[Fibber Magee]

Lowering a Bergman ?

We are looking at the Bergman 650 and 400 .
I think the 650 would be the way to go but the 400 is a bit shorter.
I have ridden the B400, to be honest it slow, as I ride an H-D Electra Glide.
Thinking that buying a 650 for would be better for commuting the 40 miles a day.
And the 400 so we can do some short trips together.
So as the 400 is not quite a road bike, then thinking about if a 650 could be lowed then two 650's would be better.

So if any one has an idea . I'm looking for suggestions.

Thanks FM

 

[abm]

Lowering a Bergman ?


So if any one has an idea . I'm looking for suggestions.

Thanks FM

Go 650, it is a real Iron. I also owned an variety of big road bikes, I cant imagine the seat on the 650 is any higher. But there is plenty of foam to trim.

 

[Edwljoseph]

FM

Look at the photo section. There have been mods to the seat by recovering. There is no doubt that the seat could be re-contoured to be lower.

The 650 is a great bike

 

[Harold]

I had the seat foam recontoured by a pro and he said there was very little in the seating surface to remove. He did take a bunch out of the sides of the seat to make it narrower but it didn't help very much I also lowered the shocks to position one which did get me a little. I still have to tippytoe or flat foot on one side while keeping the other foot on the footboard. I must say, however, the bike is quite well balanced and I am really comfortable riding it. It is a small sacrifice to pay for the many advantages of the 650 over the 400. My inseam is 28". My take is to get the 650 and you will learn to handle it no problem. Best of luck.

 

[Ted White]

Fibber: My friend, Dawn, who lives across the street, has a Suzuki SV 650. I don't know what her inseam is, but she's only five feet tall, so it's perhaps less than 28".

She took her riding boots to a shoemaker and had much thicker soles and higher heels fitted. Now she can sit the bike easily without having to teeter from one toe to the other.

You might think about this as a solution.

Definitely get the 650. It balances easily, and with a bit of practice I've been able (most of the time) to come to a stop sign and actually bring the Burgie to a complete stop for a second, then move on, without putting feet down.

Think Zen.

 

[Jay]

I heard through the grapevine that the 400 is a maintenance nightmare. Go with the 600. Good luck.

 

[roy_ryall]

Jay, I think you have it backwards. Having owned both, the 400 is easier.

FM, the 400 will handle any "rode bike" requirements. The 650 has more power, is smoother, and corners better, but 400 will cruise at 70 to 80 without a problems and handles better than a lot of cruiser style bikes do. The 650 has a little higher seat height. I idea about the boots is a good one. If you have a short inseam, you will most likely be sitting closer to the front of the seat. The front part of the seat has thicker foam than the area in front of the butt rest. You maybe able to get some height reduction if you remove the foam from the front part of the seat.

 

[Stormsteed]

Never mind.

 

[Randy]

In today's high tec world the best way to find a shoemaker is to ask your friends & family .

 

[pauljo]

Stormsteed,

Shoemaker is an older term. I keyed in "Shoe Repair" and found numerous listings the Omaha, Ne area where I live. I'm not sure how large Davis, Ca is, but you could always try the nearest large city if necessary.

 

[Ted White]

Sorry about the obsolete term. There are "shoe repair" stores in most cities, even in Sierra Vista, AZ. In Bisbee, an old Mexican man, Roman Salazar, had one of the original shoe repair shops. It dated from the twenties and had a long room full of all sorts of belt driven machines that would do things to shoes you hadn't dreamed of.

I took him a pair of brand new Red Wing boots once and he ripped off the new soles and replaced them with Vibram hiking soles. That was in 1984. I still have the boots and wear them whenever I ride in the dirt or do serious hill hiking. I forget what I paid for the Vibram soles, but I recall that he charged me $15.00 labor.

 

[Russ Schaeffer]

Hey Fibber,

Geeze your handle tells me you are no spring chicken! I have a AN400 and it is plenty fast. (My other bike is a ZRX1200) It's way quicker than an Electra-Glide unless it's bored over 120 inches! You'll love either one, sometimes the auto transmission makes the bike feel slower than it is. Ride an AN400 with your regular group and you'll see you have no trouble keeping up.

Thanx
Russ