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Ok, so I took the MSF this weekend, and had a BLAST(and passed). I loved it, riding is fan-freaking-tastic! But, I took the course on bikes with a standard riding position... dirtbikes mostly. So I get home after passing todat, and decide to test out my new vstar in my cul-du-sac... it felt great, but I had a few problems. Now I've posted about these concerns before, but now I have a feel for what is actually wrong.

keep in mind I have a 34" inseam, and this is an '06 vstar 650.

1)my knees. If I turn really sharp(slow speed u-turn) my knee is too high, and totally in the way, and I have to stick it way out to the side.

2)my feet. They are not huge, somewhere between size 11-12, but they don't fit between the heel-toe shifter very well, just placing my feet there causes me to accidently kick it into neutral from 1st!

I originally was planning on moving the floorboards forward 3-4 inches, but now I'm thinking pegs are the only answer.(has anyone tried both and can tell me if there is a huge change in foot/leg position?) If I get pegs, will they come with the new shift linkage? is there such thing as a peg with a heel toe? how hard is this conversion for a moderately competent wrench?

whew, sorry about all the questions, but I want to ride this thing!!

floorboards just take getting used to, I think your supposed to put your foot to the outside edge of the board when not shifting and just slide your foot over to shift, I doubt anyone could sit their foot between the heel/toe mechanism and not hit it.

This is not a criticism of the bike, just a statement of fact...the V-Star 650 is a small bike, and what you're experiencing is what happens when you are of average or better height and you ride a small bike.

The good news is, you can put forward controls on it and give your legs room to stretch, which will keep you from running the handlebars into your knee when turning.

The bad news is, the cheapest set of forward controls I could find for your bike are $319.95 from PhatPerformance.

For now, a temporary cure to your shifting problem would be to remove the heel shifter and just shift conventionally.

A tall friend of mine has a V-Star 1100, which is like a 650 in size. He simply got his bike store to move his contols forward a few inches. It cost him about $70.00.

I had the same problem on my bosses soft tail, my foot didnt fit in between the toe and heel shifter. Butt my boss says it didnt bother him at all. On his vstar 1100 It had pegs and i was much more comfortable.

So maybe pegs would be the way to go on a 650 too, but i wouldnt really know becuase i havent ridden one.

Hey Zoo, thanks for the link, I'm going to have to get somthing like that...

ZooTech wrote:just a statement of fact...the V-Star 650 is a small bike

I agree, but every bike I have sat on has felt small to me... what is an example of a 'big' bike? I mean the vstar 650 is 2-3 inches longer than even your mean streak! It's longer than the HD fatboy too... I don't get it, what is it that makes it smaller than other cruisers? (besides displacement) Is it the placement of the seat on the frame?

blues2cruise wrote:A tall friend of mine has a V-Star 1100, which is like a 650 in size. He simply got his bike store to move his contols forward a few inches. It cost him about $70.00.

This is what I was originally planning on, but I'm worried now it's the flat-footed riding position of the floorboards that is making my knee stick up so high. I don't know why I have to be so damn tall, nothing in this world is built for me!

You are having the problem that I want to avoid. From what information that i have come across on the yamaha, it will be rather small to anyone over 5'10". My brothers shadow 750 feels the same to me as what you are experiencing. It is only a suggestion but if you can find someone to modify the shifter to increase the lenth of the arms giving you more foot room. Good luck

Mike

desper wrote:I agree, but every bike I have sat on has felt small to me... what is an example of a 'big' bike? I mean the vstar 650 is 2-3 inches longer than even your mean streak!

Actually, it is 1.6" longer than my bike but has a 3.1" shorter wheelbase.

desper wrote:It's longer than the HD fatboy too... I don't get it, what is it that makes it smaller than other cruisers? (besides displacement) Is it the placement of the seat on the frame?

More than likely, yes. The V-Star 650 has been touted as a great "beginner" cruiser and I'm sure it's because of the ergos, not just the displacement. In addition to the forward controls, check out some different handlebars and a Mustang or Corbin seat for it. The aftermarket will help you undo what Yamaha has done to set that bike up for smaller folks and beginners. A new seat will drop the seat height an inch or more, and a set of drag bars might offer you a more comfortable reach (and a better look to boot!).

hmm, interesting point about the handlebars... could I loosen off those four bolts that secure them and rotate the bars up/forward a bit? that would really help the knee room in the tight corners I think. Do handlebars work that way? or will I be screwing something up?

I imagine I'd have to rotate the brake,clutch, and resivour in the opposite direction to flatten them out.