Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive
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Subject: Re: Handlebar question

Author: rccla-@comcast.net

Date: Jul 9, 2003, 7:10 AM

Post ID: 1713697377


HI Mike,

With my inseam length, my seat and the floorboards I am pretty much locked
into an upright position. I do have a National Cycle windshield which works
great. My handlebar is what Moto Guzzi Classics calls a "special" bar as
opposed to the police or civilian bar. I think you are absolutely correct. I
need a bar that is higher and more rearward than the one I have at present.
Also my seat was rebuilt by Rich Maund on a stock pan. I asked Rich if we
could put a backrest on it and he said no because of the way the pan is made.
Thanks for your help. Any further suggestions would be welcomed.

Rex
Hi Rex, Charlie's right....most long distance riders find it more
comfortable to have a slight lean forward...it does take pressure off the
back. If you want a upright position you'll want good wind protection, a
back rest and handlebars that require no reach. Good luck.

EldoMike

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rex Clark" <rccla-@comcast.net>
To: <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 10:01 PM
Subject: RE: Handlebar question


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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