riding comfort

[Schattenreiter]

Originally Posted by shadowmaker07

I was considering starting a thread about riding and pain......

So none of you living with pain like myself have found that riding works better more times than not that a painkiller?

I was grounded from riding year before last for an upper back and neck injury and I thought I was gonna die because I had previously found that I could literally be sitting at home in pain and have to pop a painkiller or get out and ride which always seemed to stop the pain and no painkiller.

^ +1

[ke5eua]

Originally Posted by Amos Iron Wolf

The stock seat for me is a horrid torture device intended to lame you and make you never ride your bike for more than 15 minutes and even then think of getting rid of it. I would be miserable by the time I got to work 20 minutes one way. I had to ride with my feet extended and my upper ankles resting over the pegs to even finish the ride.

I can't say I'm an old fart, 28 years old. Army broke me good past 10 years.

I have the stock seat and I will say pure torture. I ended up taking my right leg and extending it over my floorboard kinda wedged between the board and the brake to keep it in place. That helped a little but I found my self stoping, sometimes on the side of the road every 50 to 60 miles to let my back rest and leg regain feeling.

I started my trip at 0500 CST in Zachary, Louisiana. Made it to Fort Gordon, Georgia at 2230 EST (1030 pm). 16 hours for 680 miles.

I will definitely be getting a better seat. I also found out my legs are a little to short to be able to use highway pegs.


Michael Hopwood
KE5EUA - Generally I'm an amateur of hams.
Sent from my Motorcycle iPhone app

[Amos Iron Wolf]

I always say that Army years are like dog years, every one is like 7 regular. Part of my back problems is from getting hit by a semi on Ft. Drum just before I was due to start clearing post for ETS after 11+ years. (Took the money to get out during downsizing in 94.) Guy blew a stop sign at about 35 mph because he was reading a map. Spun me once, flipped me twice and slammed me top down into a ditch. Hit so hard the shoulder belt broke my collarbone in two places about an inch apart. Made it a lot of fun for outprocessing by myself.

That also jacked up the back, but I didn't realize the starting symptoms of a blown disc, thinking it was just my hip hurting from laying on the gurney at the hospital for so long waiting for xray. I couldn't even get bouncy for a month with the new girlfriend I was moving to Oregon with. Fortunately she had other tal... well you get it.

By fall I was being seen by the VA in Portland and went through some bad bouts and to the point I was bent and hobbling. They were waiting on surgery until they got a new neurosurgeon in. By the time they did the surgery the herniated material had calcified and as they put it, "We had to chip it out like gravel." They found some herniation on the left side when they went in, but didn't want to cut that side get to it. Sad part is because I never got it in my military records as it happened right before I outprocessed and wasn't properly identified until after I got out, I got denied when I finally put in my disability. What I do get pays my bike payment though.

I sold a Colt Python I'd just traded into for my birthday in March to pay for my seat and windshield. Everyday I ride, and I ride most everyday and consider it a bad say if I don't, I consider the big bucks I spent on my seat money well spent. The seat itself is such a difference. With the backrest, it's THE difference. I don't think I could ride much without it. The stock seat could be outlawed as a torture device.

Hooah! Best on finding the solution that works for you.

Oh Slayaaa, when someone said they wonder how riding will affect my spinal problems she told them, "Riding is his therapy." They said, "I can see that."

[shadowmaker07]

Well, if any of you'll are told you need a fusion either run screaming or do a massive amount of research. I had only C5/6 done with illiac bone crest which is bone from your hip. NEVER NEVER NEVER let them use your bone. It's better now but I would have swore he BROKE my hip for as much as 8 months after as opposed to just took a sliver of bone off.
And I am almost staking my life that titanium IS NOT meant to be in the body long term especially!!! I didn't have pain until AFTER the surgery. Now, the back of my neck literally BURNS at times not to mention all the other pain.

[Amos Iron Wolf]

I tell people that any day I wake up totally pain free I immediately panic and start checking to see if I'm dead.

Blessings on ya Slayaaa. Hope you have some reduced pain days and plenty of saddle time to distance you from it.

Guess some of you appreciate how much it sucks when you drop something you need to pick back up. I hate that. It's always something I actually need to retrieve. "Dropped the bloody keys. Uh, how long before I need them again."

[Everson24]

I had malignant tumors in my L1 and L2 vertebrae. Both were destroyed by the tumors and some negligence by some technicians at my hospital. Needless to say this has caused me quite a few problems with my lower back. I was also looking for anything that would allow me to keep riding and I found the combination of a mustang seat with backrest and a crazy creek air canoe pad for long trips really helps. I also added 1 inch riser extensions to keep me from hunching over as much. Adding floorboards and highway pegs also makes a big difference because I can move my feet in just about any position to help relieve the pain.

