v7 stock suspension is killing me....or is it? thoughts....

[pikipiki]

So that's what I did.  I didn't run it the whole way down, but close.  Dang thing rides like a Cadillac now, comparatively.  And now the front end feels God-awful.  That will be my Saturday project. 

And as for bottoming out on bumps, ...

I had my preload dialed right back for a while and whilst it felt comfortable in a slightly bouncy way most of the time, it did spoil the front end + when you really do hit a bump the rear end can catapult you up off the seat quite surprisingly. Went with different rear shocks (which if anything raised the rear slightly, not an issue for me as my 31" inseam is to the bottom of my pants, not to ground level so I probably have 2-3inches on you.)

[Triple Jim]

About having trouble duck walking on an incline, we all have that happen occasionally.  The solution is to get off, and while keeping your hands on the grips, lean your body against the bike, and tilt the bike so it leans into your body.  You're stable that way, and can then push the bike forward or backward without much trouble.   It might take some practice, and it would be good to have someone ready to grab things if you get off balance, but learning how to do it should allow you to move the bike around by yourself when conditions aren't ideal.

[jgrebe]

About having trouble duck walking on an incline, we all have that happen occasionally.  The solution is to get off, and while keeping your hands on the grips, lean your body against the bike, and tilt the bike so it leans into your body.  You're stable that way, and can then push the bike forward or backward without much trouble.   It might take some practice, and it would be good to have someone ready to grab things if you get off balance, but learning how to do it should allow you to move the bike around by yourself when conditions aren't ideal.

I should have worded my initial post differently.  I WAS off the bike.  I knew I couldn't walk it while sitting on it.  Put kickstand down (so I can dismount without dropping the bike, especially now that I have bags on the back), got off the bike, tried to push backward slightly uphill with bike up against me.  Couldn't move it.  Tried again.  Gave up, got help, felt bad.  haha

I can move it easily in and out of the garage while walking on the side of it, but if there is any incline, Lord help me. 

[Toecutter]

Ok, for the back issue, the single, best, most inexpensive thing I can suggest is... sheepskin. Get one. Buy it from Tandy, cut it to size, and sew on some hefty elastic.

Honestly, it's a game changer.

Now, it won't help with your reach issue, of course.

My inexpensive and simplest solution for that is...Cut down your seat. Remove the cover, shave the foam, especially on the sides, where your inner thighs touch. You can reuse the stock cover... just be methodical and it should turn out just fine.