[RaiderWill]

Men, I need your help.. First off let me say that I am a Senior Citizen now.. ( Just turned 55.. ) and bought my Beast at the end of January.. I am 5' 10" 250 with a 75 inch wing span so my arms are pretty long.. And it pains me to say this but, my upper sholder blades and upper middle back are starting to hurt enough that after a 70 mile round trip ride I need an Ibuprofen pill to make sure it does not get too bad..
So.. I am thinking I either need to do the 3/4 inch Heli Bar Risers, The 1 inch Ganmar Risers or the full blown LSL Riser Mod Kit ( $450.00.. ouch.. ) Looks like the LSL's would radically change the look of the bike.. maybe too much so? but provide the most comfort.. I would hate to give the Beast up so soon, and try to find a Connie-14 but I may have to.. Its a Kawi or nothing! Your experiences / pics showing any before & after shots maybe sitting or riding with any of these mods would be helpful in my decision making process.. Thanks Guys!

The Old Man...

 

[N3LRK]

Old men

I will be 56 in July. I have the Heli risers and it is a subtle difference, real easy to install, I would try them to see if it makes enough of of difference. I would hate to have to give up the zx14

 

[05 ZX6R Linteau]

Hold tight Raider, there are a few OLD MEN (cough, EZ, Cough, Hammerhead, Cough RM) kicking around here that might be able to give you some helpful hints :rolleyes

Good Luck

 

[185EZ]

Hold tight Raider, there are a few OLD MEN (cough, EZ, Cough, Hammerhead, Cough RM) kicking around here that might be able to give you some helpful hints :rolleyes

Good Luck

I heard THAT!:thefinger

 

[185EZ]

Men, I need your help.. First off let me say that I am a Senior Citizen now.. ( Just turned 55.. ) and bought my Beast at the end of January.. I am 5' 10" 250 with a 75 inch wing span so my arms are pretty long.. And it pains me to say this but, my upper sholder blades and upper middle back are starting to hurt enough that after a 70 mile round trip ride I need an Ibuprofen pill to make sure it does not get too bad..
So.. I am thinking I either need to do the 3/4 inch Heli Bar Risers, The 1 inch Ganmar Risers or the full blown LSL Riser Mod Kit ( $450.00.. ouch.. ) Looks like the LSL's would radically change the look of the bike.. maybe too much so? but provide the most comfort.. I would hate to give the Beast up so soon, and try to find a Connie-14 but I may have to.. Its a Kawi or nothing! Your experiences / pics showing any before & after shots maybe sitting or riding with any of these mods would be helpful in my decision making process.. Thanks Guys!

The Old Man...

From one old man to another,
I always thought your wing span was the same as your height?:headscratch
Anyway, I have the heli bars. My buddy has the gen mars. Can't tell much of a diff. They DO help. I don't have any issues with my shoulders or back. I do want to change the seat though. After a 100 miles, I can't get comfy on my :moon .
Not sure if you exercise but that's always a plus when riding a supersport bike.
The guys who have the LSL bars swear by them and I sure hope so for the money but I wouldn't dare put them on my bike. They have to be the fugliest looking accessory out there. Might as well just buy a sport touring bike where they're designed for old men.:lol

 

[lytnin]

I turned 56 last November but have had the 14 for about 3 years. I tried risers and it helped but added anoth 50 bearable miles to the stockers. I tried the double stack and helped more but still was not what I was looking for so I went the LSL route and even added 1 in risers to that.

In the end I went the LSL kit with a C14 seat and Buell foot pegs. I really like the bike now and don't need asprin to make it thru the ride even tho when ever I play on any of my bikes it is 2 Aleves before I take off.

Good luck with what ever decision you make.

 

[e1_ZX-9r]

The OP can take some advice from the long-ride tip threads on here as well. Age has something to do with it, but I think the single greatest factor is to ride more often. You'll naturally toughen up. I know that's how it is when I'm gearing up for a century bicycle ride(s). You can't just go cold turkey. You'll never make it.

Obviously OP/OM crackup, get it? OM. Old Man) may have an injury, in which case, none of this may help.

 

[audioboyz]

I don't think their ugly.I had helibars,genbars and neither helped.You forgot me in your old age people.I'm 56 with bad shoulders knees and back.No way I'm giving up high power bikes.They would have to pull the bars out of my dead fingers first.

