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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Regarding hip replacement. The private (though a works policy) surgeon who diagnosed my arthritic hip (the one that also has 3 screws in it) says "be right that for 10 years yet". I AM NOT in agony, writhing around struggling to get out of chairs or walk to the loo. I'm at the very early stages as yet. What I am aware of is it's there, niggling.
I am thinking. What style of motorcycle will be best for my future? Is now the time to change? Is now the time to take a sabbatical and do some of the trips I want to do before something else knackers up? And so on and so on and so on.
Upt' - As Mrs Soady has experienced dislocations with the traditional ball-n-socket hip replacement it strikes me as obvious we should not use a ball-n-socket NOR a CV joint as these too can come asunder. I'm thinking a Universal Joint as these don't come apart so easily. The only downside is a UJ might limit movement to 45 degrees and the rotational speed of the hip may very slightly. Both these problems can be fixed by using 2 UJs ensuring they're 90 degrees out of phase. (The 4x4 folks might understand this better)
As for DIY surgery. I did offer to fix Sharon's spinal cord tumour 19 years ago, she seemed unwilling to accept my help. I have a friend with scoliosis - I offered to fit some slotted angle iron to keep his spine straight but he too has turned down my kind offer. I mean come on! If I can get to the tappets on a CB500X then surely surgery will seem simple. In both cases I promised to clean my stanley knife and wash my hands first - I'm not a heathen.
Most of my post comes in the name of Ken or Den or Len because no-one believes anyone would be called Ren.
As for Playboy magazines Hef? Dunno what ya talking about mate, the only books I ever read are Haynes manuals and The Bible.
18/08/2025 07:46:19 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ren, I do not have a lot of experience riding cruisers. I had a Kawasaki en500 cruiser for a few years, and did not really gel with it.
The handling was acceptable once I realised that the steering is slower than a big touring bike, with the increased rake ( lots of counter steering to get it into the corner). Ground clearance was ride limiting, and was always on my mind.
The biggest problem for myself was comfort.
The seat was very plush and comfortable for the first 80 miles or so, but the big problem was with feet forward riding I could not easily stand up on the pegs for relief and to change position.
After a four hundred mile day, the bike was placed on eBay, and although I have short legs I have never looked at a cruiser since.
Glyn, when I first ventured onto this site I had just completed a trip with FOUR wheels, and was made to feel welcome.
The four wheels were two on the motorcycle and two on the trailer.
18/08/2025 08:35:03 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Very interesting point ROD regarding being able to stand up on the pegs. One thing that helps greatly with comfort is just standing and stretching while on the move. I'm quite sure some copper having a bad day would find some legal reason you can't stand on the pegs but a quick up-n-down gets the blood moving and a few more minutes relief.
Now the pegs on the Rebel 500 are "mid-forward". You're not stretched out cheesy rider style, nor are they tucked under your ass where most bike's pegs are...roughly. You might be able to stand on the Rebel, but it might be a wobbly experience.
As for Glyn and his trike? We're a broad church here Glyn, heck you don't even have to ride, being helpful/interesting/funny is more than enough. However being a petty pedantic pain-in-the-ass I might take the mickey because, well, just because. I like trikes, I like them a lot. But. They have all the downsides of a bike ie cold, wet, etc etc and all the downsides of a car ie can't lean and stuck in traffic. They do look very cool.
When I had my little crash I was initially unsure if I'd be able to ride again. I looked at trikes a lot, and quads too, there's some funky quads out there.
18/08/2025 08:59:36 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ren, with my short legs that copper having a bad day would be hard pushed to see much difference between me sitting and standing.
18/08/2025 09:07:20 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I was having this conversation recently, the conclusion was it is probably almost definitely probable that you won't get stopped for a routine stop these days in blighty. I agree.
I cannot recall a scuffer or scuffers doing routine roadside stops in years in this lovely island of lawlessness. Plus when have you seen a car just parked up looking for someone known as "Ren" daring to stretch his legs.
No, I think you could ride around permanently vertical if that was your thing and no one would even notice let alone grab their well thumbed copy of the "Traffic Officer's Companion" to establish if said manoeuvre was legal or naughty. On that note.....everything Ed does is naughty.
Whereas over int'EU they still carry out such nonsense on a regular basis. In recent years I have seen numerous checks taking place, including in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. I blame Brexit!
It would seem common place in this lovely part of Blighty to have large groups of EU types riding GS's whilst fully erect. Every time they enter a restricted zone they lift their overweight sausage filled behinds and ride through the villages in their lofty position.
This cannot be from fatigue as they've only been off the boat for 50 minutes if travelling north. I suspect it's fashion and not physically motivated...."look at me, I'm on a GS and damn you Englanders if you don't like my erectness", or some'at like that.
On the UJ note Ed, I can sort out a couple of old ERF jobbies with grease nipples.
Can you say nipples?
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
18/08/2025 09:43:40 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Upt, Can you say nipples?
I think it depends on your political persuasion and the colour of your skin.
The same as most things these days.
18/08/2025 10:19:26 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ref: Honda cmx 500 Rebel hire.
I could only find one in the UK
£188 and would need a few days away as it's darn sarff.
https://www.farnhamhonda.co.uk/hire-bikes...
