Trying to maximizm leg comfort

[rmrc51]

In my continuing quest to make my Wing as comfortable as possible, I'm considering removing my floor boards and the heel/toe shifter (which causes an old hip injury to flare up when shifting with my heel). This will give me more room to stretch out my legs while still having my feet close to the shifter and brake. I also have Roadsmith's Comfort Controls as well. I called Roadsmith regarding the question about the WingBoards being weight bearing. They told me that they were, as long as the installer installed all three supports. The front brackets, the middle supports and the ones at the rear. They said in some instances, there are installers that for what ever reason, never install the supports in the middle. After my call, I went out in the garage and looked under my Wingboards. I have all three support point in tact as I thought I would. Roadsmith said that they have had prior questions such as mine regarding the Comfort Controls and removing the heel/toe shifter to do all shifting with your toes. Unfortunately, they do not have or know of an extension to elongate the shifter peg which I'd like to also do for a larger contact surface.

So,,, with all this said, more then likely this weekend I'm going to remove my floor boards, reposition the brake pedal to a lower position and see how my comfort level improves (I Hope!)

Just an FYI for those who are looking to do something similar,,,.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

You can leave the brake pedal as is and add a Kury heal rest as I did. Lowering the brake pedal will restrict foot movement. It did for me.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/4304/Heel-Boss-for-Easy-Braking

 

[rmrc51]

That will bring my right foot even higher then the current floor boards which I'm looking to remove. I'm trying to stretch out my legs as much as possible to avoid that cramped feeling. But thanks for the suggestion. ThumbUp

 

[Gold Rush]

Rich you must be pretty tall. I notice you have your highway pegs mounted about as far forward as possible. I have mine all the way to the rear and can just reach them comfortably.

I know the pain you are going through. The reason I converted from two to three wheels was my worn out legs and hips. It's better on three wheels but still there. Don't know if you can even use the OEM rider pegs but if you can as a third leg position here's an option. I manufactured peg mounts that let me flip the rider pegs straight up instead of back and up. This modification really has helped me.... Here is a couple pictures.

 

[FRR]

Something to consider when thinking about comfort on a Wing.......When I triked my 2004 it occurred to me that by adding a 6 degree rake, I have essentially lowered the front of the bike which causes one to sit differently and gently slide forward. It took me awhile to realize this but soon came to understand that this was the reason for my discomfort. I don't know how to totally get around that issue, but it encouraged me to use my foot pegs even more...............Something to consider.

 

[rmrc51]

Rich you must be pretty tall. I notice you have your highway pegs mounted about as far forward as possible. I have mine all the way to the rear and can just reach them comfortably.

Lol,,,. I'm not tall at all. 5'8".

As you can see, even with that height, I'm looking to have my legs stretched out as much as possible. After I remove my floor boards, having your 'flip-up' setup for the regular foot-pegs might be a great option for a change every so often. Thanks for the suggestion. ThumbUp

 

[Gold Rush]

Lol,,,. I'm not tall at all. 5'8".

As you can see, even with that height, I'm looking to have my legs stretched out as much as possible. After I remove my floor boards, having your 'flip-up' setup for the regular foot-pegs might be a great option for a change every so often. Thanks for the suggestion. ThumbUp

:xzqxz: :xzqxz: :xzqxz:

How do you reach those pegs???? OMG.. :xszpv: :xszpv:

 

[rmrc51]

:xzqxz: :xzqxz: :xzqxz:

How do you reach those pegs???? OMG.. :xszpv: :xszpv:

Lol,, I just have my legs stretched out straight!

 

[tfdeputydawg]

That will bring my right foot even higher then the current floor boards which I'm looking to remove. I'm trying to stretch out my legs as much as possible to avoid that cramped feeling. But thanks for the suggestion. ThumbUp

Only when you're braking! Very easy to get used to.

 

[Veritas44]

Something to consider when thinking about comfort on a Wing.......When I triked my 2004 it occurred to me that by adding a 6 degree rake, I have essentially lowered the front of the bike which causes one to sit differently and gently slide forward. It took me awhile to realize this but soon came to understand that this was the reason for my discomfort. I don't know how to totally get around that issue, but it encouraged me to use my foot pegs even more...............Something to consider.

IF your Bike's front end is lower now than OEM,,, you got bigger Issues. When the new (increased Steering Angle) Triples were installed there should also have been the proper length Fork Tube Extensions & Spring Spacers installed as well. Extensions compensate for/counteract the "drop" by lengthening the Tubes accordingly. Either you are imagining the Issue or whoever did your Triples screwed up and you need to correct their malfunction ASAP.

