Footpeg lowering kits

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 10:11

I’m a ummmm.... "mature" rider with a preference for the sportier end of the motorcycle market and therein lies a problem. As I get older, my 68 year old knees start to protest after a while. The Street Triple was ok for a few hundred km at a stretch but the GSX-S 1000 puts more load on them.

Looking at lowering kits, most of them either look cheap and nasty or complicated and over-priced. I knew that Buell pegs were a favourite conversion for riders who needed more leg room but in most instances, they needed machining and/or bushing to fit most other bikes. Through a Hayabusa forum, I discovered a guy called Joe Satterwhite in the US who makes a ready-machined and bushed kit which fits the ‘busa, GSX-S, GSX-R and presumably a few other Suzuki models so took the plunge and sent for some.

Really impressed with the superb quality of the product – better than OEM in fact. Took less than 10 minutes to fit and another hour to fiddle with the brake and gear change linkages and brake light switch to set the new positions. Went for a ride round the Coro Loop yesterday and the 25 mm lower pegs made a significant difference to comfort levels.

The slight downside is that I scraped my boot by a whisker on a couple of corners I know well but it wasn’t a big deal as my foot was fairly well forward.

Nice to have a farkle that does what it says on the tin. A happy chappie who can stay on sports-oriented bikes for a bit longer!

**Moi** · 6th May 2016, 10:33

"Mature" rider... bollocks!

More like an "old hoon"...

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 10:57

Originally Posted by Moi

"Mature" rider... bollocks!

More like an "old hoon"...

Such language from a retired teacher

**Moi** · 6th May 2016, 11:05

What is worse... I was drinking my morning coffee when I read the first line... just about choked...

You referring to "bollocks"? - it's a wonderful word, can be used in a number of ways...

Must admit those new pegs are a very nice piece of engineering. Do you find any advantage to the serrated foot area rather than a rubber foot area?

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 11:21

Mark, it's so long since I have had rubber on footpegs that I can't remember whether there is any real practical advantage in either option. There's no vibration on the Suzuki so from that aspect, not a big deal. I suppose they might grip the boot a little better but the rubber ones on the Blackbird were fine too.

**Maha** · 6th May 2016, 11:26

They look great Geoff, might invest in a set to replace the stock pillion pegs on our next bike. The tiger is the tallest bike I have owned. The pillion pegs are 550mm off the ground, a clear 200mm higher than the rider pegs @ 350mm. Quite a first step for someone measuring 5'4''.

**SVboy** · 6th May 2016, 11:55

How mucho?

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 11:59

Originally Posted by Maha

They look great Geoff, might invest in a set to replace the stock pillion pegs on our next bike. The tiger is the tallest bike I have owned. The pillion pegs are 550mm off the ground, a clear 200mm higher than the rider pegs @ 350mm. Quite a first step for someone measuring 5'4''.

Thanks Mark! Yes, high pillion pegs seems to be another trend. Might be ok for the cafe set who don't do decent distances but not for a longer haul. Getting on is another matter. There's a fair bit of discussion on various forums about it and there seems to be a reasonable choice of aftermarket lowering kits for a whole range of bikes. The GSX-S has rear pegs which are a similar height to your Tiger but the minimalist seat makes sure that I don't have a pillion (which is fine by me

)

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 12:01

Originally Posted by SVboy

How mucho?

US$114 delivered. You can buy a set of Buell pegs through eBay for about half that but was happy to pay the extra to avoid all the mucking about to alter them.

**nzspokes** · 6th May 2016, 12:46

Originally Posted by Blackbird

US$114 delivered. You can buy a set of Buell pegs through eBay for about half that but was happy to pay the extra to avoid all the mucking about to alter them.

Ive run them for years. Currently on my VTR. Got them from Auckland Harley, for memory they were $98?

Yup you will scrape boots if you hang your toes. Can be a bit tricky setting up the gearshift and rear brake but worth it once you get it right.

**Blackbird** · 6th May 2016, 13:27

Originally Posted by nzspokes

Ive run them for years. Currently on my VTR. Got them from Auckland Harley, for memory they were $98?

Yup you will scrape boots if you hang your toes. Can be a bit tricky setting up the gearshift and rear brake but worth it once you get it right.

Before I removed the old pegs, I used a builder's level across the OEM ones to measure the standard drop of the brake and gear change pedals (not identical). It was easy to replicate on the new setup by doing this. I had to remove about 4mm of thread from the brake clevis pin to allow the range of adjustment I needed but the small amount still lets me put it back to standard if I ever need to. I did it in situ with a junior hacksaw, putting a bit of duct tape on the swingarm to protect it from any enthusiastic sawing. The rear brake light activation switch was almost impossible to reach behind the footpeg hanger so I removed the hanger bolts onto the frame and that gave me sufficient space. None of it was difficult, you just need to be organised. I had a similar set-up on my Blackbird so knew in advance what was needed. As it was, the new pegs came with comprehensive instructions for the Hayabusa which was pretty similar.

**nzspokes** · 6th May 2016, 13:56

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Before I removed the old pegs, I used a builder's level across the OEM ones to measure the standard drop of the brake and gear change pedals (not identical). It was easy to replicate on the new setup by doing this. I had to remove about 4mm of thread from the brake clevis pin to allow the range of adjustment I needed but the small amount still lets me put it back to standard if I ever need to. I did it in situ with a junior hacksaw, putting a bit of duct tape on the swingarm to protect it from any enthusiastic sawing. The rear brake light activation switch was almost impossible to reach behind the footpeg hanger so I removed the hanger bolts onto the frame and that gave me sufficient space. None of it was difficult, you just need to be organised. I had a similar set-up on my Blackbird so knew in advance what was needed. As it was, the new pegs came with comprehensive instructions for the Hayabusa which was pretty similar.

Agreed but the lower position was outside of the reach on my gear shift so I made a new rod. I had to do the same with the brake.

Brake light was easy with a hydraulically activated one which removed the problem.

**rambaldi** · 9th May 2016, 17:24

Originally Posted by Moi

Must admit those new pegs are a very nice piece of engineering. Do you find any advantage to the serrated foot area rather than a rubber foot area?

I am 'lucky enough' to have both. Left peg is rubberized, right is of a different design. The right has a nice little ridge on the end that I can square my boot against (although there is no real need to do that :P). The rubber certainly grips my boot better in the wet, and if I was going to go through the effort of matching them that is what I would go for. For general riding though there ain't a whole lot of difference.

**Swoop** · 10th May 2016, 19:49

Originally Posted by Blackbird

The slight downside is that I scraped my boot by a whisker on a couple of corners I know well but it wasn’t a big deal as my foot was fairly well forward.

Those look very nice Geoff. Are they longer than the OEM pegs? Are they machined or cast?
Perhaps this is adding to the scraping, in addition to being lower.

**nzspokes** · 10th May 2016, 20:10

Originally Posted by Swoop

Those look very nice Geoff. Are they longer than the OEM pegs? Are they machined or cast?
Perhaps this is adding to the scraping, in addition to being lower.

By the nature of them you feet are wider out, I extended my gear shift lever a bit to suit. So leaned your feet are closer again to the road.