[duque]

I'm thinking of adjusting my gear change pedal because my foot gets stuck under the pedal sometimes. It happened while I was turning left once, and I was leaning enough for the tip of my foot to skim the road. Freaked me out. Thought my toes were going to be sandwiched between the road and the pedal. By the way, I've only just owned and riden my Monster since about a week and a half. Maybe I'll get used to the position. My old bike let me keep my foot under the pedal at all times. Can't do that on the Monster. Where do you keep your foot? Next to the pedal? On top of it? Behind it?
Anyways, any tips on adjustments. Thanks.

 

[terrible_viking]

You keep the balls of your feet on the footpeg at all times, unless you want to shift (or brake). If you're going to upshift while leaned over in corners, converting to a reverse or "GP" shift pattern is an option. You flip the shift arm and voila, you have reverse shift. First is now one up and the rest of the gears are down. That way you can upshift and keep your foot over the shift lever.

-R.

 

[Guest]

Congrats on the new Monster......it's been so long since I have looked at the stock levers but I believe you can loosen the allen bolt and remove it and reposition on the spline to a better location for you.
I like to keep my toes on the pegs.

 

[iamic]

No need to remove the shifter from the splined shaft to adjust the position. You can easily adjust the length of the linkage instead. Take a look at it - it is sort of a mini turnbuckle. A few turns of the "eyelets" (for lack of a better term) will shorten or lengthen it, thereby fine-tuning the shift lever position.

Use a small wrench on the slot at the center of the tube to hold it and loosen the nuts at the end of each shaft (NOTE - one is reverse threaded!). Then it is just a matter of adjusting the eyelets to your liking. Snug up the nuts again when you've found the ideal position.

 

[Mark1305]

I recommend you not adjust the shifter for that reason. It should be adjusted so that you can easily get your foot below or above it without exagerated foot movement.

I've caught my toes under mine also when I first got it. You pretty much can't ride a Monster with your foot under the shifter. Rather you should get into the habit of riding with the balls of your feet on the pegs and move your foot forward to catch an upshift or downshift then return it immediately to the peg. Same thing with the right foot and the brake pedal just as a matter of good foot positioning.

Even with your foot above the shifter, if you keep your foot that far forward you will hit the sides of your boot in the middle of a turn if you lean it over far enough. (Did that too).

 

[ScottRNelson]

The very first modification I made to my Monster when I got it home from the dealer was to lower the shift lever about half an inch. I was having problems with false neutrals and that helped quite a bit.

I don't ride with my toe under the shifter even on straight roads. When I'm on any road with curves on it I keep the balls of my feet on the pegs and move my foot to shift or use the rear brake. I find that I have better control with my feet in that position. Because of the wide powerband of the V-twin, you don't really need to shift much anyway. I use 3rd gear for tight twisties and 4th gear when it opens up more.

 

[iamic]

The very first modification I made to my Monster when I got it home from the dealer was to lower the shift lever about half an inch. I was having problems with false neutrals and that helped quite a bit.

Exactly! That's the same reason that I moved mine down a bit as well. I was amazed at the reduction in false-neutrals.

 

[Guest]

dang I must be a wussie, the chicken strips on my tires seem to agree. I ride with my foot under my shifter all the time and no foot scuffing. I do like the balls-of-the-feet-on-the-footpegs because it tends to offer a little more comfort.

should I be leaning enough to drag metal on every turn? ;D ;D

 

[jblouch]

As mentioned above, the position of the shift lever is entirely adjustable using the adjustment built into the linkage. The type of shoes/boots you use will also determine adjustment and you'll just have to experiment. The "false neutral" issues are also valid. The shift lever being too high will naturally force you to work harder to lift the lever to shift up and will result in an inordinate number of false neutrals resulting from "short stroking" the shifter.

The balls of the feet on the pegs deal is another issue. For those of us who might be a little taller than others (6' +), putting the balls of your feet on the pegs makes the legs feel cramped and the old knees start barking after a while.

 

[Bloodshot]

Being 6'3" I kind of have to ride on the balls of my feet on the Monster. If I ride flat footed my thighs are grabbing the ridge at the top of the leg tapers on the tank. By staying on the balls of my feet my knees are more bent and my legs just seem to barely fit in the correct areas on the tank. If I get cramped I just drape my legs over the fram sliders for a while and stretch...