 

[cavie]

I'm 5' 7". jumped on my buddy's wing this weekend. I didn't like the foot position at all. I much prefer my VTX/Champion.

 

[SMSgt]

Rich
We both share the same problem. I have Kury floor boards and heal toe shifter. I just couldn't get comfortable. I don't like heal/toe shifters. What I did was I bought a 1" spacer and some 1" X 1/4" aluminum stock. I drilled a 2" piece of the aluminum with 2 holes, one a half inch in from both ends which puts the holes 1" a part. When I put this all together it moved the toe shifter up one inch and out one inch. Now I'm able to slide my boot under the toe shifter giving me more room forward on the floor board.
It only cost a couple of bucks and was quick and easy to do. Might be something that will help you out.

 

[rmrc51]

Rich
We both share the same problem. I have Kury floor boards and heal toe shifter. I just couldn't get comfortable. I don't like heal/toe shifters. What I did was I bought a 1" spacer and some 1" X 1/4" aluminum stock. I drilled a 2" piece of the aluminum with 2 holes, one a half inch in from both ends which puts the holes 1" a part. When I put this all together it moved the toe shifter up one inch and out one inch. Now I'm able to slide my boot under the toe shifter giving me more room forward on the floor board.
It only cost a couple of bucks and was quick and easy to do. Might be something that will help you out.

That would be a possibility for me as well if I didn't have Roadsmith's Comfort Controls installed. They move the entire shifter arm 3 inches forward and 1 inch down so it's just under the valve cover. There's really no room to customize the toe shifter to a higher position as it would hit the valve cover. Believe me, I had already discussed doing something similar with my friend at Honda. Thanks for the thought! ThumbUp

And as for lengthening the shifter peg for more surface contact, here a link one of the fellas gave me on the GL1800 forum. Looks promising!

http://www.iliumworks.com/BMW_Motorcycle_Accessories.cfm?pn=10-300&pID=2

 

[FRR]

IF your Bike's front end is lower now than OEM,,, you got bigger Issues. When the new (increased Steering Angle) Triples were installed there should also have been the proper length Fork Tube Extensions & Spring Spacers installed as well. Extensions compensate for/counteract the "drop" by lengthening the Tubes accordingly. Either you are imagining the Issue or whoever did your Triples screwed up and you need to correct their malfunction ASAP.

Well, I'm not imagining anything because I measured it. The spring spacers were installed but it seems with CSC kits this tends to be an issue. I guess installing Progressive springs would cure it, but I don't have a problem with the way it is now. Thanks for the comment and suggestion.

 

[rmrc51]

Update:

I removed my floorboards today, got rid of that annoying heel/toe shifter and now have full access to the Wing Boards which also increased the amount of room I have to further stretch my legs.

As others have mentioned, it looks like I'll have no problem comfortably accessing the shifter peg with my toe. I have plenty of room to place my foot under the peg and it's quite easy to locate to up or down shift, I'm happy to say! I feel this was also aided by having Roadsmith's Comfort Controls which moved the shifter 3" forward and 1 inch down placing the shifter peg in a perfect location for the Wing Boards! This in itself will be the biggest plus! If you've followed past threads of mine, the heel/toe shifter always caused a sharp hip spasm (old injury) when shifting with my heel.

What I did notice is that placing my full weight on the flat portion of the Wing Board, directly in front of where the mid brace is located isn't advisable as the surface seems to give/flex under my weight. Placing my weight either directly over the mid brace location or on the curved edge of the Wing Board when mounting or dismounting offers complete support without any obvious flexing.

All in all this will hopefully be a great improvement not only in the added leg space but will finally address all of the hip pain I've had when shifting. Thanks for all of the support and suggestions! ThumbUp

 

[Jonesy]

how about some pics of the roadsmith controls installed on your trike, would like to compare their positioning compared to what I got now.

 

[rmrc51]

Here's the pictures you requested.

At present, I've removed the floor boards and that annoying heel/toe shifter to give me even more room to stretch my legs.

You can clearly see where the original mounting points are.

 

[cavie]

I never understood all the complaints about heel toe shifters from the wig guys until I saw those pics. My heel pads on both my Vol and the VTX are just behind the floorboard and only 1" higher than the board. I love them.

 

[crackercap]

Rich, watch when repositioning the brake lever as the shaft wants to slide back into the opening when you try to slide the lever into a new position. Floorboards and a belly pan(if you have one) can make getting it back out a little bit of a pain, at least that was my problem the first time I did it.

 

[MMH]

You can leave the brake pedal as is and add a Kury heal rest as I did. Lowering the brake pedal will restrict foot movement. It did for me.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/Products/4304/Heel-Boss-for-Easy-Braking

Interesting, I may try it! Thanks!!