Rearset question / advice needed

I've had this 98 T509 Speed Triple for a little over a year now. I live in Western NC, on a 10 mile 2 lane with about 150 curves in it.
Ground clearance has recently become an issue with me. I do not hang off because the Speed Triple's ergos and big fat tank are just not conducive to it. I shift my upper body weight around a lot, however.
At any rate, several times this year I have drug my pegs all the way though corners, both right and left, and I am considering replacing the stock pegs with rearsets.
My question is, if I don't have the peg dragging to warn me of how far over I am, will I end up rolling up over the edge of the tire and laying the bike down?
I don't know if that was very clear... but am I asking for trouble by installing something that wasn't engineered into the bike?  

You know I have yet to hit a feeler on my bike but I do hang off the seat quite a bit. I hesitate to answer your question because it's a really good question and I don't want to make myself look like an idiot here. I would say change the rear sets and try it out. You'll have to learn to feel the tire rather than the footpeg. Beyond that I don't know what else to tell you. Good luck and be careful  

People do hang off on sport standards and naked sportbikes... although it is awkward on some bikes.

Anyway to increase the ride height? Shim the shock mount, something like that?

I think it's very difficult to roll off the edge of the tire. This is perhaps a myth for the Moto MythBuster crew (AT? Kento?) to test.

I'd wager you'll probably start dragging other things first on that bike. Look at Ducati 9xx/7xx. Most magazines remark about the lean angles they carry during press intros/comparos with these bikes and I've never heard anyone cite riding off the edge of the tire as the cause.

People do crash by running out of traction, tucking the front or <gasp> highsiding.

YMMV.  

It sounds like you are enjoying that Triumph. Good for you. I agree though that dragging bits is not good. Do you think you are close to touching anything solid? If the feelers are still on the pegs, you could get rid of them and see if you still touch. Besides catching a feeler in a crack or such could ruin your day. We always remove ours first thing. Grinding down your pegs on the asphalt isn't a major. I really wouldn't worry until the first time I hit something more substantial. I've worn a good 1/2 inch off the pegs on more than one bike without any issues. Having said that, dragging hard parts is deadly and not to be lived with. As you know, rearsets require a lot of changes to the shift linkage and brake pedal. Plus the bars are now in the wrong place and here you go changing the whole nature of the bike. And the hard parts are still where they were. So raising the whole bike is the best modification, if you are touching anything solid. I wouldn't worry about running off the side of the tires. Personally If I were dragging hard parts, I'd consider the Triumph had done its work and taught me well, and go shopping for more clearance.  

Yeah, I hear you. I'll be getting a Kawasaki next spring.

But at any rate, I was looking at my setup and I think that the first thing I'll try is messing with the spring. This bike has a spring that the manual says the preload cannot be adjusted on, but I say that it CAN be adjusted...and then maybe shims...I can't tell yet.
If I fabbed up some relocator plates I think I could just move the stock everything up and back. The brake pedal/peg all would move as one unit and the shifter side peg would move up and back, then I can just rotate the shifter upwards on the on the shift shaft (no linkage on that side) to compensate for that extra inch ( or whatever the square root of 2 is...inches). Anyway, I'll still be able to reach it with my size 13, no doubt.
I'm not sure what a feeler is. I think mine are gone. Part of my kickstand is gone too.

The reason I think this is such an issue with me is because before I switched to sportbikes, I cornered my Suzuki Intruder 1400 so hard one day that I drug frame and it lifted the back wheel off the ground.
Then I drug handlebar and helmet.......anyway, I know, two different creatures entirely, but we all have our demons.

So I can't roll over the edge of the wheel? Or at least, it is highly unlikely?  

A '98....  You could try a new spring for the shock.  It might be a little worn out.  Maybe something a little stiffer than stock too, though that could make the ride a little harsher.  Not sure about Triumph, but most of the Japanese bikes, while adjustable, seem to have spring rates for 140 lb riders or lighter....  The bike would squat a little less with you on it with a higher rate spring.  Might want to look at the forks also.  

Or since you plan on getting a different bike next year, just enjoy it the way it is.  

10 miles 150 corners.  Lucky SOB.  


Chris  

Casey, it seems you are enjoying the transition from crusier rider to sportbiker. You've takened a place on the ladder leading to riding perfection. Good for you, just please don't kick any dirt in the face of this old man when you pass me by. You know the best thing about this ladder is it never ends. It doesn't matter what your name is, there is always one more rung.

Your Intruder showed you the danger of your personal lean angle exceeding that of your bike's. Dispite what is often repeated, I would wager that in the match of machine to operator, it is best when your bike's abilities exceed your own. Then it can make up for your minor indiscretions, or in-others-words, save your ass when you screw up. With this in mind, you might consider shopping chassis before engine.  

Yeah, Chris. That whole 150 curves in 10 miles is just my best rough estimate. It could be more.

Anyhow I believe I'm going to just tighten up the spring and see if I can get rid of some of the sag. Then I'll call it good because I haven't spent any aftermarket money on that bike at all- just oil, chain and sprockets, fork seals, and tires (and more tires). I consider it my starter sportbike, I might have to say goodbye to it once I get my 200? ZX-??R next year.
Besides, rearsets won't keep my kickstand from touching down, and that's already happening.

I told my old lady I was scraping pegs and needed a bike with more ground clearance. She says "Why don't you just SLOW DOWN?"
I said I liked my idea better. It was far more realistic.  

Hey Casey, how come no yzf-r?, gsxr????, or cbr????rr?  

Because they don't come in Kawasaki Green  

I don't know. I like the Ninjas. R1s are hot. CBRs look bad-a$$. I still don't know exactly what I want.
Chris does, though.  

Yeah, if the kickstand is touching then rearsets won't do  you any good...

Otherwise, I was thinking that you do a lot of riding, so you'd get some use out of rear sets if you decided to go that route.  Even though you are looking to get something different next year...  


Chris  

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Besides, rear sets won't keep my kickstand from touching down, and that's already happening.

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I think it's very difficult to roll off the edge of the tire. This is perhaps a myth for the Moto MythBuster crew (AT? Kento?) to test.

People do crash by running out of traction, tucking the front or <gasp> highsiding.

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You need to change your riding style and learn to hang off. Even a little bit will help a great deal. If you are dragging the kickstand of that bike then I would guess that you are pushing it down in the corners. You may not be aware you are doing it but that is the most likely scenario. Get at least one cheek completely off the seat and you will gain back 5 or 6 degrees of lean angle.

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Not sure I full understand this "ergonomics preventing hanging off". A friend has a S3 and he hangs off without difficulty.

In this case, the touring sized tankbag is preventing him from putting his torso forward as much...
 

Well, maybe I'm not being very clear.
I'm 6'4" with a 36 inch inseam. The tank on those S3s is pretty fat, and the seat is wide and flat at the front. Those factors add up when you are trying to rotate around the tank quickly while negotiating the hairpin switchbacks that comprise my daily ride.
Two things about that photo: I DO hang off about as much as he is in the photo, which isn't much, and my hard parts are still grinding away daily. When I try going much further around than that, my knee nearly touches my front turn signal. Secondly, that turn he is negotiating would be what I consider a sweeper.
I do hang off severely at times, but only when I have adequate time to get positioned, like when I am approaching an on-ramp that I plan on taking at high speeds (solely for the sake of practicing hanging off, I might add).

Your friend does have nice form though.  
I wonder if it would be the same if he had a decreasing radius, decreasing elevation, reverse banked left hander that he was going to have to flip the bike into immediately after that curve, with no straight road in between the two corners.
Can you feel me now?

I guess it's all in my head. Maybe I'm just looking for excuses.