[/IMG]

Craig

 

[RaiderWill]

Hey Guys.. Thanks for all the input ! I keep looking all over the net for different pics of the LSL setup.. It naturally seems the best at relieving the stress on the sholders and neck along with a taller ( tinted of course.. ) windscreen.. audioboyz your bike looks nice.. mine is black as well.. but I feel the LSL's take away the Agressive Look of the 14.. and that, even more so than coughing up $450.00 bucks is eating at me the most.. will I be cool looking down at them.. again no offense to anyone that has made the conversion.. Should I just take more breaks until my body gets stronger? Go back to serious weight lifting?? ( Yeah Right... ) but all kidding aside, This is an extremly tough decision to make for me.. And again thank you all... You guys are simply the best... !:smile

 

[mad]

I will be 56 in July. I have the Heli risers and it is a subtle difference, real easy to install, I would try them to see if it makes enough of of difference. I would hate to have to give up the zx14

Agree with evaluation. I HAD them and sold them...not enough of a difference to matter and didn't like the look over stock. So....if I HAD to, I honestly like the look of the LSL kit, for a handle bar. I'd go that route. :smile

 

[Monroe Motorcycle Maniac]

I call bull puckey! I'm 60.

Heli-bars & reduce your "frontage". That will help.

 

[185EZ]

here ya go,

 

[Hammerhead]

I had an LSL kit on my last bike (ZZR 1200) and have a similar, homebuilt (by the p.o.) setup that allows for the use of a 7/8" tubular handlebar. Of course, a bike looks better with full-blown, droopy clip-ons, but how much are you willing to suffer to look good? I rode a stock-barred ZX-14 that belongs to a friend of mine for about 1/2 hour, and it gave me a pain between the shoulder blades that lasted for a week. I personally don't mind the looks of the LSL set-up because I know how practical it is. If you only ride 50 miles at a time, go for looks. I ride 600-miles days at times and do it multiple days in a row, so I would rather be comfortable than impress someone who's taste differs from my own.

 

[runnerhiker]

Here is my 62 year old body with and without the 1" Heli Bars. It is a very modest change, I doubt it would solve your problem. You can't tell the difference by looking at me, look at the location of the grips.

 

[185EZ]

I guess i don't understand the reasoning of buying a super sport bike and trying to make it practical. If you ride a particular bike and everything hurts, it's the wrong bike. Then you try and turn it into a bike that it wasn't even designed for. lower the pegs, raise the windscreen, raise the bars, add a buncha luggage and waddya have, a sport tourer like the Connie.
I have a Corvette that's a bit hard to get out of. I'm going to add a lift kit, captain's chairs, stretch it to accomodate the kids, and raise the roof so my bouffant hairdo doesn't hit the t-tops.

 

[audioboyz]

The reason is nothing else compares to my ZX-14.A little handle bar surgery is fine by me.What other bike is this fast.Maybe a gold wing with twin turbos?I'll keep my Ninja.
Craig

 

[185EZ]

The reason is nothing else compares to my ZX-14.A little handle bar surgery is fine by me.What other bike is this fast.Maybe a gold wing with twin turbos?I'll keep my Ninja.
Craig

GW with twin turbos?:rolleyes
I think you may have something there.:crazyloco

 

[Hammerhead]

I guess i don't understand the reasoning of buying a super sport bike and trying to make it practical. If you ride a particular bike and everything hurts, it's the wrong bike. Then you try and turn it into a bike that it wasn't even designed for. lower the pegs, raise the windscreen, raise the bars, add a buncha luggage and waddya have, a sport tourer like the Connie.
I have a Corvette that's a bit hard to get out of. I'm going to add a lift kit, captain's chairs, stretch it to accomodate the kids, and raise the roof so my bouffant hairdo doesn't hit the t-tops.

If there were any perfect bikes out there, all the aftermarket companies would go belly-up overnight. All bikes are generic to some degree and are much more enjoyable to ride when custom-fit with the rider's preferences in comfort, looks and performance. I believe you have some aftermarket cans. Obviously, the stock mufflers didn't make you happy.

 

[185EZ]

If there were any perfect bikes out there, all the aftermarket companies would go belly-up overnight. All bikes are generic to some degree and are much more enjoyable to ride when custom-fit with the rider's preferences in comfort, looks and performance. I believe you have some aftermarket cans. Obviously, the stock mufflers didn't make you happy.

That added looks and decreased weight only to add more performance and further enhance the super sport bike that I intentionally wanted.
It had nothing to do with rider comfort.

 

[185EZ]

this might help,