called a starter button in the Owners Manual.

Or a knee saver....

Hobot · Oct 8, 2011

LOL. I have a habit - now I've got Trixie's starting trick down- to make that comment to the modern riders, then kick er off and sNorton smartly out of there.

Worse combo I've been on so far was low bars, factory pegs and Corbin seat, ugh within an hour of tooling around made my mid back ache, seat burn and arms throb and head ache. Once set up for you, C'do should refresh ya the longer you are on them, additively. If it don't work out like that for you I'm sure others will take the painful thing off your hands. Personally I abhore moderns now that are solid mounts as the mild tingle of valve train and gear whirl gets through after 30 min then becomes more annoying constant sensation even if not making hands or feet numb, just not the same disappearing act I'm so spoiled with on C'dos.

Matt Spencer · Oct 9, 2011

If you jog 6 miles a day , run up 200 steps , Leap 6 ft walls , & eat lightbulbs . You should find it more comfortable & that
it smooths out nicely & the wind supports you , over 100 m.p.h. , as it is . :idea:

The Euro flat bars arnt bad . Std suits 5 10 to 6 2 rider reach though , if butt aft solo .plenty off room on em ,under 5 ' 8 "
it can be a bit of a stretch .Will tryn get a pic of the old MX bars bent aft on here one day . Grips adjacent kness , abot 20 in apart . Good leverage and windage , still able to get down ' under the paint ' for drag reduction , if ' pressing on ' . :lol:

swooshdave · Oct 9, 2011

Euro bars and rearsets are the way to go.

Other choice would be Western (Export) bars and stock pegs.

Bad is Euro bars and stock pegs and then compound that with an Interstate seat. That sucks!

Flo · Oct 9, 2011

swooshdave said:
Euro bars and rearsets are the way to go.

Other choice would be Western (Export) bars and stock pegs.

Bad is Euro bars and stock pegs and then compound that with an Interstate seat. That sucks!

I have to dissagree with you on that one. Std. euro bars & std. footrests for me. :lol:

rpatton · Oct 9, 2011

+1 on eurobars and rearsets. I was looking at some pictures of the Breva, the seat to peg distance is about what you get with rearsets on the Commando.
Eurobars are going to be somewhere between the clipons and the Breva bars. so you might just like going to a bar with more rise.

I think the only bars that are compatible with the stock peg location are the USA style. The riding position with clip-ons and stock pegs looks like it was probably considered pretty jaunty back in the day, but I don't think the term 'ergonomics' had been coined yet.

Brithit · Oct 9, 2011

I think so much of this depends on your size. I have a 29 inch inseam, and wear a size 42 long suit coat. My MKIII has Euro style bars, and standard footrests, and works fine for me. Velo - pictured on the right - has factory rear-sets, and clip-ons, and I find it reasonable. Taller friends find it torture. I think in that case, my shorter legs work to an advantage, and maybe that's the case with the MKIII as well.

rpatton · Oct 9, 2011

Don, you're probably right. We're exact opposites. I was 6ft tall before my wreck. After 5 surgeries I'm 4 inches shorter, all lost in the torso and neck.
Now, eurobars feel almost like USA bars to me

montelatici · Oct 9, 2011

Rohan said:
Wasn't that the whole thing about cafe racers and race replicas - take a perfectly good bike, and turn it into something uncomfortable and difficult to ride ??

Only usually its the next owner that has to deal with that - and turn it back to something usuable again. You get that fun twice ?

Have fun...!

Honestly, it did not find it uncomfortable until recently. When I was still racing (until 2007) it was a couch compared to my race bikes. The bike has been in cafe' racer trim since 1980 or so, I was young back then. LOL

montelatici · Oct 9, 2011

I will replace the clip-ons with the euro bars first and see how it feels before removing the rear sets. It may be similar to the Breva as someone said, and I find the Breva comfortable.

swooshdave · Oct 9, 2011

montelatici said:
I will replace the clip-ons with the euro bars first and see how it feels before removing the rear sets. It may be similar to the Breva as someone said, and I find the Breva comfortable.

Easiest path. Good move.

Rode the Commando today. Very uncomfortable.

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