How to Adjust Your Motorcycle For a Perfect Fit

From Cycle World's 2016 Travel & Adventure issue. Get your copy here.

Riders who spend long hours in the saddle know that fine-tuning their bike’s fit can make a huge difference in both comfort and control. The good news? You can do much of it yourself, and it’s easy to experiment. Here’s what you should concentrate on.

When you’re sitting on the bike you want a perfectly straight line from your elbow through your wrist, continuing through your outstretched fingers when those fingers are just resting on the brake and clutch levers. Loosen your levers’ pinch bolts and rotate the perch until they’re in the right spot. Perches pinned in place? Grind or snap off those little pins! Aftermarket levers may let you adjust reach or provide a different curvature.

On most ADV bikes, you want the pegs positioned where you can comfortably ride the bike while standing. Think about how a horseman “posts” while standing in the stirrups. It’s difficult to alter peg position, but wider aftermarket pegs make standing more comfortable. Aggressive teeth on the pegs improves grip, and an open “grid” design gives mud a place to go.

Grips wear out, and even if they haven’t yet, genuine MX grips can be a big improvement if you ride off road much. Blisters? Try using “half waffle” grips, with waffle-ridged surfaces on only half their circumference. Which way do you mount them? With the “smooth” part under your palm and the waffle section under your fingers.

With your stock bar, loosen the clamp bolts and experiment with rotating the bar forward and back to open or close up the cockpit. The two things you want to pay attention to are the bar’s rise (height) and sweepback (the angle of the grips). Still not right? Don’t try to bend your bar—find a replacement with the rise and sweepback you want.

Another solution is a set of bar risers—these use longer pinch bolts and a spacer between the bar and the triple clamp. They’ll usually lift the bar between 20 and 30mm. With either option, be aware that you may need longer control cables and/or hoses.

Some high-end ADV bikes offer adjustable seats, typically in two or three fixed positions. If yours doesn’t, you have two choices: either find an aftermarket seat that suits you better, or start adding and removing foam underneath your stock seat’s cover. Thinner foam can work if it’s firmer. To test for a taller sear, simply unbolt your stocker and add material (folded towels work well) underneath the stock seat pan to determine how much higher you want to go.