> intelligent, and extremely well-versed with regard to the Concours.
One
> recommended Heli, the other recommended Gen-Mar,
and--you guessed it--the
> third recommended Storz. What's a guy to do??? If anyone would
like to
I've got an '86. I'm about 5' 10" (maybe 5' 9.5"), which
matters quite a bit in these discussions (tall guys tend to like shorter
bars, i've noticed). I'm also not the type of guy who works out a lot
and has big muscular arms, that certainly would help.
The '86 stock bars were way too short for me when I bought the bike;
the 2.5 hour ride home from the purchase point and subsequent 2-4 hour
rides gave me serious arm pain, etc.
I installed Gen-Mars, and have been reasonably happy with them. However,
at first, for long trips I still got the arm pain thing going. So before
my trip last summer (by the way, I actually took the film in to be developed,
so I'll have something up on my web page sometime ;), I decided to get
the storz kit, and the handlebar storz recommends.
I bolted it onto the bike, and the handlebar position was essentially
identical to the '86 bars + gen-mars (a little wider, perhaps, and perhaps
a little closer to perpendicular with the line of motion of the bike).
Thus, I decided to just stick with what I had; for the first few days
of my trip I was a little sore, but after 1500 miles or so (in about
5 days) I didn't even notice.
The gen-mars are highly recommended, but: the storz has the significant
advantage that you can put essentially ANY handlebar in there, not just
the one storz suggests. That means you have essentially unlimited choice.
That said, to do any serious mods you'll have to put on new front brake
lines (at least to the 3-way connection between the forks) and maybe
new clutch line and wiring. Not out of the question, but maybe more
than you want to screw around with.
One more thing: with the gen-mars you get shrader valve extensions
to hook up to your forks (assuming air suspension, ie 93 or older).
I have had some significant problems with these and my progressive suspension
pump/gauge; seems like the extensions don't act like the pump wants.
It's also a pain in the keister to go in the hole of the gen-mar to
get at the valve, but it's doable.
Of course, you could just run with progressive springs, I understand
they recommend no air pressure. ;)
danno
- - - I believe the GenMars are 1.25" high, for the record.
