Are you 5'8"ish? Did you feel uncomfortable, like you were holding your arms out until you got new handlebars?

[arthur]

Greetings, thanks in advance for your time. Hope the weather is as lovely with you as it is here (West Coast Canada)

I have a 2015 Fj-09, beautiful bike in so many ways. I do have a problem though - it feels like I am holding my arms out all the time. It is almost like they are not relaxed, and my shoulders get tired. In the twisties, when I forget about it, it is kind of ok, but in a straight line it is almost an effort to have my arms out.It doesn't feel natural ( I think the FJ was built for six footers)

I am 5'8"

I have read lots and lots of threads on handlebars, but I haven't come to any definitive solution, and many changes involve rerouting cables/ tapping & cutting handlebars etc.. also I don't know that people are trying to find a solution to my particular problem. ( So a really big guy's pick for aftermarket bars will not be any help to me..

I'm wondering if anyone else experienced this and fixed it simply?

Ordinarily, I'd just buy a set of handlebars,and try them out, but they are not cheap.

I've had quite a few bikes, but I wish it felt like my old cbr250r.....

 

Thank you

[Heli ATP]

Maybe risers would help?

 

[jthayer09]

1 hour ago, arthur said:

In the twisties, when I forget about it, it is kind of ok, but in a straight line it is almost an effort to have my arms out.It doesn't feel natural ( I think the FJ was built for six footers)

I am 5'8"

The big 4 manufacturers design their bikes for 5'9" riders at roughly 170 lb, this captures the overwhelming majority of the populace in their home markets.

It sounds like you're trying to sit back in the bike like a cruiser rather than keep your chest/body leaned slightly forward to create a bend in your elbows and grip the bike with your legs. You're forgetting about your arms when riding the twisties, probably due to moving your body forward subconsciously to help with the handling.

If the type of riding you do is in fact mostly straight and cruise more than you attack turns, then there are many bar risers for the FJ09, Helibars were (still are?) the most popular set and are very high quality; I had a set on my FJ09.

[piotrek]

I am 5'-9" and had the same type of issues earlier on. I now have bar risers (up and back) and an aftermarket bar, one with a better sweep. The OE bar forced my elbows out, and that translated to shoulder/neck fatigue. I have also learned to love my tank more... i.e. I move/lean forward rather than fight the slide. This lets me hug the tank with my thighs rather than try and clamp it with my knees, again... easing tension. The rear end of the tank on the FJ is rather narrow IMO. You will see threads with a mod that raises the nose of the seat a bit to help prevent the slide forward. I had one installed and liked it at first... but had since removed it and just move/lean forward.

Fixing the ergonomics can be a frustrating thing. Good luck.

[OZVFR]

I'm 5'7" and had the same problem with the bars pushing my elbows out.

It was very annoying and always forced my wrists to bend unnaturally which ended up hurting after a while.

Changed bars to ones with more sweep and slightly narrower which helped a lot.

I don't think a riser would do much for me, in fact that's the last thing I want.

I got rid of the hand guards as I found them annoying and only caused turbulence IMO, so no tapping or drilling was necessary. Just a straight swap and some new heavy bar ends.

I went with the Renthal 819-50, but there are street bars with even more sweep.

Agree that when you hit the twisties, you seem to forget all about it. Even the seat.

As Piotrek stated, I also move forward on twisty roads as I like having my arms free to move and more weight on the front wheel.