enumclaw
Member
I wanted to let the community know about a fellow enthusiast and retailer stepping in to fill what I perceive to be a need. A little back story…
I rode a first gen Concours for about a decade, starting in 2005 when I had a pristine low mileage example virtually fall in to my lap. Shortly thereafter I learned about Murph at Murphskits.com. I know there are more than a few FJR riders that are former (and maybe current) Concours riders of any generation, and no doubt every one of them knows about Murph. Over the years of C10 ownership I got many supplies and farkles through Murph, one of them being some very simple and effective peg lowering brackets. At 6’-5” the seat height and the foot position are the first things I look at likely changing on a bike.
I sold the C10 a few years ago thinking I was done with the heavier ST bikes (I have a V-Strom and a DRz also), but I had always had an eye on the FJR since I first saw a co-workers in 2005. After getting the itch for a mile eater and carving machine again, I picked up a 2005 in November 2017 for a song; so many years ahead in term of technical advances than the C10, and it only cost me $1300 more than what I got for the Kawasaki. First thing, boom, looking to improve the seat and foot peg arrangement.
The seat was easy, as I usually do my own build up, then have a local upholsterer put the finishing touch on it. The lowering brackets, not so much. I quickly discovered, as everyone here knows, there are very limited options. Well, I finally came across a set of MCL brackets that hadn’t been jumped on by someone before me. They make a big difference in knee comfort, but the shift lever and brake pedal needed some work for me. I was looking at cutting and welding the shift lever, in particular, to try and bring it out a bit, down a bit, as well as a bit longer to accommodate my big feet. But I’m no welder. Now, full disclosure, Gary Murphy has become a good friend of mine over the years, and I talked to him about the cutting and welding I was looking at having done to the shift lever. He said he could do it, had done it for a few C10 owners in the past. In the course of the conversation we discussed the difficulty in finding lowering brackets for the FJR. Not only that MCL isn’t around to make any more, but the options for varied designs are pretty limited, mostly a result of the damn brake pivot being directly below the peg mount.
So to make a long story short, he’s stepping in to machine the brackets (which I am amazed no one has stepped in to do already), and just as importantly, he’s doing some prototype work on the shift lever that improves the dimensions and can be (semi) mass-produced .
I can’t speak to when things will be ready for market, but I would suggest sending him a note at [email protected] for the straight scoop.
Rob
I rode a first gen Concours for about a decade, starting in 2005 when I had a pristine low mileage example virtually fall in to my lap. Shortly thereafter I learned about Murph at Murphskits.com. I know there are more than a few FJR riders that are former (and maybe current) Concours riders of any generation, and no doubt every one of them knows about Murph. Over the years of C10 ownership I got many supplies and farkles through Murph, one of them being some very simple and effective peg lowering brackets. At 6’-5” the seat height and the foot position are the first things I look at likely changing on a bike.
I sold the C10 a few years ago thinking I was done with the heavier ST bikes (I have a V-Strom and a DRz also), but I had always had an eye on the FJR since I first saw a co-workers in 2005. After getting the itch for a mile eater and carving machine again, I picked up a 2005 in November 2017 for a song; so many years ahead in term of technical advances than the C10, and it only cost me $1300 more than what I got for the Kawasaki. First thing, boom, looking to improve the seat and foot peg arrangement.
The seat was easy, as I usually do my own build up, then have a local upholsterer put the finishing touch on it. The lowering brackets, not so much. I quickly discovered, as everyone here knows, there are very limited options. Well, I finally came across a set of MCL brackets that hadn’t been jumped on by someone before me. They make a big difference in knee comfort, but the shift lever and brake pedal needed some work for me. I was looking at cutting and welding the shift lever, in particular, to try and bring it out a bit, down a bit, as well as a bit longer to accommodate my big feet. But I’m no welder. Now, full disclosure, Gary Murphy has become a good friend of mine over the years, and I talked to him about the cutting and welding I was looking at having done to the shift lever. He said he could do it, had done it for a few C10 owners in the past. In the course of the conversation we discussed the difficulty in finding lowering brackets for the FJR. Not only that MCL isn’t around to make any more, but the options for varied designs are pretty limited, mostly a result of the damn brake pivot being directly below the peg mount.
So to make a long story short, he’s stepping in to machine the brackets (which I am amazed no one has stepped in to do already), and just as importantly, he’s doing some prototype work on the shift lever that improves the dimensions and can be (semi) mass-produced .
I can’t speak to when things will be ready for market, but I would suggest sending him a note at [email protected] for the straight scoop.
Rob
