How to Make Your Bike Fit You

July 6 2011 by Jason Fogelson

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I got a call from the dealership's service manager, Tom. I had left my Sportster, Manny,with Tom that morning to get a new set of tires spooned on, and had ordered up some routine maintenance at the same time.

"I've got some bad news." You never want to hear that from your service manager. "I've only ever had to make this call one time before, and I had hoped never to have to make it again." My heart was racing. What had they discovered? What was wrong with my beloved Manny? "We dropped your bike off the lift. Your bike was up on the lift, and it fell off."

"Oh, my God. Was anybody hurt?"

"No, nobody hurt. Only your bike. How soon can you get down here?"

By the time the phone hit the cradle, I was out the door, rushing over to the dealership to assess the damage.

Poor Manny. He had sustained damage to his entire left side. Damaged front fender. Dented fuel tank. Damaged rear fender. Bent footpegs. Scratched engine case. Broken windshield. Bent handlebars. Broken handgrips, hand controls and mirror. Broken horn cover. You name it, it was demolished.

Tom took total responsibility, and promised me that he would put my bike back to better-than-new condition, no matter what the cost or how long it took. The dealership loaned me a new Sportster to ride during the repairs.

Finally, three months later, Tom called me back to the dealership. My 18 year-old Sportster looked like new again, refurbished with new old stock parts. I swapped keys with Tom, and rode home again.

My Sportster ran beautifully. He looked great. But something was wrong. He didn't feel like my Manny anymore.

Over the course of ownership, I had made dozens of little changes and adjustments to make my Sportster fit my body, and Tom's repairs had not been able to replicate the tweaks. So, I was forced to figure out how to make my bike fit my body again.

I started with the handlebars. There's quite a degree of adjustability built into a stock set of handlebars. You can completely change your riding posture with just a few degrees of tilt. My bike has a triple tree clamp that holds the round steel bar in place. By loosening the clamp, I was able to adjust the handlebars up to provide more knee space in turns. I used an old trick to figure out the right position. I sat on the bike, held it upright, and closed my eyes. Then, I put my hands out in front of me where I felt like the ideal handlebar grips would be. I opened my eyes, and saw how far out of adjustment the bars were from my ideal, took some measurements, and made the adjustments. If you're lucky, your bars will adjust to your ideal position. It not, you may have to buy a new set of bars to fit your ideal position. Luckily, handlebars are not very expensive -- generally around $200.

Next, I attacked my footpegs. I use Kuryakyn Iso Pegs, and the dealership had installed them with their tops level to the ground. I have big feet, and I've discovered that I need to angle the pegs forward in order to be comfortable. So, I did. It's also possible to change the height of some footpegs, either by changing the mounting location or by using an accessory mounting plate. A shift of just a few inches can make a big difference in your comfort, so explore to find the sweet spot.

I was already very happy with my Sportster's seat, which thankfully was not damaged in the fall. Seat height can be a big issue, especially for riders with shorter legs. You can lose as much of an inch in reach by choosing a seat with a thinner profile, and the switch is simple on most bikes.

Finally, I decided to do something about my mirrors, which for years had given me a view of my own shoulders, and not much more. I replaced the stockers with a set of Harley-Davidson accessory mirrors with a slightly longer stem than my old set, and now I can actually see what is behind me. Much better.

The lesson I had to learn, for the second time on the same bike, was that even a good bike can be made better with some careful attention to detail. Take the time to adjust your bike to your body, and you'll have a custom ride in the best possible sense.

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