[rog5150]

Hello All. I don't have a Bird, but I'm doing some investigation into the in's and out's of owning one.
From what I've read and watched on YouTube it's just a matter of looking for the right deal.
Pretty sure I want a Bird with the digital dash just so my old eyes can see the speed! Full luggage seems easy to find fitted on the bikes I've seen so far.
I'm 6ft tall with long legs, will I need lower pegs and bar risers or maybe flat bars?
Flat bars are interesting to me, but do they make the bike steer strange when it's designed for more weight over the front wheel?
Cheers Rog

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[TheDuck]

Hi Rog
I can see the attraction of the digital dash, my 99 Bird has the 200mph clocks and the increments are rather small for somebody who has been long sighted for my whole life ..... well that's my excuse.

I always suggest trying to ride the Bird for a month or so before changing the riding position. If you can't get on with it then make changes and do them one at a time.

I machined up my own peg lowering blocks when I was having 'hip problems' only to eventually discover that I had a lump of bone broken off my pelvis and needed a full replacement hip!
I added Gilles bars when my Daily Bird became my long distance tourer and I instantly got high speed head wobble. Changed the screen which got rid of the head wobble ..... but this added more weight to my damaged wrists!

Which is why I say 'try before you change' you can end up chasing your tail.

FWIW the Bird is front end heavy so changing to flat bars doesn't really have a big effect.

 

[XXGUY]

Back in 2013 in my initial post I asked similar questions and was given some very good advice and TheDuck gave it to you too. Just ride it for a while and see. I am 6'3" and I had a hard time even getting my legs up on the pegs and thought that a peg lowering kit was definitely in my future. I couldn't ride for more than an hour and I was begging for an excuse to stop and look around becausemy butt hurt. (I rode Goldwings and still do) I rode it for the suggested 1 year. I still have the same Corbin seat and never did end up getting a peg lowering kit. It came with Helibar risers and still has them. I would consider finding a pair of Converti bars but only for a very good price as it isn't really a need. Now I will hop on the bike and go on 5 to 7,000 mile trips doing 7 to 800 miles a day if I need to and get off and be fine. What I did change to be able to do that was put on a MRA Vario touring adjustable lip windshield, upgraded suspension so now it's smooth, Electronic Cruise Control by Beestoy (forum member). I had never ridden anything like this and my body had to adjust is my theory.
I like my digital dash and that surprised me as I hate them in cars and love analog gages. Maybe because it is so easy to see at a glance but I still have an analog tach which I like... so the best of both worlds?
Good luck to your hunt.
Guy

 

[rog5150]

Back in 2013 in my initial post I asked similar questions and was given some very good advice and TheDuck gave it to you too. Just ride it for a while and see. I am 6'3" and I had a hard time even getting my legs up on the pegs and thought that a peg lowering kit was definitely in my future. I couldn't ride for more than an hour and I was begging for an excuse to stop and look around becausemy butt hurt. (I rode Goldwings and still do) I rode it for the suggested 1 year. I still have the same Corbin seat and never did end up getting a peg lowering kit. It came with Helibar risers and still has them. I would consider finding a pair of Converti bars but only for a very good price as it isn't really a need. Now I will hop on the bike and go on 5 to 7,000 mile trips doing 7 to 800 miles a day if I need to and get off and be fine. What I did change to be able to do that was put on a MRA Vario touring adjustable lip windshield, upgraded suspension so now it's smooth, Electronic Cruise Control by Beestoy (forum member). I had never ridden anything like this and my body had to adjust is my theory.
I like my digital dash and that surprised me as I hate them in cars and love analog gages. Maybe because it is so easy to see at a glance but I still have an analog tach which I like... so the best of both worlds?
Good luck to your hunt.
Guy

I hear you XX. I always find it takes around 500miles for my body to learn a new bike. Plus as you and the duck say, try first, I have arms like a chimp so haven't used bar risers to date. It's just that lots of XX seem to have them and peg lowering so I thought I'd ask.

 

[XXGUY]

I hear you XX. I always find it takes around 500miles for my body to learn a new bike. Plus as you and the duck say, try first, I have arms like a chimp so haven't used bar risers to date. It's just that lots of XX seem to have them and peg lowering so I thought I'd ask.

Oh, I love my Helibar risers. Or VFR bars work well too. I have a set of those in a box on a shelf. I wouldn't ride it without one or the other!
If you're near the Northern Illinois area stop by and we can go for a test ride. I have multiple bikes.

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