Topic: Any way to *raise* the height of a bike?

[Papa-wheelie]

Short story,  I've got a new (to me) '81 cb650. What I am trying to do is *increase* the distance (while seated) between say my ankle bone and my hip bone.  You see I've got Lyme disease and getting in a crunched up (squatted) position while seated really hurts my hips. A lot!

I'm not wanting to make the bike goofy looking by putting on extra tall shocks/forks but I don't know any other way...(other than bulding up the seat higher but that would look wacky too.)

This is one of those cases where form may have to win over function but if there is any way of achieving a greater distance from my hip to my ankle as mentioned I'd love to hear what you may suggest.

Funny thing is I almost bought a newer Suzuki v-strom dl650 just because the ankle/hip distance is so large..(more like semi-standing than sitting....a good thing for me) but I ran across a good deal on a very clean '81 cb650 (similar to my high school bike) and just could'nt pass up such a nice bike.

I may have to go back to the v-strom eventually just for the ergonomics but I'd like to give the cb650 a chance first.

Anything I can do?

[bucky katt]

remember even if you raise the ride height the distance between the seat and the footpegs will be the same unless you can figure out how to do a much taller seat that doesnt look goofy as hell. for a minute i had the picture in my head of using brackets to lower the foot pegs but then you'd have the shifter and the brake pedal to worry about as well and i dont see how those can be lowered as well. probably the best bet would be forward controls set as far forward as you can get them.

[MickeyX]

I would say forward controls. With that bike, you could get away with it aesthetically. Or highway bars with pegs to rest your legs out in front. It would be cheaper but not as pretty. 

There are some forward controls on ebay right now...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-CB650-SOHC-FORWARD-CONTROLS-CB-650-CB650C-CUSTOM_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem519129889aQQitemZ350327769242QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Like I said, a little pricey. You could probably come up with some of your own much cheaper. Does anyone remember if Martino put forward controls on his bike?

[bucky katt]

if you were to get a set of used sportbike rearsets i imagine with a little work you could make them work as forward controls as well.

[Frankenkit]

Marti had some kind of bar welded on (?) the front.  I think it was welded.  He was more likely to weld stuff than bolt it, anyway.

[MickeyX]

Knowing Martino, I can guarantee it was welded. 

[Papa-wheelie]

Thanks for the replies. I did not think about forward controls but it may be a possibility. How do they look when on the bike?  Does anyone use them or have a pic they could post with forward controls on the bike.

I kind of have a picture in my mind of how it would look which is similar to a chopper bike. Then I would look like a hooligan. That would be cool!

[Gordon]

What kind of riding do you do most? 

If it's mostly highway or low-traffic areas where you can cruise long distances then I'd go with the highway pegs because they're much easier and cheaper to install.  If you're riding mostly on stop-and-go city streets then forward controls would be the way to go.

[Alan F.]

Thee are for 500's and 550's but may be easily adapted to a 650, either way there are a few pics to see.

http://www.tcbroschoppers.com/id5.html

Best of luck.
-Alan