Wonder how you would fit on other bikes?

[4strings]

I came across http://cycle-ergo.com/ while browsing kneesliders.com.  It is really cool to see how you may look and feel riding different bikes based on your body dimensions.  Don't miss the feature that allows you to compare multiple bikes' riding positions.  It could be great for someone looking to trade up or add a new member to the family.

[madjak30]

I like that site too...I found it a couple of months ago (someone suggested it to me...maybe in here?)...I don't know how accurate it is, but it gives you an idea of what to expect...it's still a good idea to go sit on the bike, don't just go by the simulator...

Happy shopping...

Later.

[4strings]

Well of course don't just trust the sim., but it's a nice tool for sure.

[noiseguy]

Hey, better than nothing.

I'm 6' and always felt my knees are too "bent" on the GS. This software is showing the same thing, based on other bikes I've ridden that were more comfortable. Also, how much I can get from raising the seat a couple of inches (about 7 degrees.)

Now, I just need to know how much knee bend is really acceptable on a bike. Anyone got a design criteria for motorcycle ergonomics lying around?

[madjak30]

I've got a 32" inseam (probably similar to you), and have found that bikes that are labelled with 105deg knee bend or less are comfortable...100deg is really quite good...

I think the sim allows you to adjust the seat height, but if not just shorten your inseam on the sim to get a similar effect...

Later.

[makenzie71]

Try to drop the seat height on something 30"

[noiseguy]

I've got a 32" inseam (probably similar to you), and have found that bikes that are labelled with 105deg knee bend or less are comfortable...100deg is really quite good...

I think the sim allows you to adjust the seat height, but if not just shorten your inseam on the sim to get a similar effect...

Later.

Yep, 6' and 32" inseam.

It does model seat height; it's called "seat rise." +2 inches brings me up from 110 degrees stock to 103 degrees knee bend. I'm going to grab some seat foam and try it out. Commuting on this bike is killing my knees.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

Stickman me looks damned good on a street triple.  If I were a stickman with an unrestriced license and could afford the repayments (and insurance) on the Striple, I'd be looking now.  Got a year left of power to weight restrictions, and the GS is a very cheap bike to own.

[madjak30]

Yep, 6' and 32" inseam.

It does model seat height; it's called "seat rise." +2 inches brings me up from 110 degrees stock to 103 degrees knee bend. I'm going to grab some seat foam and try it out. Commuting on this bike is killing my knees.

Try just hooking your heels on the pegs, that kinda works for me so that I can get over an hour before my knees are needing a break...I'm looking at getting something with more leg room, but I don't want to have to add 2" of seat foam...1" maybe, but 2" is a lot...

Stickman me looks damned good on a street triple.  If I were a stickman with an unrestriced license and could afford the repayments (and insurance) on the Striple, I'd be looking now.  Got a year left of power to weight restrictions, and the GS is a very cheap bike to own.

Power to weight restrictions...man, I would be able to ride a gixxer straight away...

Kidding aside...I hope we go to some kind of graduated lisencing here in Canada...right now you can go do your road test, pass...then go to the dealer and get a Hyabusa or an R1 for a first bike...NUTS!!

I'm glad I went the way I did, my wife isn't (kinda ticked off that I want another bike this year...??)...GS500 first to learn on, then the Hyabusa...   Kidding...kinda...

Later.

[jeffdodge]

There would be many less deaths every year if they did that here in the states.. plus probably less squids on liter bikes...

A graduated license wouldn't bother me a bit.

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

I think a nervous learner could quite safely putter around on a litre bike, but I doubt they'd get much out of it.  They're either going to ride the fun bags off it, and be admitted to the spinal unit within a month, or they're going to putter slowly around corners, afraid to touch the throttle on their scary way too powerful bike.   I think that'd be me.

The nice thing about the GS as a learner bike is that the power comes on gradually and predictably, so that a new rider like me can actually get on the throttle early in a corner and keep rolling it on right through to the exit.  The power it does have is enough to have lots of fun at my skill level without scaring myself too much.  It's also flexible enough through the rev range to be able to pick a gear that feels about right, and use it through a series of corners.  Then I can concentrate on the cornering without having to worry about whether I've picked the wrong gear and now I'm going to unbalance the bike shifting mid corner. 

[madjak30]

Man, even the GS can catch you out if you are ham fisted...I was taking an on ramp to the main hiway after I was riding maybe six or seven weeks, saw an openning and had to speed up to fit the hole.  I was too green to realize that when you roll on the throttle in a corner, the bike tends to stand up...so I went wide on the ramp and luckily was just ahead of the car or I would have come very close to hitting it...I crossed the line a little into the lane of traffic, and I was totally panic'd...scared the hell out of me because I didn't know to lean the bike over further to hold the line... ...it's little things like that that kinda prove you should start out small...I was getting pretty confident in my riding, but had I been on a liter bike who knows where I would have ended up...maybe I would have been more cautious, but I doubt it...probably would have ended up on the hood of a car...

You only have to do that sort of thing once to "learn from it", but the learning curve isn't as steep on the lower powered bikes...

Later.

[noiseguy]

This thread's gone sideways. I agree on graduated licences... also think they would put better riders on the street.

But then I also think riders should wear gear and a helmet, not shorts, sandals, and sunglasses, and I appear to be in the minority.

Power is a point of reference. The guy I bought my GS from was scared of it because it was "so fast." I guess he'd spent most of his time on 125cc dirt bikes?

[DoD#i]

Now, I just need to know how much knee bend is really acceptable on a bike.

Based on stuff seen here, and observations of the world at large, "it varies."

I'm not all that tall and I find the GS500 stock position "too bent" - it has improved since I put another 2" of firm foam in my seat. There are plenty of 6 foot + folks who say that they are perfectly happy with the stock GS position. Whether it correlates by old-age creakiness or only personal preference, I don't know. All I know is it makes my knees ache, and I want less angle.

Perception probably also varies between mindset - for the folks that find the GS500 to be a potential or actual race bike / sport bike, bending probably seems like a good thing. For myself, I was looking for something UJM-ish that wasn't as old and hard to maintain as my UJM - which had a much more relaxed leg angle, and the GS was as close as the current crop came that I could find.

As such, "suit yourself."