Motorcycle Ergonomics: Fitting the Motorcycle to You 

I feel that so hard xD

Not silly, we have to learn from somewhere. He’s just been doing this forever, and he has made fine tuning his world.

and it sounds even more silly talking about it, but he's right, I happen to look at my levers the other day and they were way out of reach.

9:48pm rn, and I'm finna runnin' straight up to my bike🏃‍♂️

I did the same thing 😂😂 I don’t know why I didn’t think of it when he talked about the rental car scenario, but it’s such a no-brainer!

Very insulting is right. He's an arrogant prick.

@@mattybt400 Pretty much what I saw

old school?! Pretty mellow style for old school. Seems good at explaining things. Not at all an "arrogant prick" What insults?

@@mattybt400 eck. Chuck the ego. Even as a millennial I know to listen to someone who's probably forgotten more about the sport than ill know in my lifetime. Sometimes it takes a hard tone to instill the knowledge in thick skulls. Humble keeps you on the saddle.

Amazing. I have learned so much. Moss, I am applying these techniques today. Hopefully my numb wrist will be gone. Thank you very much.

And thanks a lot for being honest !!

I believe it. I’m 5’, 100-110 lb and have super small hands, feet, everything. I was worried about how I’d flatfoot anything or how to handle the weight but day 1, I almost gave up due to upper body ergonomics especially my hands. I have nerve pain in outer fingers and wrist so I expected to have some trouble maybe but it was so bad I couldn’t focus. My ergonomics isn’t perfect now but now I am on a bike I can reach and control the levers and it made a huge difference.

I think importance of ergonomics should be highlighted more from the beginning and for short riders how it’s not just about inseam/flat footing.

@@1chienandalou Bike Shops do a sh!t job of it

@@glenholmgren1218 I also ride MTBs, which really does not fall far from Motorcycling in terms of fit, comfort and adjustments. I find that in MTB Bike fit is more highlighted than in motorcycling. I adjust my levers the same way on my MTBs and brought it to my motorcycle. I also learned how to tune suspensions through MTB which has a lot more configurations like rebound, damping, preload, etc.

i hope you dont ride...

I DO hope you ride and that you will enjoy it immensely.

@@henkondemand yeah the more simples on the road the better !

I agree with Jersey boy, I wish I had heard that analogy earlier, the more you think about it the more it makes sense.

@@friendshippage8074 Nothing wrong with being honest

It's funny, I'm a bicycle geek. Bike riders of all levels obsess over bike fit. But you hardly hear about it with motorcycles this is the first video I've come across.

@@TRDBucket cyclists are extremely anal about fitment.

well they should teach you when you are getting the license

​@@Halfbittenjalapeno Cyclists (no matter what discipline) are just anal about everything especially water bottle holders and weight.

@@TRDBucket I totally agree with you.

Erik Diemer yes!!! Couldn’t agree more ❤️

@@badgerman23 When teaching someone how to drive... you set up the controls and make them use and find all the others when you say its name.

Not really... Most bikes are barely adjustable, that's because it's completely different setup from a car, it's more universal. Body adapts naturally to motorcycle just like on bicycle, all you need is right motorcycle. Those minor few degree adjustments barely change anything during the ride.

I am!! hehehe

If I may say, as a person who has worked in the bicycle industry, as well as someone who rides thousands of miles each year for the past 40+ years, it is common on a bicycle, whether it’s road or mountain, for an rider, and or pro shop who wishes their customer to have the most amount of comfort and ergonomic efficiency and safety, to adjust the following parts on a bike: handle bar width and rise/drop; stem length and rise/drop; brake lever position and reach; crank arm length; width distance between pedals; seat height, fore/aft, and tilt positions. Nearly all of the above transfers to a motorcycle, be it street or dirt. At least, that’s what I have done for my Moto and Sportbike set-ups. With all that being said, everyone has different degrees of tolerance, so what may be acceptable to one rider (knowingly, or unknowingly), may not be for another.

It's 00:42 where I am right now, and I just went out to check my levers. Definitely needs adjusting

You bet!!!

I adjust my liver every night, with anywhere from 4 to 8 beers!

Yep. I had just a couple situations where I had to grab the frontbrake and always thought: why do I open the throttle? This is helpful. Never thought that you could also adjust the position of the bar, only thought I could change the lever... Thnx Dave!

Maximus Max 😂

Thanks for sharing Owais - Is there a shop in Pakistan that rents heavy sports bikes ?

Good to see a dealer who will go the extra mile for customer service, good on you mate 👍

@@AM._.. Touring bikes are available in Islamabad, usually tourists avail this service to visit northern areas.

@@soliddiesel7 Thank you 🙏🏻

Great perspective and thank you for your comment.

