Nice article. I need to get new foot pegs for my 1190 as well as a set of bar risers to make standing easier.

Nice article. I need to get new foot pegs for my 1190 as well as a set of bar risers to make standing easier.

I'm also considering bar risers. I signed up for the Wailin Wayne Weekend on Sept. 9-11 which includes several 4 hour trail rides, so there could be a lot of standing going on.

My stock GS bars will adjust perfectly for me for standing or seated.  But, these are two different bar positions via rotation of the bars in the factory mount.  So, for long periods of off-road, I would loosen the bars and adjust them up followed by another adjustment downwards for long days in the seat.

I've considered getting the quick bar adjustors from Wunderlich to make this transition much more easy and quicker.



visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Plus you can flip the factory risers around to move the bars forward if you choose.

None of those things are uniquely suited to BIG bikes.  That's kinda how you should handle any bike off road. 

I just spent about 45 minutes zipping around the trails on the property just working low speed skills in the rocks, soft loamy soil and thick moss.  I'm trying to get better at steering w/ the throttle while keeping my feet on the pegs and practical uses for lifting the wheel in precarious places.

I have a good mix of easy, medium and hard trails to work on.  That of course is relative to the little bike I ride but it still all harkens back to the most important thing you can do which is practice, practice, practice.  I have a very steep hill that I've recently added to the mix.  It's not very long but it's like a 40 degree hill.  I can make it up without too much drama and I've been working on trusting the front brake and body position when going down it.  Daunting. 

I should do a dual sport training / camping weekend where y'all can bring your bikes up and play in the woods and practice in a relatively safe environment.  Start with the driveway, advance to the easy trails then progress as your skills increase.  It's only 20 acres but I find it extremely entertaining. 

Smoker, how do you like the E-07s? I was looking at them when I replaced my K60s. Unfortuntaley they didn't have a 21" yet?

Do they make a 21" now?

My limited review is they are really not as bad as I first thought. I've been known to ride fairly aggressively on the street, and the E07's don't like that. They tend to walk a bit at max lean. I've been relying on the tc to keep me upright more than I should on pavement. Once I got used to the squeamish feeling out was fine.

My off road experience is ver limited compared to yours, but the only problem I've had is in deep mud at speed, the front went sideways and nearly threw me off. Other than that, I've done 80+ mph on dirt/gravel and it felt great.

I would call it a compromise on both. Good on gravel, good on tarmac, not great at either.

Hope this helped.