slybonesjesse
Sport Tourer
I got them today and installed them tonight. Have not even ridden with them yet. Tomorrow morning will be the first time with them. Just had to share. I used to have Genmar lowers, back in early 2006. When I ordered my Rick Mayer Saddle I had the genmar lowers installed. -- However in the quest to reduce knee pain for the wife, we tried a few things. With the help of several COG threads back then we came to the conclusion that she needed to stretch out by reaching forward and putting her feet on the rider pegs, while my feet were forward on the highway pegs. Then we can switch back and forth. The problem was, she cannot reach the pegs with the Genmar lowers on. But she could reach the stock pegs. So off come the lowers and the stock pegs have been on there for the last almost 3 years. In that time I noticed that I have never really sat on my Rick Mayer Saddle they way it was intended. I have often though about sending it back and having it changed. Partly was the position of the saddle wings itself. They are back quite a bit more than I liked. I kinda had to force myself to sit back in the saddle. Well so I thought. There is a recent thread about peg lowering. And people recommended the knee savers. Which is of course what I would do too. This got me playing around over the last week while riding to work. On my local backroads I started lowering my feet where I thought the pegs would be. To my surprise its more than just changing the angle of the knee. It also changed the angle at the hips, my hips rotated forward just a little bit, and my back straightened. WTF??? I soon realized that I was sitting forward to maintain a straighter angle in my hips. And that with my feet lowered, the new hip angle and rotation I could sit back in the saddle and it felt totally natural. So the Knee Savers go on order, and I tell the wife were just going to have to figure something else out for her. That this was just turning out to be more than a knee saver. Its a knee, hip, back and butt saver. Who would have thought.... So heres the best part. I get them installed and I call her out to get on the pass seat and try them out. SHE CAN REACH THEM JUST FINE. No problem what so ever. We soon dismiss than because I am not sitting on the bike. So its time for me to get on and then let her try again. So at this point its worth noting that with the stock pegs she could reach them, but her feet were on the outside of the pegs. She kinda had to twist her ankle and angle her feet in a bit to get them to hold on the pegs. But still it allowed her to stretch out. Well with knee savers she can reach them BETTER than the stock pegs. While lower I believe they are back more. Some how the back offsets the lower and she still reached them fine. In fact back it better because it easier to reach around my fat butt. She does not have to work so hard to hold her feet on the pegs. And she says there is more room for her. The way the pegs changed the whole angle of my hips, rotated them forward and straightened my back, she says it gives her more room. Last week before ordering I was out there showing her the difference. She could see how I was sitting both before and after. Tonight I am sitting there with the bike on the center stand and she is moving her hand around back there at the back of the saddle and where my butt connects and says its completely changed the way my weight is distributed in the saddle. --- Of course this is all theory, I have not even gone for a ride yet. I did move the shifter and brake lever. And I am sure I'll tweak them 1-2 more times before I am happy. Nor have we ridden 2-up with full gear. So there will be many ride reports to come. Just wanted to share the whole experience tonight. I was really dreading having to tell her sorry but too bad, I am putting lowers back in. Turns out a total win win situation. They work better for her too. 2003 Concours, 47K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm
