I have organized my motorcycling life around having one cruiser with forward controls and one standard position bike with mid controls. They are quite different, and I love the variety of having both. Of course the third major position for motorcycling is sport bike style with feet further back behind the body. It's a bit much for me personally but obviously a lot of people love that too.
Perfect timing! I was at a Royal Enfield demo event today to ride bikes with mids (INTerceptor, Shotgun and Bear). The position was much more comfortable for my low back than the forwards on my past HD Fat Bob, plus it’s great to be able to stand up to absorb the jolt with my knees, rather than it going straight up my spine. I also sat on a HD Street Bob and Low Rider S and they were also more comfortable for me and my short legs. My dilemma is that nearly all mid control bikes have a seat height so high that I can barely tip toe, or be able to put the balls of my feet onto the ground, and low seat cruisers (by necessity), almost always have forwards.
It happened to me as well. Ones you get used to mid is hard to gets used to forward controls. With mid you can get up when there are imperfections in the road or if you are going offroad to stabilize the bike / gain more grip.
Hi Paul, Stay with your mid position controls and just fit some highway pegs for the long tedious straight roads,.. Have a Great Christmas Bro, from an OAP with Chronic Back Pain in Freezing Cold Wales UK.
@@BikesILike ...Ha ha!! I do miss and love a white Christmas, however due to climate change we no longer get snow until February, just ice and cold rain, just setting the bike up for our annual Hospital Santa run for the kids care unit, I feel obliged to give to those who are less fortunate this year to justify my latest motorcycle purchase, I still have my FTR but it now has a 1967 Triumph Bonneville parked next to it, needed a pick me up due to recent illness, a comfort food for the body and mind,... Careful in that heat bro.
You're absolutely right that there's no correct answer there, and it'll vary person to person and bike to bike. I've ridden with both, but the stock mids on my current Honda Magna suit it perfectly, giving superior control and ground clearance over forwards. I do eventually plan to add some slim crash bars though, and when I do I'll fit fold-down highway pegs to those which will allow me to stretch out on longer trips. That said, I've got a fuel tank like a pipette so I'm never riding for that far between stops.
my Rebel 500 and my sons Iron 883 had mid controls. So have ridden a quite a few miles with mid's. When I bought my SportGlide which has forwards, WOW it was like a whole new world of comfort and gave new pleasure to riding. The odd time, I would hop back on the sons 883 and ugh, the mid controls were just horrible and I was forever bashing my shins moving the bike. Listening to others who said mini foot boards made forwards even better, I went and got some and nope, not for me at all. I tried them in all three mount positions, tried them at different angles and they were just never right. So I put back on the pegs, picked up a couple adaptor pieces and turned the mini foot boards into "highway foot rests" coming off the front engine guard. Now I rest my heel on the pegs and balls of my foot and toes on the mini foot boards and what amazing comfort even in the twisties. On a long trip I just slid my feet up a bit higher on the foot boards and press down into the boards for great foot and leg support and comfort. A buddy of my also has a SportGlide and he switched out his forward controls to mid controls and loves it. So yep we are all different and what works for one person is not for the next person. We are all unique and need to find what is right for us and our own riding comfort.
I like the forward controls especially for emergency stopping. Both your arms and legs are braced to keep you in place. It probably has to do with the bike you own too. I have a Rocket 3 GT and I've had no handling issues at all. You are right about not being able to stand up for bumps though.
At 5'9" I much prefer mid controls on my Harley, with highway pegs as an option when on the open road. That being said, my son who's 6'4" finds mids too restricting, and needs forward controls, so your leg length makes all the difference.
Down to personal preference on that, I had a bike with forward controls which had me quite stretched out. I put the touring seat on it which brought me forward abit and allowed me to ride alot longer distances.
I sit high on a V-strom and my feet are directly under me and gives me a chance to hop up if I'm going to crash into a vehicle. I hope it never happens but at least I feel like I'd have a chance to fly over the vehicle instead of hitting it. I've owned many bikes including a cruiser in the past but in my old age I've come to appreciate the 650 for its smooth engine and lighter weight. You have a beautiful machine there. I'm in Canada so Winter's about to begin here. Cheers
@@BikesILike raises hand LOL. (but have also lived in Australia too and have dual citizenship with Canada and AUST. just waiting for the day I can move back to AUST.
Really liked my Victory Cross Country floor boards. Could adjust my riding position at will. If in a car park bring your feet back and you can flick the bike around like a mini bike, out on the highway put your feet forward for comfort and stability.
Hi Paul, I myself am a fan of the floor boards on my Chief. I can move my feet and adjust to the ride and riding conditions. I think with a combination of a new seat like yours it would make for a all round comfortable ride any scenario. all the best and have a safe chrissy break!
