Being a former Long Distance Rider as well as being 193cm (6'3"), my ST1300 Pan European has been customised to accommodate my frame for upwards of 10 hrs for a day's (sometimes multiple days') riding with Highway Pegs (MC Larry 2nd Gen), Heli Bar Risers (Gen 2), McCruise Cruise Control, and an already raised rider's seat with a 2 inch lift from customised padding. Pics below.
I have ridden well over 100,000 miles on this bike with the odometer currently reading around 230,000kms (144,000 miles) - there's not a lot I don't know about STella.
I only started to document this process after I had begun - so please hit me up with any questions below that I haven't explained properly. I searched the internet and found no info - hence this blog.
Thanks very much to Leo (Wild Rose) from Toowoomba for hooking me up with these seat risers from MC Larry.
Finally, this entry is written during the great public home isolation of 2020 as a result of COVID-19, so I haven't been able to test on a distance ride as yet.
The process:
1. Disconnect the negative lead from the battery. We are also changing the fuel line on this job - so remove front tank bolts loosen off rear bolt. I URGE you to check this connection as often as possible because it is a huge fire risk if it fails and can burn your bike to the ground!
2. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE LESS THAN 3 BARS OF FUEL IN TANK FIRST! IT WILL DRAIN FUEL UNTIL BELOW THIS LEVEL! Move tank back to maintenance position, lift tank, remove retaining clips and replace fuel line. (No pics sorry).
3. Remove seat retaining/position bracket.
4. Remove split pins and cotter pins.
5. Exchange OEM seat riser for MC Larry ones.
6. Fitting process is opposite of removal process. I have bent these tabs back a little so that I could put the rear of the seat on the lowest setting and the front of the highest setting.
8. I'd already had my seat foam resculptured to a higher level, so below are the OEM, before and after pics.
9. I have been able to put the rear of the rider's seat on the lowest setting and the front now on the medium setting (bottom pic above and below).
There is a larger gap now between the seat and tank...
Just sitting on it in the garage feels fantastic - but a fry cry from an 800 mile day on it - but I do have height adjustment options available now.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Diesel