[ms21117]

I have a lower back problem too, but have minimized pain on longer trips...I couldn't really afford the new seat I wanted, so I went to Walmart and bought one of those old fashoned car seat pads..the ones that fold..I folded it (so there was double padding) and cut it out to fit the top of my seat..then just duct taped the edges...works great...it sits me up 2" or so higher and lets me ride longer w/o back pain. I tried the back brace (the kind that warehouse workers wear) but that didn't do any good..Good luck!

[shadowmaker07]

Looks like I am the odd gal out with upper back and neck issues instead of lower......dangit.

[C.W.]

Originally Posted by Amos Iron Wolf

I'm another bad back, old fart. One surgery, still some blown disc on the section they cut out, the old degenerative back, blah, blah. Also some curvature I've always had. Been laid out a few times S1 getting slammed so bad it was pure agony. Never fully got all the feeling back in the outside of my right foot from where the right portion of the herniated disc pressed on the S1 so long it damaged the nerve. I'm all ears on the belt myself.

The stock seat for me is a horrid torture device intended to lame you and make you never ride your bike for more than 15 minutes and even then think of getting rid of it. I would be miserable by the time I got to work 20 minutes one way. I had to ride with my feet extended and my upper ankles resting over the pegs to even finish the ride.

I bought the Mustang Wide Tourer with backrest and have never looked back. The farthest I've gone in one day is 275 miles with just a few gas fill/driver empty stops. Like Hank Hill I have diminished gluteal syndrome. Sitting on a hard, or even poorly padded chair will cause me extreme pain and discomfort in a short time. I was only a little stiff and my bony butt was just a tad sore, not numb, but a tad sore. My back wasn't spasmed out at all. If I'd ridden that much in a car, even one with a good seat, I'd have been in much worse shape.

Also, the seat raised me up an inch or two and took some of the strain off the legs.

I do find that I am needing to bring the grips/bar back about 2-3 inches though. My arms are near fully extended with the stock bars with no real bend at the elbow. I can shake it out in my left hand, but with the right always on the throttle my right elbow and upper forearm ache after a while on the road.

I used to sit a bit crooked on my bikes when much younger according to my old man. I probably do now too. I know I have a tendency to **** my right heel over the peg, put my left hand in my lap, press back into the backrest and sort of lean/twist a little off to the left side.

Seat and back, butt, hand, and foot positions will all contribute to either pain or no pain on a ride. When you have good rider geometry for you it makes a lot of difference between a painful ride and a pleasant one.

Same story here. I ended up getting the PhatRiser-1 handlebar risers from Scootworks. It brought the bars up and back a few inches. With the Mustang seat and NO RISERS, I was getting pain around my shoulder blade area. With the risers it's gone, and the position is very comfy now.

[rjtmac]

You can make comfort work. Ultimate, Mustang are great options. Also in the mix is, Robert Doerr - Home. He will rework your seat to your custom need. Lower, raise, move back/forward, make the seat wider and install memory foam or gel. Will build the seat to your needs. I have an Ultimate on the VTX and Robert did the seat on the Spirit and did some custom adjustments for the wife. (can see that seat in the sig pic below) I can ride either one for hours.

Backrest is a must to me. Can go from the low end such as the grasshopper up to a Utopia. The Utopia's are great. Most adjustable and well made unit I found in all of my research. (Utopia backrest installed on the Spirit in the sig pic)

I also have risers on both of my bikes. 5'9" demanded that. 8" Phats on the Spirit and 6" Rivcos on the "X". Relieves the reach and that took care of my neck and shoulder fatigue and pain. The Pats allow the wife or me to ride with our arms completely relaxed and not having to reach at all.

The ISO grips also make a difference to me. With the larger grip and the raised rubber in the grip I do not have to grip the bars near as tight and can nearly release the grip on the throttle and just hold in place with the weight of my hand and the friction the rubber affords against my glove.

Floorboards or a larger Peg will help also allowing you more resting positions for your feet. I ended up with Kury Switchblades. I am not of a floorboard guy but the Switchblades give me a larger resting area for my feet and are more adjustable tilt wise than a floorboard. You can see the Switchblades and the dually's in the pic below.

Also the highway pegs on the engine guard are very nice on any extended ride. Got the Kury Longhorn duallys. Very adjustable and allows to find a very comfortable position for stretching out and being able to lean back on your backrest and let things relax.