Thanks for your channel sticker Paul. I've ridden a couple of Rocket 3s out at Bonneville for the last two years and really really don't like the forward controls because when the rear end spins up you can't rise up on the pegs and let the bike move under you. Of course this probably doesn't effect street riders 99.9% of the time.😄😄
Mids all the way. I have had both and mids are definitely more comfortable for me, especially on longer rides and better control. If a bike has forward controls I swipe left
Having ridden with mids, forward controls,and foot boards ,l can definitely say that footboards are the most comfortable ,as you can move your feet around to different positions as you ride. However this doesn’t apply to dirt bikes, its a highway only thing!
your right , i have footboards which are slightly forward , and if i go 60 mph or more the wind blows my feet up and the ride is horrible , stay with mids ;;
Great video as always. Thoughtful and helpful. I have a Sport Chief with added floorboards. I still have the mids and may try them at some point. Random question - where did you get your Sissy Bar bag and what's the brand?
The sissy bar I had custom made by Sean at Bar None Moto barnonemoto.com/ Great guy and does beautiful work. The bag is a 30L Rhinowalk Dry Bag from Amazon. It's designed to lay flat as a tail bag but I've made it work as a sissy bar bag.
Floorboards are the best, gives you lots of different positions for your feet. And they work best with forward controls. Mids suck. They’re uncomfortable and make my hips hurt over time. Mids are 90% a deal breaker for me when looking at new bikes.
Mid or forward controls are both better than floor boards. I have only had one motorcycle with foot boards and there is a definite feel of insecurity as you're not able to support yourself or use your feet to help control the motorcycle in some conditions
Forwards look better and are good till around 70mph when i then found myself pushing on the pega to keep my feet on. However my forwards were more forward than yours.
With floorboards you can adjust your feet.
I have organized my motorcycling life around having one cruiser with forward controls and one standard position bike with mid controls. They are quite different, and I love the variety of having both. Of course the third major position for motorcycling is sport bike style with feet further back behind the body. It's a bit much for me personally but obviously a lot of people love that too.
I have foot issues. The boards on my Springfield give me the flexibility to move forward and back easily and the foot relief is amazing.
Perfect timing! I was at a Royal Enfield demo event today to ride bikes with mids (INTerceptor, Shotgun and Bear). The position was much more comfortable for my low back than the forwards on my past HD Fat Bob, plus it’s great to be able to stand up to absorb the jolt with my knees, rather than it going straight up my spine. I also sat on a HD Street Bob and Low Rider S and they were also more comfortable for me and my short legs.
My dilemma is that nearly all mid control bikes have a seat height so high that I can barely tip toe, or be able to put the balls of my feet onto the ground, and low seat cruisers (by necessity), almost always have forwards.
It happened to me as well. Ones you get used to mid is hard to gets used to forward controls. With mid you can get up when there are imperfections in the road or if you are going offroad to stabilize the bike / gain more grip.
Hi Paul, Stay with your mid position controls and just fit some highway pegs for the long tedious straight roads,.. Have a Great Christmas Bro, from an OAP with Chronic Back Pain in Freezing Cold Wales UK.
@WreckingCrewHR4K Nice idea! Good thinking. You have a great Christmas, too mate! Hopefully it's a white one... or is that a bad thing? 🤔
@@BikesILike ...Ha ha!! I do miss and love a white Christmas, however due to climate change we no longer get snow until February, just ice and cold rain, just setting the bike up for our annual Hospital Santa run for the kids care unit, I feel obliged to give to those who are less fortunate this year to justify my latest motorcycle purchase, I still have my FTR but it now has a 1967 Triumph Bonneville parked next to it, needed a pick me up due to recent illness, a comfort food for the body and mind,... Careful in that heat bro.
@WreckingCrewHR4K Cheers mate. Hopefully the winter is not too cruel. Nice pairing of bikes there!
I prefer mid control, and you always can get highway pegs for those moments you want to stretch your legs on long stretches of road.
Fantastic summary of the forward vs mid topic Paul. I'm a fan of mids, they definitely suit me best.
Cheers Bernie!
You're absolutely right that there's no correct answer there, and it'll vary person to person and bike to bike. I've ridden with both, but the stock mids on my current Honda Magna suit it perfectly, giving superior control and ground clearance over forwards. I do eventually plan to add some slim crash bars though, and when I do I'll fit fold-down highway pegs to those which will allow me to stretch out on longer trips. That said, I've got a fuel tank like a pipette so I'm never riding for that far between stops.
my Rebel 500 and my sons Iron 883 had mid controls. So have ridden a quite a few miles with mid's. When I bought my SportGlide which has forwards, WOW it was like a whole new world of comfort and gave new pleasure to riding. The odd time, I would hop back on the sons 883 and ugh, the mid controls were just horrible and I was forever bashing my shins moving the bike. Listening to others who said mini foot boards made forwards even better, I went and got some and nope, not for me at all. I tried them in all three mount positions, tried them at different angles and they were just never right. So I put back on the pegs, picked up a couple adaptor pieces and turned the mini foot boards into "highway foot rests" coming off the front engine guard. Now I rest my heel on the pegs and balls of my foot and toes on the mini foot boards and what amazing comfort even in the twisties. On a long trip I just slid my feet up a bit higher on the foot boards and press down into the boards for great foot and leg support and comfort. A buddy of my also has a SportGlide and he switched out his forward controls to mid controls and loves it. So yep we are all different and what works for one person is not for the next person. We are all unique and need to find what is right for us and our own riding comfort.
