Improving the riding position on an ETZ 250

[Ian Richards]

At last, a success to report!
As some readers will know, I have struggled to get used to the riding postion on the ETZ 250; the footrests were too far forward and the bars too far back for my liking.

Following advice from Club members, I cut, rotated and re-welded the footrest bar to move the rests back by 50mm. This is about as far back as they can go without fouling the kickstart or the silencer. On the RHS, I shortened the brake lever by a similar amount: it seems to work just as well as it did before.

The reach to the gear lever was now far too long for my size 8 feet so I fabricated a short remote linkage, pivotting on the centreline of the lower rear engine bolt, rather than the frame, to avoid damage due to movement of the engine. This worked very well and by using a couple of Rose joints rather than a fork-and-clevis arrangement, there is no slop whatsoever.

I have changhed the handlebars for a pair intended for a BSA A65 (available in chrome or stainless steel from Feked Motorcycles and maybe elsewhere). These give a similar hand postion to the standard ETZ bars but place the hands about 50mm further forward and 50mm lower. The only modification needed to fit them was to ease the bore of the twistgrip hub very slightly (the bars are 7/8″ diameter (22.2mm) rather than 22mm), and to drill a small hole for the RH bar-end plug.

I am very happy with the result and the riding position now feels much more natural. I am 5’10” (1.79m) and the bars give a slight forward lean that nicely balances the wind pressure at 50-60 mph. Result!
Ian

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