18/08/2025 10:35:20 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren I think we're all different , for me I had an '05 Transalp that caused serious hip pain as can the slight feet forward attitude of my Enfield but the slight rearset of my CBR500 is currently the most comfortable. Years ago I had a quick spin on a Honda 750 Magna , peachy smooth motor , loads of go , a long sweeping motorway bend involved some puckering of various parts of my anatomy followed by more when braking on the exit slip road (single disc, flexing forks) and even more when attempting to navigate a roundabout at the end of the slip road, this was on a warm dry day. The owner had serious issues just riding in the wet.
Nigel
18/08/2025 15:06:29 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , alternatively what about clamping a set of universal highway pegs to your 500X crashbars ...
Nigel
https://www.rg-racing.com/browsebike/Universal/Universal/All/HWP0002BK/...
18/08/2025 15:12:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Now - I'm gunna be getting all serious and controversial.
Upt', an ex policeperson, suggests that the chances of being pulled up for standing on the pegs is slim to none. And yet... you're also quite unlikely to be pulled for smoking/vaping and there is no law forbidding smoking or vaping while driving. BUT. There are laws about keeping proper control of the vehicle and these can be used to "kind of" make smoking/vaping illegal. I call these kind of laws catch all laws.
There's no law saying you can't ride a motorcycle in flip-flops but given the right mood and wrong circumstances I reckon a successful prosecution could be brought for not being able to control the bike properly as shifting gears would be painful. I've heard tales that you can't wear sandals while driving because they might get caught up in the pedals!
99.99% of the time you'll be fine. It's when it's not fine. Knocked off the bike while standing up? Your fault, you could have steered out of the way if you'd been sat down and in full control of the bike. I honestly fear that if I were stopped at the lights and rear ended some prat-assed lawyer is going to argue I wasn't fully in control of my bike as I have a built up left boot. I know I know I know I know... but it's there - these stories are rare, terribly rare, but not impossible.
Same with the highway pegs nab301! Can't operate the brake lever when your foot is nowhere near the brake lever.
All this being said. Life is short and for living and you simply cannot cover every single possible outcome. I have the engine bars... I think highway pegs are a good call. If nothing else it'll help me understand how different seating positions help/hinder my comfort.
But... £95 PLUS VAT!!! Are you mad nab301? Temu, £10, that's better.
18/08/2025 17:03:32 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Don't highway pegs come with some sort of extensions to brake & gear levers? Plus, how can you say someone standing on the footrests isn't in control? Ask a trials rider whether they're in control when standing - in fact that's exactly why they do it. Unlike the GS riders Upt' refers to.
19/08/2025 09:53:09 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ian, I think the forward pegs Ed refers too are just accessory footrests that clip on the frame/bars. They have no brake or gear lever compatibility. I would think traditionally made for the US interstate market.
Upt.
19/08/2025 11:01:56 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Yes, hadn't thought about that as I hadn't looked at the link. Assumptions again! I suppose if you do hundreds of miles on freeways and never have to slow down or change gear there's some point to them.
I can't imagine a much worse way to use a bike however.
19/08/2025 11:46:47 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Yes some folks bucket list includes Route 66. I'd pay someone else to do it for me.
Not Ed though.
I was driving in Nevade once and we picked a spot in the distance to measure how far away it may be, yes we were bored. 12 flaming miles and not a single input required from moi. Straight and level, 12 miles?
Not another vehicle, person or building in sight.
19/08/2025 18:49:27 UTC
Glyn said :-
Something I never considered in the past was the comfort of a bike. I could jump on any machine, thrash it about and never worry about how I might be in pain or in some discomfort or other after I got off or later that day. The Suzuki gives me back ache and I probably couldn’t ride it more than 20 miles before a break. So I don’t think I will be able to cruise the cruiser. The TZR has much less effect on my back but the weight of my upper body is very painful on my hands. The ZZR1100 was generally something I could live with and I put a few thousand miles on that. The BMW 1100 gave me severe pains in my right leg and groine. Are bikes trying to tell me something?
25/08/2025 17:48:37 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I've never spent a lot of time on a cruiser style bike but I can't think how they can be comfortable because all the weight goes through your arris and not your legs and arms. A slightly forward leaning position has always provided the best results for me.
26/08/2025 11:00:44 UTC
Glyn said :-
That makes sense, so why do they call them Cruisers then? My imagination gives me images of thousands of Harleys making that Route 66 5k mile trip you mentioned in an earlier post.
26/08/2025 11:59:06 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I suppose if you have a backrest and suitably padded seating area, plus feet forward (maybe on footboards rather than footrests) it could be rather like sitting on a Laz-ee-boy (sp?) watching the super bowl. Like others here I prefer a slight forward lean with a bar rise of 2-3" although on a fully faired bike like the Tiger and V-Strom I had I preferred higher bars as there's no wind to lean on. I am surprised that the forward footrests on the B'Zuki are quite comfortable.
I have actually been on part of route 66 though in a massive RV not on a bike. It was a most dispiriting experience. It's no longer a major road so it's potholed and many of the various roadside "attractions" are seedy and run down. One of the amusing things about major routes in the USA (although I'm not too sure about the "U" in that term) is the massive roadside hoardings telling you about a taco bell or dunkin donuts 60 miles ahead.
26/08/2025 12:32:22 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I got to ride the Rebel. There will be a proper report on my findings soon.
28/08/2025 07:57:26 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , looking forward to the review , was it anything like this...
Nigel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBs3oIU0-sE...
28/08/2025 17:13:48 UTC
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