I like the forward controls especially for emergency stopping. Both your arms and legs are braced to keep you in place. It probably has to do with the bike you own too. I have a Rocket 3 GT and I've had no handling issues at all. You are right about not being able to stand up for bumps though.
yeh I stayed with my mids as well.
At 5'9" I much prefer mid controls on my Harley, with highway pegs as an option when on the open road. That being said, my son who's 6'4" finds mids too restricting, and needs forward controls, so your leg length makes all the difference.
Best time to ride 👍
Down to personal preference on that, I had a bike with forward controls which had me quite stretched out. I put the touring seat on it which brought me forward abit and allowed me to ride alot longer distances.
I sit high on a V-strom and my feet are directly under me and gives me a chance to hop up if I'm going to crash into a vehicle. I hope it never happens but at least I feel like I'd have a chance to fly over the vehicle instead of hitting it. I've owned many bikes including a cruiser in the past but in my old age I've come to appreciate the 650 for its smooth engine and lighter weight.
You have a beautiful machine there.
I'm in Canada so Winter's about to begin here.
Cheers
I have a few Canadian friends/viewers 👍
@@BikesILike raises hand LOL. (but have also lived in Australia too and have dual citizenship with Canada and AUST. just waiting for the day I can move back to AUST.
@@impoppa9647 👍
Really liked my Victory Cross Country floor boards. Could adjust my riding position at will. If in a car park bring your feet back and you can flick the bike around like a mini bike, out on the highway put your feet forward for comfort and stability.
Hi Paul, I myself am a fan of the floor boards on my Chief. I can move my feet and adjust to the ride and riding conditions. I think with a combination of a new seat like yours it would make for a all round comfortable ride any scenario.
all the best and have a safe chrissy break!
You too mate!
Thanks for your channel sticker Paul. I've ridden a couple of Rocket 3s out at Bonneville for the last two years and really really don't like the forward controls because when the rear end spins up you can't rise up on the pegs and let the bike move under you. Of course this probably doesn't effect street riders 99.9% of the time.😄😄
You got the sticker! Nice. Have a great Christmas Jerry.
I have a Street Bob fitted boards extremely comfortable
I have ridden with forward control and I found it put to much pressure on my lower back
Mids all the way. I have had both and mids are definitely more comfortable for me, especially on longer rides and better control. If a bike has forward controls I swipe left
Having ridden with mids, forward controls,and foot boards ,l can definitely say that footboards are the most comfortable ,as you can move your feet around to different positions as you ride. However this doesn’t apply to dirt bikes, its a highway only thing!
your right , i have footboards which are slightly forward , and if i go 60 mph or more the wind blows my feet up and the ride is horrible , stay with mids ;;
Hello Paul.. have you done a video of all the changes you,ve made from standard on your stunning bike?
@ronniegilmour7538 I have done one mid way through. But you're right, it's time for an update!
I was just wondering when I'd see a video from you
Whichever is more comfortable for the rider me I prefer mid with floorboards as I ride a fat cruiser bike 👍🏽
Great video as always. Thoughtful and helpful.
I have a Sport Chief with added floorboards. I still have the mids and may try them at some point.
Random question - where did you get your Sissy Bar bag and what's the brand?
The sissy bar I had custom made by Sean at Bar None Moto barnonemoto.com/ Great guy and does beautiful work.
The bag is a 30L Rhinowalk Dry Bag from Amazon. It's designed to lay flat as a tail bag but I've made it work as a sissy bar bag.
Floorboards are the best, gives you lots of different positions for your feet. And they work best with forward controls. Mids suck. They’re uncomfortable and make my hips hurt over time. Mids are 90% a deal breaker for me when looking at new bikes.
Mid or forward controls are both better than floor boards. I have only had one motorcycle with foot boards and there is a definite feel of insecurity as you're not able to support yourself or use your feet to help control the motorcycle in some conditions
Bit jealous I must admit, my bike is tucked away in winter storage for 4-5 more months. *sigh*
Forwards look better and are good till around 70mph when i then found myself pushing on the pega to keep my feet on. However my forwards were more forward than yours.
How tall are you?
I'm 6'1" tall (185 cm)
Don’t suppose the bars helped the comfort much…
I have been playing with bar position over the past few weeks, rolling them back and forward, and have found a better position. I will make a video. 😉