This is gonna be a long one....

I have an "05 FXD with mid controls. My buddy has an "03 FXD with forwards. I've ridden his bike a few times and was never comfortable with his forwards.

It was a combination of things. It felt weird how I had to point my left foot to get it under the shifter and the degree of reach it seemed to take for me to apply the brake. In addition, the air cleaner forced me into a strange bow-legged position in order to reach the brake.

I decided to get highway pegs for my bike. When purchasing them, I mentioned to the salesman the issue I had with the air cleaner cover and he suggested peg extensions made by Kuraykan. I did buy them and they do seem to help.

When installing the highway pegs, there were two options for the setup. One making them slightly closer to the seat while the other option put them slightly further. I used the first option since I'm only 5'7".

When I use the highway pegs, they are really comfortable. They really feel good...actually, they feel great...so great that when I'm on them, I often imagine what it would feel like if there were a shifter and brake pedal and I were using them.

Using my imagination like that, makes me want forward controls if somehow my position on the highway pegs could be duplicated. BTW, I have tried, but can't get used to shifting and braking with my heels.

This past weekend, I demo'd a Fatbob with forwards and again the same negatives (to me) were present. It felt just like my friend's FXD. In other words, I didn't particularly enjoy the ride. Which, after my very long-winded explanation brings me to my questions:

1) With the installation of forward controls, do I get any options in the positioning of the pegs like I did with the highway pegs?

2) Are the shifter and brake pedal positions adjustable in any way? I do know that you can get a longer shifter and a wider brake pedal (which would certainly help with my air cleaner/bow-legged issue,) but I'm asking more about the positioning or angle of the controls in relation to the peg itself.

3) Finally, I'm aware that certain seats can affect the rider's comfort in reaching the foot controls. Some seats bring the rider closer while other seats put the rider further from the foot controls. Maybe the seat on my friend's bike and the seat that was on the Fatbob did the latter. Who knows, maybe my Badlander seat (part #52284-04) is one of those seats that helps those with shorter legs. Maybe the Badlander seat brings the rider closer to the foot controls. Does anyone know?

Wow, that was a really long post. I hope I explained myself in a reasonably coherent manner. Can anyone help?

 

I think you have the best set-up going. Mids with highway pegs. Best of both worlds and more flexibility. It also matters where and how you do most of your riding.

 

I'm not a lot taller than you and my forwards are fine. There is adjustment for both shifting and braking levers. And I booted the football for the SE Heavy Breather...no more bow-legged ride or knee interference! I've never liked the heel/toe, so here's a work in progress; a toe/toe. I used 4x4 aluminum angle and lotsa holes so I could try different peg positions (I like upshift=base-of-toes, downshift=pads-of-toes). I'll eventually marry a set of heel/toe levers to give me what I want...

 

I would think that standard length forward controls would put your pegs about where they would be with highway pegs. There really is no option, that I'm aware of, to bring the pegs closer to you but there are wider pegs out there of course and then there are options to extend the pegs/controls out further, but that is obviously not what you are looking for. There are many options with seats and air cleaner options as well. Bottom line, if you want forwards, there are ways to work it out to get you comfortable. It took me a couple of years to come up with a combination of handlebars, seat, xtended forward controls, tank lift, lower rear shocks, etc. to get my bike to look and fit just like I want it. I've been through a couple of different seats and on my 2nd set of forward controls but now my bike fits like it was made for me instead of me having to adjust my leg position, etc. to fit the bike. When I first got my bike, a friend loaned me his highway pegs and I just didn't like having to move my feet back and forth to shift and brake and didn't feel as safe doing the heel shifting and braking. I wanted my feet to always be where the brake pedal and shifter are.

 

Nice setup you got there pkellymc....gives me an idea. Thanks.

 

Does the Badlander seat move the rider closer to the pegs?