So I've just gone for my first longish ride of the year about 2 hours of riding with a 20 minute break for a snack somewhere and other than the occasional maniac actively trying to murder me, like previous years I am running into an old Nemesis.

To be blunt I no longer know where my underwear ends and my man bits begin. :mmph:

I'm wondering it this is something all riders face and must deal with or if there is either something wrong with my positioning or even possibly my now second skin(at least until I find the crowbar :rotflmao: )

Discuss...

Question everything!

Isn't the first long ride of the season the hardest?

How your gear fits
Where you sit on the seat
How much you squeeze the tank with your legs
How much weight you bare with your legs (riding light in the saddle)
How often you move around on the seat
Bike ergos
Thickness of the seat padding
Angle of the seat
How often you take a break
Even how you prep for a long ride, including what you eat and drink
Previous injuries?

When all else fails... we have a thread on here that concerns a yellow thong. lol

Question everything!

Isn't the first long ride of the season the hardest?

Not sure about this year but last year my hardest was the ride I took to Montreal; Had to take a lot of breaks for that because my knees would start to hurt after a while and using my frame sliders as footrests is probably not the best idea I've had on the Highway. :eek:

Plus there were some other issues with that trip I'm not really comfortable getting into.


How your gear fits

Probably not as well as it should, Been stuck in this weird 10-15 lbs yoyo loop for a long while now.

Where you sit on the seat

That depends on what I'm doing, if it's highway I tend to sit further back so I can lean forward, in the streets I sit closer to the tank.

How much you squeeze the tank with your legs

Usually a bit loose on there

How much weight you bare with your legs (riding light in the saddle)

I don't think I put a lot of weight on the legs, just enough for them to be firm on the pegs. But I could be wrong, Not sure how I can gauge that exactly but it could explain the knee pain for the Montreal trips

How often you move around on the seat

On purpose not a lot, not sure about small movements from stopping and going though.

Bike ergos

Not sure what I can do about that.

Thickness of the seat padding
Angle of the seat


Stock seat.


How often you take a break

Again depends on what I'm doing, if it's highway I try to take a small break every hour/hour and a half, in the streets it's usually more about when I reach whatever place I'm going to.

Even how you prep for a long ride, including what you eat and drink

Don't really take that into consideration.

Previous injuries?

Scraped my knee a bit when I low sided the bike on my 5th day of riding, that was at low speed though, did an involuntary wheelie at a green light, my ego was bruised a bit more. :p

When all else fails... we have a thread on here that concerns a yellow thong. lol

Guys my size and thongs probably don't mesh :rotflmao:

I really need to get my seat redone. Been wanting to do the Spencer seat mod, just haven't had the money our as extra seat to use or send out. Any ride over an hour and a half and my prostate is tickling my tonsils. Plus the stock seat throws me forward into the tank, gets aggrevating. How does the 300's stock seat compare too the new gen 250?

I can't help with the man bits part, but maybe can help with a few other things.


Re: moving around
On purpose not a lot, not sure about small movements from stopping and going though.


I'd suggest moving around more, even small changes can keep you from experiencing stiffness or soreness from holding a position too long. Tension in your shoulders, neck, back, hips, knees can get some relief by changing things up periodically.


Re: Bike ergos
Not sure what I can do about that.


http://cycle-ergo.com/

It is flat out amazing what one simple inch can do for comfort. I raised my handlebars up and the wrist pain I was experiencing is gone. I lowered my pegs and discovered that I actually need my pegs two different heights to stop my knees from complaining.


Re: seat
Stock seat.


If the seat is throwing you too far forward or creating hard edges pressed against nerves or muscles, you may find comfort in adding something simple like a bead cover or sheepskin, a bit more complex like an aftermarket seat (Corbin, Saddleman) or the expensive route of a custom seat designed to keep your hips neutral and remove pressure points.



Re food and drink
Don't really take that into consideration.


Not sure if it would have a direct relation, but certainly if your energy levels are low or focus is fuzzy from poor nutrition or hydration, the extra fatigue could cause symptoms like poor posture. Just a guess on that one, but I know proper food and water is vital for longer rides.


