[whoops, another long response, for novice question,
bottom line; ergonomics is important, peg position
is relevant to that and to other realities of riding]
well i disagree with 'not comfortable at all'.. to each his own..
for me, there was always a feeling that my pegs were a little too
low and a touch too far forward for my personal ergonomics..
ie, i had the feeling of wanting to increase flexure in hip,
knee and ankle joints, thus raising the heel a little plus
drawing ball of foot a touch back and solidly on the peg..
lie on your side in bed tonight, but keep legs straight,
which obviously isnt a riding position, but you will
get the feeling for natural flexure in those joints..
anyway, yoshimura rear step plates came up
for about $80 so i went for them, 40mm back, 30mm up
[optional 40mm up for racing or hard riding etc]
it was just like being able to flex those joints in bed..
felt natural [for me, 5'7"] and comfortable immediately..
now theres less movement forward and back under or over
the gear change lever and my ball of foot/toes slip in easily..
this also results in slight changes upstream due to these small
slight changes in flexure of those joints, such as knees and thighs
a little better positioned to naturally apply pressure to the tank
and to some extent the seat, part of general control of c of g etc..
also, progressively as my body eased into the better positioning
my coccyx [lower 'tail' bone] or bottom began moving progressively
backwards along the seat, moulding it to that shape and causing
my riding position to be just forward of the seat stop, making
contact when accellerating and sometimes when sliding hips
across the seat a little in some cornering situations..
also allowed more relaxed positioning of shoulders/arms/hands
on bars thus fingers on levers and throttle movement by wrist..
i find it easier and more comfortable to exercise control by
using small pressure into the seat and tank with thighs
and inner knees as part of some riding situations
[compare getting up to speed in 4th or 5th say then
then taking hands off bars onto tank, lift your knees up
to press in against tank to maintain directional stability]
the position is now quite comfortable for me, taking pressure off
my palms and wrists, allowing for easier more efficient wrist
and finger movements thruout whatever riding were doing..
in genuine emergency responses incl fast braking it has
happened as a smooth reflex.. didnt hurt it anyway..
i really couldnt give a tuppeny stuff about what anyone
thought about how i looked, sporty or otherwise..
have no pretensions about trying to look like casey stoner
on my virtually standard honda cbr250r [!]
suggest going to a dealer and just sitting on all the different
motorcycle footpeg arrangements, from specialist dirt bikes
to cruisers and the various degrees of 'sport' motorcycles..
there is also the reality of increased ground clearance
for your toes, nothing to sneeze at, regardless..
having experience riding i knew that my toes would be
too close to some slightly raised roundabout edges i use
which kept me away from them thus increased less efficient
cornering potential.. with these step plates fm yoshi
ive tested these obstacles and now know my toes
and footpegs clear them.. thus no worries about
scraping my toes off on road or road furniture
full rear sets are adjustable and light and so on
and too expensive for me, but the yoshi rear set plates
do the job using existing stock footpegs and as im not
racing the bike theyre good enough for me..
if you have tools and work facilities etc and are capable
of measuring, cutting and drilling etc, then check out
the excellent diy how-to by auffit somewhere here..
if not such a tight arse with $ i would buy nice clip-ons
to replace the [rust marked] standard bars which
could be a touch lower for me, esp with the step plates..
and still couldnt care what anyone thought about it..
some like to sit on their bikes as if in lounge chairs
with their feet up on poofs.. to each his own
for me the position i now have does an excellent job
of allowing me to easily press down as i go over
bumps in the road rather than have the jolt travel
up my straighter legs and into my spine..
but to each his own..
liz you cant account for how or what people think
they think about you or your bike or riding it..
it should be comfortable, for you,
and for your riding style .