Did he help you over the internet? If so, what is the process?

Heck no!!! All bikes are different bruh nawww it should be a part of the class as a teaching aide but not mandatory. Nobody is this technical when riding motorcycles but people who 🏁. Its good to know but not necessary.

@@MicMurphy1981 mmm yes sure, so when the riders don't understand ergonomics and have a completely aching body position, their knees rub which distracts them, their arms cramp from angled wrists, they can't brake properly because of a cramp and because of too-wide bars they over-steer and have a head on with a semi-trailer. I believe at least the basics of this video should be explained, so many riders stop having uncomfortable riding experiences and just thinking that's one of the downsides of owning a bike, and make them realize they can MAKE it comfortable and much safer.

New riders already have so so much to think about, they shouldn't also have sharp things hitting their knees, steering difficulties from un-adjusted bars, and losing some of their control from aches and cramps. It can be fatal for the beginners!

I think importance of ergonomics should be highlighted more from the beginning. Ergonomics is important for everyone but if you’re at the outer edges of the normal distribution wrt riding population re size/weight/shape you it may make your ride especially unsafe or even impossible. A beginner does not know that and well meaning friends and enthusiasts and motorcycle dealerships usually tell you it’ll all be OK. For short riders sometimes it’s mentioned but usually it’s all about inseam/flat footing. But you need to be reaching levers comfortably and feeling them well. I am petite all over and will probably always have some concerns re ergonomics and need adjusting. But I didn’t know that because people (men) kept telling me they “ understand exactly how it is” for me based on being 5’8” and having ridden a tall adv or dual sport or something. It is so not the same thing! When it was so much harder for me just to even get on any bike, I was discouraged. I even almost gave up on day 1 because of the bike I was on in my MSF class - I could flatfoot but my upper body is shorter and the levers were so far and the clutch had an angle I could barely hold and overall my arms were too so short so even turning was difficult. After an hour or two it became so painful and numb it was distracting and eventually unsafe. I realise now that isn’t normal and is adjustable but wish I had understood.

@@rynwolfeh1904 compared to Dave, we may all be beginners lol.

And yet he sports ape hangers on his vespa.

Thank you for your post! It would have been interesting to see the salesman and his reaction to "What glove size are you? So this is set up for small to XXL hand sizes?" Nothing wrong with asking a question as you never know where that question will take the recipient.

I rode for 20 years and did what I was told by my father:- car engine oil in the forks and up the preload for a passenger. We all start somewhere and everything from that point on is a bonus. Enjoy your journey and where possible, please pay it forward with your experience and knowledge gained.

or language. their.

How is the next ride?

@@iqbalnash5748 waaaaaaaay better! I just put some vortex 7 degree clipons today and it's made the bike a lot sportier :D

Ideally yes, but you get 90% of the job done even without. The only thing might be brake lever distance to be fixed. The rest should be the same.

Babs Odumosu absolutely. Big difference for me with and without gloves. Even needed setting up again when I got new gloves (levers much closer)

Im surprised this hasnt been addressed, so many gloves catching on levers could be avoided.

Perfect timing! Please share your results to encourage others to get started!

Thank you for getting your sleeves rolled up and finding an ergonomic setting that leaves you pain free.

Or the alpine stars guy his best mate with similarly shit riding

Theres always the guy who makes up for great riding by dying

would you rather he died? Dude has a brand new bike, brand new gear. Where of all that did you get crappy riding from?

Better than the t-shirt, shorts and sandals LOTS of people consider sufficient for motorcycle riding

If you were comfortable with the setup before it was correct already...

Thank you for using the video to see how you can make yourself more comfortable. Do not forget a 2-3" taller seat to open up your knee angle and make sure the new seat is flat not curved.

I think it should be highlighted for beginners too. I was so discouraged when I first tried riding and my hand/arms were so painful/numb and didn’t realise it would be adjustable. I’m so small I expected the flat footing problems and but it was all new to me and I didn’t know just how important it was going to be to have it better. Everyone shoud the importance of ergonomics but especially beginners and those who are not average sized. It really canmake your ride especially unsafe or even impossible.

Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for commenting.

Thanks for sharing the changes you made and the difference you experienced!

You're welcome!

Thanks for using the content to give you a few pointers with more modern product choices and set up. Hopefully that factors into your purchase choice. Thanks for watching!

Excellent. Please report back on how this helped you with ease of braking and shifting plus less stress on your wrists.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you for watching and then understanding what needs to be done!

Being a geezer has its merits!

Hi Jared. Thanks for using the videos on ergonomics to help you get comfortable. Do not forget to check ankle alignment to hip joint and also that your ankle is more than 90 degrees at the top of the shift up stroke.