Does your body really get used to it?

[F14CRAZY]

For the past couple months I've been commuting on my K75 about 140 miles a day, 5 days a week. I feel alright after each 70 mile trip. I've read about how your body gets used to being in the motorcycling position.

If I'm on the bike for much more than that (trip is about an hour...virtually all slab) I get some soreness that seems to be in my inner thighs. It's enough to want to take ibuprofen when I get home. I'm writing this thread because this happened yesterday.

It seems like after owning the bike for 15k miles and being on it as much as I am that I would be "used to it" by now. Guys here on the board will post about taking 11 hour day trips but I don't see how I could survive for half that time.

Bike has a Corbin seat which seems to still be in good shape. It isn't exactly my ass that hurts though anyway. Bike has bar backs/risers. With the front Progressive springs and 412 rear I'd say it rides well...rides like my Buick when my fiancee is on.

I'm about 5' 7'', 148 lbs, 27...I'm not what I would consider "old"

I'm thinking about doing yoga with my fiancee to see if that helps.

Do I just need to stop and get off and go for a walk every hour? Guys do ironbutt runs on bikes with far worse ergonomics than mine.

Any comments?

[motodude]

I know nothing about anatomy, etc.  But, being 50+ and riding between 400-600 miles / day when travelling (my commute is ~2 miles) I do have some experience riding distances (I've got an IBA number around here somewhere).  I sometimes get pain in my knees (I was young once and never really thought I'd get old).  I take Aleve, one pill for 8 hours, yada yada yada.  I ride all year 'round but travel much more in the summer months.  I've noticed that pain is much more likely in the spring than in the fall, so I suspect there's some level of "getting used to it" is going on.  Couple of things:

1) Try removing the bar-backs / risers.  A forward lean may make things a bit more comfortable.  Try it for a week or two and see if that helps.  If not, you can always put them back on.  If it helps a little bit, you might even try getting some S or RS bars to see if that helps more (1100 RS bars are a bit wider and higher than 100 RS bars).

2) The Corbin seat.  It will be much more comfortable if you're leaning forward a bit.  I had a Corbin on an RT and found it quite, "hard".   Now I have it on my RS and it is like a whole other seat.  Much more comfortable

3) Try placing your feet on the passenger pegs from time to time, or sitting on the back of the seat for some distance as you ride.  These are techniques that many long distance riders use. 

4) Yoga with your main squeeze, cannot possibly be a bad thing!

[johnny]

greetings crazy...

its all abouts blood flow... it took me several seats till i could ride 16 hours a day back to back to back days with no
thigh or knee pain... its ergos... it starts with the seat and the handlebars...

im thinking you are pinching your inner thighs on that corbin... will cause inner thigh pain and knee pain...

1st thing is to stand up on the pegs often... long before the pain commences... keeps the blood flowing...

2nd thing is find a seat or customize your seat to where the seat caresses your butt without putting pressure on your inner thighs...

3rd thing is the master yoda...

also i likes stars n strips... yeeeeehaaaaaa...

j o

[TimTyler]

At 50, I certainly feel a little stiff when stopping to gas-up, and a bit sore after a long day of riding, but never so much that I want meds.

I have a low, hard Corbin with room to slide my butt around but almost no cushioning. At 5'-8" the low seat allows me to keep my feet on the ground when stopped.

Currently using S-bars which for me provide the most natural wrist and arm positioning. That combined with the low windscreen means I'm often in a front-leaning, sport position, resting my chest on the tank bag. I switch my feet to the passenger pegs from time to time. I also stand on the pegs every once in a while and let my legs support my weight. Sometimes I'll just lift my butt off the seat and give my leg muscles a workout for a while.

The trick for me is to change positions fairly often.

My suggestion for you is to ride every 5th mile elevated off the saddle an inch. Let your legs do some work. Trying different handlebars or just handlebar positions might make an ergonomic improvement too.

[mw074]

You need a Russell seat. End of story. If you want to try one ride over and put one on your bike and test drive it. There is no better seat, hands down. It will change your riding experience. BTW, no affiliation with Russell. Just many years a happy customer.

[Bokobob]

I love to sit upright, but I am old, 79.  I recently installed oem engine bars and Kuryakyn highly-moveable pegs...I find
I am only using these  forward pegs for five-minute periods every 20 miles or so.   I also have a cheap rider's backrest for the Corbin seat.  I have it adjusted so it just touches my back most of the time.  Feels good to me.

[Brad-Man]

You have described what I experienced after taking the MFC Beginner's course after not having ridden (all day) for quite a while.


This was on my K100 - and that is the first "Big Bike" I will say I've ever ridden.  All others were Yamaha RD350's, a Honda SL100 and an SL350.

I hadn't been on a bike for more that 1/2 hour in 35 years before this.

Of course we were on and off the bikes all day and not on long at any one time.

I believe this is a result of a tendency to really "grip" the bike and also to "press" when banking instead of simply counter-steering and "going w/the flow".  Part of this was sheer nervousness - wanting to show well against a bunch of Harley's and 1 or 2 sport bikes(course was put on by the Harley Dealer) as well as normal competitiveness.

My butt was NOT sore, but then again - we were on and off all day.

I literally cramped  up several times after the course was over.

I believe that just relaxing and reminding yourself that you won't fall off if you don't have a "death grip" with your legs will resolve it.

Regards,

Brad

[bocutter Ed]

I'm about 5' 7'', 148 lbs, 27...I'm not what I would consider "old"

I'm a tad under 6', 170 lbs, 61 ... and the only thing that gets sore on a long day is the wrists.

I'll guess my 34/35" in-seam keeps my butt flatter on the bench seat.

[F14CRAZY]

I took some of your collective suggestions into account on a 260 mile trip the fiancee and I took yesterday.

She's had a tendency to slide forward while holding onto me, which pushed me forward in the seat. I asked her to stay back a bit and I made a conscious effort to keep my butt as far back as possible. I also would put my toes on the pegs once in a while instead of just keeping my arches on the pegs.

Also would use my legs to relieve pressure for short periods.

I also generally just moved a bit.

And this time I feel a lot better. I'm a little sore where the bottom of my hips sits on the edges of the seat but I don't have that awful inner thigh soreness (not the kind of area you'd want to massage in public). I think this may be due to me being on the short side for the bike and seat so my knees aren't as high and thus my thighs press down on the edges a bit.

My back, arms, and wrists seem to be alright.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we can live with the Corbin for at least a while longer.

[achtung3]

F14Crazy,

I hope you solved your discomfort problem, this if what I found out about my K75.
I have a Corbin on my K75 too but it came with the bike when I purchased and it is comfortable for rides up to 3hrs, but I found out that if I use my gel cushion that I use for my other bike I can ride all day, I do ride solo though.

I hope this will help.
Cheers