One of the things to consider also is what type of underwear are you wearing? Could a different style or cut be more comfortable when sitting for an extended time? It sounds weird but for me, going between the normal plain underwear and the shorts style LD Comforts I wear, I can really tell where the seams are and where the elastic cuts into my hip and legs.

You nailed it when you said you do not move around on purpose.

Sit in any firm chair without moving for two hours and what do you expect?

A few years back I did a long tour on my Ninjette (2600 miles, give or take). At the time I was having knee issues and was actually using a cane to walk. Had a lot of seat time to ponder what was, and what was not, comfortable.

The two key findings were a) stopping and getting off the bike once per hour really helps for long-term comfort. Just a minute walking around will do... and b) sitting still is really bad.

I also concluded that getting your weight off your butt is a good thing. The most comfortable position was to lean forward and shift my feet back, to get the weight onto my thighs. Leaning on the tank with your belly/chest. But, as above, don't just lock into that one position... move around and change it up.

Try this on an upright chair. Sit normally, upright with feet flat on the floor. Feel how all your weight is concentrated on your butt.

Now scoot forward so you're perched on the front edge of the chair, leaning forward with your feet tucked back underneath a bit. See how all the weight has come off your butt and is now on your thighs?

Think about how a jockey rides a race horse. Kind of like that.

After that tour I got clip-ons and rearset adjusters to give the bike more sportbike-like ergos. My butt hasn't been sore since, not even once.

I move all over the place on my bike. I hang my legs off, I stand up, you name it. I wear synthetic no seam boxer briefs to keep the chafing down. I also powder up my feet, butt ,and groin.

I do these things for all day rides, so for a short 2 hour ride, any of that can help if you're having issue

Not sure if it would have a direct relation, but certainly if your energy levels are low or focus is fuzzy from poor nutrition or hydration, the extra fatigue could cause symptoms like poor posture. Just a guess on that one, but I know proper food and water is vital for longer rides.


:thumbup: Spot on what I was meaning!

A few years back I did a long tour on my Ninjette (2600 miles, give or take). At the time I was having knee issues and was actually using a cane to walk. Had a lot of seat time to ponder what was, and what was not, comfortable.

Common... you was just usin' a cane to be fancy for the ladies right? :rolleyes:

Another thought I had just now. When you do pull over for a break, maybe a stretch or two can help get the blood free flowing again. Ah...! an exercise too, might I suggest twerking? :dancecool::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

Lots of great advice above.

I move all over the place on my bike. I hang my legs off, I stand up, you name it. I wear synthetic no seam boxer briefs to keep the chafing down. I also powder up my feet, butt ,and groin.

I do these things for all day rides, so for a short 2 hour ride, any of that can help if you're having issue

I'm with you on this one, on the all day or two day rides that I do here and there I use powder (as I do on long cycling rides). And speaking of cycling, I will wear a pair of padded cycling shorts (nice quality that breathe better and have less/better seams) , makes all the difference for me. Conditioning is key too, for me starting with shorter times and working up to longer rides is easier transition.

So for me it's powder, padded shorts and stop every 60-90 minutes to stretch, gas up if want, drink water (staying hydrated is key), hit restroom and just walk around for a few min.

:thumbup:

Here is a long thread on the subject
https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135145

lots of good advice ^
On day- long rides I'll wear bicycling shorts under my textile riding pants.

Another thought I had just now. When you do pull over for a break, maybe a stretch or two can help get the blood free flowing again. Ah...! an exercise too, might I suggest twerking? :dancecool::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

Pretty sure if I started Twerking they would register an earthquake in Toronto. :rotflmao:

Ok, fine... twerkin' is out then.

How bout something alittle more old school then? r6 rider's are smoof like dat yo!

dobEwXKwNOY

Its an age based thing. You should get a tat on the inside of your leg. Just some basic ink showing a ruler running from your taint to the inside of your knee. The farther down the giblets hang, the older and more crotchety and uncomfortable your riding time.

Oh, and when the bits are down to knees, start shopping for a pine box.

