Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive


Subject: RE: Handlebar question

Author: Ambo-@netscape.net

Date: Jul 9, 2003, 1:54 PM

Post ID: 1713702623



Hi Rex,
With the police bars my back got sore between my shoulder blades. My theory is that the angle of my hands/wrists/arms with the police bars was pushing my shoulder blades together and straining muscles in that area. If you look at the pics on the Moto Guzzi Classics site, both the Special and Police bars look like they angle your hands at more than a 50* angle (lots of pullback) whereas the civilian bars are much less severe, probably around 30*. The police bars were probably designed more for good control at "patrol speed" and for relatively short distances. The civilian bars seem more suited to extended periods in the saddle. For me the most comfortable bikes I've had didn't always have the greatest seats (Morini 500 Strada and 350K2) but had bars with moderate pullback and leaned me forward about 15* with the pegs almost directly under my hips. YMMV. Cheers,

Charlie

Rex Clark <rccla-@comcast.net> wrote:

 Hi Cam,

I just talked to Josh at Moto Guzzi Classics. It seems that their website has
the bars reversed. What they list as the "Special" bars on their website is
actually the "Police" bars and vice-versa. They weren't aware of the mistake
until I inquired about it. Hope this helps.

Rex
 I now realize I have the "Special" bars on my police bike too. Wonder if
that was an option when new. Mark, what's the deal?

rccla-@comcast.net wrote:
 
Hi Paul,

Well I just went out and checked after looking at Mark's website. My
back
doesn't have either the civilian bars or the police bars. I have the
third
option which he calls special bars. No doubt about it. I don't know
whether
thoise were original to my bike or not. Thanks for helping.

Rex
 Rex,

Look at this link to Marks website and you can see the difference in the

police versus civilian bars and the special bar.

http://www.motoguzziclassics.com/MGCParts2.asp

Paul

rccla-@comcast.net wrote:
 
Hi Charlie,

Thanks for your reply. Now I'm not sure which bars I have. I have only
had
this bike for a few months and have never really seen another one, but a

s you
state it seems that your hands are at an odd angle. I have a 1972
California
model which as I understand it is basically a police bike with chrome
fenders.
Therefore it has floorboards instead of pegs, the Harley style
kicklstand and
the side mounted ignition switch and no tachometer, just the single
mounted
speedometer. I take it from that that I also have the police style
handlebars.
Therefore with the slightly higher seat my hands are only about three
inches
above my knees. I noticed today while riding my GL1100 that my hands are

a
good 8-10 inches above my knees and that I don't have to lean as far
forward
to hold onto the bars. I thought maybe that there might be some kind of
risers
or a different handlebar that wouldn't look too wierd and still bring my

hands
up and/or back a few inches. Bruce Giller (on the list) sent me an
e-mail
today and said that I had described his problem almost perfectly and he
was
also trying to arrive at a solution. Thanks again. All ideas or comments

are
gratefully accepted.

Rex
 Hi Rex,
I never liked the police bars, they seemed to put my hands at an
unnatural
angle. Of course, they were on peg equipped bikes and not board ones.

For the first five years I had my '69 Ambo, it had GS1000 Suzuki bars on

it that
the original owner had installed. With those bars I got lots of wind
noise from
the police fairing and my back (especially the tailbone) got sore on
extended
rides. A crash on my SP in '85 resulted in a badly sprained but
otherwise
undamaged back, but it still bothers me from time to time. I switched
back to
the stock "civilian" bars and I'm now down out of the wind and my back
no longer
bothers me. More weight is now bore by my thighs and the lean forward
helps keep
my back curvature more correct. The Ambo also seems a lot more sporty
(if Ambo
and sporty can be used in the same sentence!:-)) kind of like an SPs
grandpa.

It could be a switch to the civilian bars may help you as well - hope
so!
Cheers,

Charlie

Rex Clark <rccla-@comcast.net> wrote:

>Hi everybody,

I have a '72 Eldorado California with footboards and police bars (at
least I
believe they are the original style bars) I am 6'3" with a 34" inseam
and had
Rich Maund build a seat to accomodate my size (the original foam was
pretty
well gone anyway) After riding a short time my back is hurting pretty
badly. I
have a 1981 Honda GL1100 with a backrest I can ride all day (400 miles
or so)
with no problem at all. My question is this. The handlebars on the
Guzzi
 
 
 
 >
only
bring my hands up to about 3 inches higher than my knees but on the
Honda the
bars are much higher in relation to the rest of my body. It seems to me
that
my backache might be at least partially caused by the much lower
position of
the handlebars. Of course part of the problem is that I'm 56 years old
and had
some disc damage sustained in an auto accident a few years ago. And the
backrest on the Honda helps a lot also. But I'm just trying to help the
situation as best I can. I wonder if anyone an opinion or suggestions
on
 
 
 
 >

things to try. I wuold like to ride to some rallies but right now would
probably have to take the Honda:-( Thanks in advance.

Rex Clark





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Paul
Midlothian, Va
73 Eldo "Elvira" at a halt in favor of "Daisy"
74 Eldo "Daisy" new project



Cam in NJ
'74 Eldo Police

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