Tweaking a Bandit for a tall rider?

[nickowatts]

Hey Folks,

I think the Bandit 12 is the best bike for the riding I want to do, but I desperately need help tweaking one for my height (6'8").

I've sat on one for a while and I felt cramped in the knees and I know that after a few hours that would turn into one sharp pain. I just need a few inches of space between the seat and the pegs.

I hope this is a simple tweak, I would appreciate any advice people can give like products, stores, or people in the know.  Can I lower the pegs? Are there any aftermarket seats that can be raised? Anything else?

I've been riding a few years so I'm still a newbie in most terms, so I don't know all of the factors to take into account when changing the geometry of the bike.

A larger question would be, what references do people use when determining the fit of a motorcycle? I'm used to road bicycling where the fit of your bicycle is incredibly important. I just don't see too much of that in motorcycling, especially when I talk to dealers.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

Nick

[ZenMan]

Nick!

It would help to know the model/year of your Bandit. Some later models have adjustable seats, earlier models would probably require an aftermatket seat, pegs, etc...

[nickowatts]

I don't have a particular year in mind, but probably between '97 and '02.

[Red01]

The 3rd Generation bodywork ('05-up 650, '06 1200 & '07 1250) have an adjustable seat that'll raise ~1" and I wouldn't be surprised if someone couldn't get a little crative and eek out a little more, but haven't heard of anyone doing that yet.

For the earlier ones, your best bet would be to have the seat reworked by one of the several seat specialists out there like Sargent, Rich's, Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer.

I don't know of anyone offering footpeg lowering kits, but there are raising options. This is mostly because no one wants to sacrifice cornering clearance with lower pegs. The only thing I know of you could do if you do want to lower the pegs is to replace the stock pegs with a pair of pegs from a Buell. I'm not sure if anyone's used these on a Bandit, but they have been used on other Suzukis with similar pegs, like Hayabusas and RF900s. Here's what a RF900 owner said it took to make 'em work on his bike:

I thought some of you might like to see my Buell footpeg conversion on my RF900. After seeing some post of people doing the same to their VFRs etc., I thought I would give it a try on my RF. After removing the stock pegs and shim arrangement, I found that the Buell pegs would slide right in, at least as far as the height of them went. I had to file away some material off the front side of the pegs in order to get them to slide in far enough so that the holes lined up. I was able to use the existing stock pin bushing by drilling out the holes in the Buell peg with a 15/32" drill. The bushings slipped right in nice like but were a little bit short, so I took up the slack with an o-ring. My thought was that the o-ring would help to keep water out of the bushings as well. Here are some snap shots. Sorry I didn't get any before and after shots of the pegs.

[nickowatts]

Cool, so would this lower the pegs? I'm not too familiar with the difference between Buell and Suzuki pegs.

Thanks for the info!

[txbanditrydr]

Another consideration would be a product like the Air-Hawk... when inlated to the maximum it can add nearly 2" to the seat height.

[Red01]

Cool, so would this lower the pegs? I'm not too familiar with the difference between Buell and Suzuki pegs.

Thanks for the info!

The stock pegs come straight out of the brackets instead of the drop the Buel pegs have.

[Dave 02 1200]

I am 6'7'' tall.

On my naked 02 1200 I have changed the handlebars to "superbike" bend which opens up the riding position by moving the grips slightly forward.  

The other modification was the Hayabusa rear shock which raises the rear about 1.2" and provides better ground clearance and makes the bike fit me better.

The additional ground clearance provided by the Hayabusa shock would be an excellent starting point if you are planning to lower the footpegs because they would not touch the road as early.  Safety and comfort.

A seat pad is also a good idea for tall riders.  I have a piece of closed cell foam from a throwable boat cushion that I cut to fit the rider's seat.  It allows me to change position periodically by alternating back and fourth from the seat without the pad to the seat with the pad.  It makes a big difference on a long trip.

My Bandit fits me very well and it is the most comfortable motorcycle I have ever ridden, by far!  However, I have not ridden a new 1250 yet.  They look very good.

Paul, I am now thinking about the Buell pegs.  Thanks for the idea.

[solman]

Yeah, I was thinking about the busa shock idea as well. I personally would start there.

[smooth operator]

Yeah, I was thinking about the busa shock idea as well. I personally would start there.

  I did the same thing with the GSX-R shock,then when I switched to a Works Performance shock it was back to stock height. So I had a pair of linkage bones made 4mm shorter wiched raised it back up 1 1/2".(brother-in-law has a fab shop,he cut them out and I drilled the holes)
  Dan