Motorcycle Ergonomics
If you have a dollar's worth of attention, you will want to spend it wisely.
Whether you are up-shifting your motorcycle for the thousandth time or glancing in your rear view mirror for the hundredth time today, every activity on a motorcycle costs something.
A new rider can spend 50 cents worth of attention shifting their bike from first to second gear while a veteran rider might only spend 5 cents on the same activity.
When the motorcycle's controls are located in an ergonomic position, we can spend our attention watching for hazards not watching our hands.
The bars should be forward enough to keep pressure on your front wheel yet in a position that doesn't put unnecessary pressure on your wrists or pull on your triceps.
If the position is not to your liking, mark the handlebar position with a Sharpie, whiteout or nail polish near the handlebar clamps so you have a reference point.
Loosen the four pinch bolts that connect the handlebars to your triple tree and pivot the bar in either direction until you find a good position, then torque the handlebar bolts back to the manufacturer's settings.
Moving the handlebar will alter the angle of your clutch and brake lever.
Loosen the pinch bolt, mark the lever's current location and rotate the levers so that your fingers lay across the levers without effort.
Even if you thought the levers were in a good position, a few degrees in either direction can vastly improve feel.
Cables stretch from use so the clutch and throttle cables that used to be in a good place are now somewhere else, forcing us to take up the cable's slack before we can actuate the throttle or clutch.
Adjustments are made by screwing in or out the hollow bolt on the clutch perch.
Unscrew the bolt 180-degrees, put the bike in gear, pull in the clutch and try to push the bike.
The bike should move easily so if you are encountering drag, try turning the bolt in 180-degree increments until the resistance is nominal.
The throttle cables operate on the same principle but use two cables, one to push and one to close the throttle plate.
Each will have an adjusting nut on either the perch or built into the cable.
The throttle should have 1-2 millimeters of free play, but more or less this is personal preference.
Set the throttle to your liking, turn the bike on and rotate the handlebars from one extreme to the other to ensure the idle does not surge, which indicates a cable is too tight.
Handlebar location is critical to comfort, as our hands never leave the bars when riding.
So why not put them somewhere comfortable? Straddle the bike and grab the handlebars.
Move the handlebars and levers, change your mirrors and get into your riding position.
Give your mirrors a second look.
If you don't like what you see reposition the mirrors to show the tip of your elbows and outward towards an adjacent lane of traffic.
With the front of your bike set up properly, we turn our attention to the rear brake and gear change lever.
Rear brakes should be positioned near the upper portion of your ankle's pivot so that you can completely depress the brake when needed.
The rear brake is adjusted using two bolts threaded on a shaft.
Loosening the top bolt gives you room to tighten the bottom bolt, which pulls the back of the lever up and pivots the business end of the lever down.
The reverse operation raises the lever.
Lastly, we arrive at the gearshift lever, which should be at the upper 3/4 of your left foot's pivot, leaving your foot enough room to up shift without have to strain your ankle.
Adjust the gearshift by loosening the pinch bolt on the lever, pulling the lever off the spline and rotating the lever a couple of degrees in either direction to raise or lower the lever.
When you find a good position, reinsert the lever onto the spline and tighten the pinch bolt.
Practice shifting up and down to make sure the new position has the clearance to pivot up and down.
You have a dollar's worth of attention; spend it looking for hazards not levers.
Whether you are up-shifting your motorcycle for the thousandth time or glancing in your rear view mirror for the hundredth time today, every activity on a motorcycle costs something.
A new rider can spend 50 cents worth of attention shifting their bike from first to second gear while a veteran rider might only spend 5 cents on the same activity.
When the motorcycle's controls are located in an ergonomic position, we can spend our attention watching for hazards not watching our hands.
The bars should be forward enough to keep pressure on your front wheel yet in a position that doesn't put unnecessary pressure on your wrists or pull on your triceps.
If the position is not to your liking, mark the handlebar position with a Sharpie, whiteout or nail polish near the handlebar clamps so you have a reference point.
Loosen the four pinch bolts that connect the handlebars to your triple tree and pivot the bar in either direction until you find a good position, then torque the handlebar bolts back to the manufacturer's settings.
Moving the handlebar will alter the angle of your clutch and brake lever.
Loosen the pinch bolt, mark the lever's current location and rotate the levers so that your fingers lay across the levers without effort.
Even if you thought the levers were in a good position, a few degrees in either direction can vastly improve feel.
Cables stretch from use so the clutch and throttle cables that used to be in a good place are now somewhere else, forcing us to take up the cable's slack before we can actuate the throttle or clutch.
Adjustments are made by screwing in or out the hollow bolt on the clutch perch.
Unscrew the bolt 180-degrees, put the bike in gear, pull in the clutch and try to push the bike.
The bike should move easily so if you are encountering drag, try turning the bolt in 180-degree increments until the resistance is nominal.
The throttle cables operate on the same principle but use two cables, one to push and one to close the throttle plate.
Each will have an adjusting nut on either the perch or built into the cable.
The throttle should have 1-2 millimeters of free play, but more or less this is personal preference.
Set the throttle to your liking, turn the bike on and rotate the handlebars from one extreme to the other to ensure the idle does not surge, which indicates a cable is too tight.
Handlebar location is critical to comfort, as our hands never leave the bars when riding.
So why not put them somewhere comfortable? Straddle the bike and grab the handlebars.
Move the handlebars and levers, change your mirrors and get into your riding position.
Give your mirrors a second look.
If you don't like what you see reposition the mirrors to show the tip of your elbows and outward towards an adjacent lane of traffic.
With the front of your bike set up properly, we turn our attention to the rear brake and gear change lever.
Rear brakes should be positioned near the upper portion of your ankle's pivot so that you can completely depress the brake when needed.
The rear brake is adjusted using two bolts threaded on a shaft.
Loosening the top bolt gives you room to tighten the bottom bolt, which pulls the back of the lever up and pivots the business end of the lever down.
The reverse operation raises the lever.
Lastly, we arrive at the gearshift lever, which should be at the upper 3/4 of your left foot's pivot, leaving your foot enough room to up shift without have to strain your ankle.
Adjust the gearshift by loosening the pinch bolt on the lever, pulling the lever off the spline and rotating the lever a couple of degrees in either direction to raise or lower the lever.
When you find a good position, reinsert the lever onto the spline and tighten the pinch bolt.
Practice shifting up and down to make sure the new position has the clearance to pivot up and down.
You have a dollar's worth of attention; spend it looking for hazards not levers.
