Slight change of appearance

Well, I've been riding my '74 850 for a few years now with the clip-ons and rearsets (see pic). I absolutely love the way it looks, but man is it hard on the back, wrists and neck. I whipped up some extremely crude pegs (if you can call them that) for my wife to put her feet on and took her for a ride the other night. Now she's looking for more rides.
So, I think I've come to the point of going back to stock configuration to make it more comfortable for the both of us.
Probably just put euro bars on and swap the rearsets for stock pegs. Then I could mount the passenger pegs as they should be. Easy enough to switch between the stock seat and the Corbin.
Just trying to talk myself into the change. The "stock" look is starting to appeal to me much more now also. Guess I'll always be able to switch back if I want.
Any suggested changes to make while I'm swaping things around?



Ben

Hey Ben, riding with neck and spine under strain can injure ya over the long run. Keep in mind the cable lenght for taller wider bars. I've got rear sets on my Combat and retain the factory pillion pegs so may not have to go back to the badly placed mid bike pilot pegs. May have to bargain a bit with wife on foot placement but not too much to bother either of ya.

Ben - a couple of inches will make a world of difference - i'd try just changing your handlebars first as i find the rearsets are much more comfortable than standard footpegs -

if you still want the cafe look but ease your back (and allow you to ride a longer distance) you can get the goose/swan neck clipons

http://www.clubmanracing.com/handlebarsandlevers.php

or use clubman like regular bars, but with a slighter more adjustable range (tomaselli condors) - these bars (and the jota bars) below are great as you can adjust your wrist angle which is nice to tailor to your preference



or my current personal favorites the laverda jota bars

Try a set of Hyde mars first? Will be easier on the wrists.

Brly said:

Any suggested changes to make while I'm swaping things around?

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Yeah, get ready to smile a lot more! When I took off and sold the proddy items and went back to stock I wasn't so sure about the idea. Now, after a few two-up rides with my wife, I'm so happy I did it. Obvious items like how the back and wrists feel aside, other benefits have surfaced. I can't get the grin off my face as we tool along Game Preserve Road, happy as a kid again on his first bike with a special girl on the back.

I don't think we ever broke 50mph and I didn't think once about what the old Norton "looked" like while riding. (That said, your bike's lines ARE beautiful.) Go for it.

Having Scoliosis for me changed my original purchased,flat-straight bars agony things for what I fit now ,stock European bars. A straighted back position with no weight to the wrists. Not fully upright but sporting and no straining forward. The rest of the bike looks fine. My Chihuahua wifey weighs 110 lbs. which helps .

Did you go back to the stock seat when your wife was on the back? Gee, I hope so...

I also went back to stock from rearsets and Ace drop bars. Well almost - using Euro bars now. Not bad. I re-did the stock seat with new foam and cover and repaired seatbase. Unbelievably good now.

Norman Hyde M Bars work great for me. Still very sporty but not back breaking.

The "Here's my head, my ass is on the way" layout is for the youngsters. Once past about 50 years old, you can't contort yourself to fit!

If DW is keen to ride as a passenger, get it done, PDQ. Don't miss an opportunity to share your hobby.

Sounds like an excuse to build another bike to me!

Dkt26 said:

Try a set of Hyde mars first? Will be easier on the wrists.

Click to expand...

^#%^^€ing spell check. That is M-Bars. Hyde ones

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I'll definitely try one thing at a time, i.e. swap the handlebars and leave the rearsets for a bit.
I'll take a closer look at the M-bars, too.
I think that subconsciously I'm hesitant to make the switch because I am a "youngster", relatively speaking. But, as much as I love to ride this thing, the wrists/back/neck issue takes some of the fun out of the longer rides.
When I did the rebuild, my lovely wife got me the Corbin seat for Christmas. The stock seat was in shambles so I got a new cover and some foam from the local upholestry shop and made it new. And yes, I did put the stock seat back on for the two up ride!
rvich - you may be right. Just leave this one alone and get another for a stock ride. I like it!

Thanks again,
Ben

This is what the handle bars looked like on the 60s production racers :

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... lebar.aspx

Throw a Interstate tank on it , and Square U.S. spec. P.R. seat .