Or so I hear ... :eek:

So I've just gone for my first longish ride of the year about 2 hours of riding with a 20 minute break for a snack somewhere........... Discuss...

http://rideapart.com/articles/stay-comfortable-long-motorcycle-rides

Saddleman makes seats that are supposed to help make long rides more comfortable by taking pressure off the prostate, and distributing more of it onto your "sit bones" ( bicyclists know what I'm talking about ). I've been wanting these for the wife and I, but haven't pursued them yet. A bit pricey, but the reviews are great and craftsmanship appears to be excellent as well....so the pricetags are likely justifiable

http://www.saddlemen.com/ninja-series/ninja-250r-ex250

http://i315.photobucket.com/albums/ll455/ladypeasalot/goldbondbodypowder.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/ladypeasalot/media/goldbondbodypowder.jpg.html)

http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t330/bikingthings/italia-bib-shorts-blue.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/bikingthings/media/italia-bib-shorts-blue.jpg.html)

Guys my size and thongs probably don't mesh :

http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag67/GracieHolden68/atkins_diet_plan_zpsef271dba.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/GracieHolden68/media/atkins_diet_plan_zpsef271dba.jpg.html)

http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o324/bobs1179/100_1369.jpg (http://media.photobucket.com/user/bobs1179/media/100_1369.jpg.html)

Atkins Diet

31g0YE61PLQ

I've already lost 120lbs I don't need no fad diet.

My man parts are usually 100% alright. The only issue I have with my ninja 300 is that damn seat. lol. It hurts my butt so much. I'm usually good for about 1 hour but after that... nope. No thanks. Once my butt starts to hurt I start to readjust in my seat trying everything to take the pain cause it honestly does get numb are starts getting real uncomfortable. Usually I have to readjust to compensate for the soreness and usually this adjustment puts strain on other parts and this is when my back starts to ache, and neck... All because the stock seat is complete crap lol

Spencer's seat mod really improved the comfort on my Rebel 250. I went with the Supracor upgrade.

http://greatdaytoride.com/FAQ.html

My man parts are usually 100% alright. The only issue I have with my ninja 300 is that damn seat. lol. It hurts my butt so much. I'm usually good for about 1 hour but after that... nope. No thanks. Once my butt starts to hurt I start to readjust in my seat trying everything to take the pain cause it honestly does get numb are starts getting real uncomfortable. Usually I have to readjust to compensate for the soreness and usually this adjustment puts strain on other parts and this is when my back starts to ache, and neck... All because the stock seat is complete crap lol

So you wait until you're already sore and miserable before you start to move around?

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/61917681.jpg

So you wait until you're already sore and miserable before you start to move around?


Did you even read my post? To clarify, I sit in the correct position. However, because the stock seat is not that great after about an hour my butt starts to hurt. So I need to put myself into a poor seating position that takes my butt off the seat... Usually i'll just lay on the tank to take some weight off my butt. Doing this after about 10-15 minutes starts to hurt my neck, and back.

My ninja 250 did this same crap to me too. When I got that corbin seat though I was able to stay comfortable for my longest trip which was 3 hours no breaks.

Why, yes I did. You said:

Once my butt starts to hurt I start to readjust in my seat

Therefore you're sore before you shift. Did I miss something?

What leads you to believe that there is just one "correct" position?

What's correct is what's comfortable. Said it before in detail so won't elaborate here, but my butt hasn't been sore in years... because I don't lock myself into one "correct" position. That includes many miles on the Ninjette seat.

Moving around before you start to hurt... taking a break before you start to hurt... these things keep you from hurting in the first place.

Try it. It works. Promise.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n3wf717fKFE/hqdefault.jpg

I've already lost 120lbs I don't need no fad diet.

:bow:

congrats duder. :thumbup:

Why, yes I did. You said:



Therefore you're sore before you shift. Did I miss something?

What leads you to believe that there is just one "correct" position?

What's correct is what's comfortable. Said it before in detail so won't elaborate here, but my butt hasn't been sore in years... because I don't lock myself into one "correct" position. That includes many miles on the Ninjette seat.

Moving around before you start to hurt... taking a break before you start to hurt... these things keep you from hurting in the first place.

Try it. It works. Promise.


I'll give it a shot. but I still think that stock seat is garbage :)

In am looking at the Saddlemen seats.

I don't have men parts, my butt and legs get sore after awhile.

Okay couple of ways to go here. In expensive or expensive

Inexpensive... purchase LD Comfort underwear. No seams makes your seat time a lot nicer about $65.00

Buy a Alaskan Butt Pad (Sheepskin) Cool in Summer , warm in Winter. About $50.

Air Hawk cushion $85

Corbin seat about $370.00

I have a Corbin. Used it for six months sent it back with instructions on what I want modded. First year mods free. Seat now perfect could do a thousand on her if needed.

One other thing..nothing beats seat time to harden the ole butt :)

Hope this helps.

first rides of the year are always rough. I am always sore a couple of days after a long 150+ ride at the beginning of the year. using muscles the body is not used to using.

I just got back from 8 days on the bike. 7 of them were travel days the rest day was around the dragon. 2400 miles were ridden. We rode 400+ miles on Friday, and another 250 yesterday. I found myself hanging off the seat to stretch my knees more than anything. With the corbin, seamless undies on under my overpants ( no shorts or anything under them) my backside never hurt. High revs in the twisties would kill my wrist, but otherwise I was very surprised with the tiny ninja. That being said, the bike isn't for me, it's just too physically small which is why I was hurting so much in the knees

I forgot to mention in my previous post an inexpensive but great item is the LD Comfort underwear. It is seamless and makes a huge difference. With the Corbin I can ride all day without any pressure points. :)

I'm used to riding hours in bicycle seats wearing bicycle shorts; motorcycle seat in comparison are far more comfortable.
Gel or chamois padded bicycles shorts are great, not only because of the extra padding, lycra is form-fitting act like compression underwear that give you little extra support.
When you get off the bike and it's hot, no worry about taking off your riding pants and walk around in bicycle shorts to cool off, too.:dancecool:

For upper body long distance comfort, I look for a secure tankbag to lean against. Rest my chest/helmet chin against the tankbag can relief my neck, back, shoulders, arms, wrists and hands..
Simulate the seating position while on a massage chair, danger of falling asleep for those long hours on the highway.
http://vfrworld.com/photos/data/502/TonVFR01.jpg

There ya go!

Weight off the butt. Weight off the hands. Resting on the tank (or tank bag). Nice and comfy....

This picture shows exactly what I did on my long tour, with the exception of hooking my feet over the passenger pegs.

Nice pic A!

:thumbup:

Pic taken at highways speed, too.. demonstrates how steady the throttle and the riding skill of cameraman/rider next to me.

Actually, I had a $2.00 O-ring on the throttle, just like a cruise control.. so I can really fall asleep on the bike.
Ridden across the NA continent 5 times like that, throttle on/off is 100% by the rider, that's real throttle control.. none of that auto shut-off throttle. :dancecool:

VEEEE FEEERRR

great bike

there is always the classic monkey butt powder

Blue gold bond for an intense experience :p

The 300 seat is horrible. I switched out to a Corbinhttp://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t71/reggae5/ninja/100_0374_zps2aee40ce.jpg (http://s157.photobucket.com/user/reggae5/media/ninja/100_0374_zps2aee40ce.jpg.html) a bit better but still wasn't happy so got rid of that one and got one from a guy Terry Adcox on ebay. It was better but still not perfect for over a couple of hours in the saddle.http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t71/reggae5/ninja/100_0395_zps5b6003ed.jpg (http://s157.photobucket.com/user/reggae5/media/ninja/100_0395_zps5b6003ed.jpg.html) So now if my ride is two hours and under I just use my custom seat he made for me but if it's going to be longer I bought a AirHawk and have a sheepskin cover for it. ( these seats can get REAL hot sitting out in this Florida sun)
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t71/reggae5/ninja/100_0653_zps71e6fce0.jpg (http://s157.photobucket.com/user/reggae5/media/ninja/100_0653_zps71e6fce0.jpg.html)
With this set up I can go for about 4 hours before I need to get off and stretch a bit.