Position on seat..

[hereiam]

..where do you position yourself when riding? My daughter was driving behind me the other day while I was on the bike and let me know she thought I looked rather upright on the bike, suggesting I lean forward more?? I've been thinking about it and realise I sit RIGHT up close to the tank. I tried this morning sitting way back on the seat and it feels quite comfortable actually.. quite different from where I'm used to sitting. Is there a preferred position? Not life and death stuff, just curious

[adouglas]

The short answer is no, there is no "sweet spot."

Two items:

- Right after buying my newgen, I did a tour of about 2500 miles. I learned that moving around on the seat really helped with long-term comfort. Forward, back, upright, tucked, etc. etc.

- Last year I started doing track days, so began thinking a lot more about performance riding. This might not apply to you. I now sit farther back in general, but the specific reason is so that I can hang off the bike more easily.

The looser and more relaxed you are on the bike, the better -- for handling as well as comfort. If you're jammed up against the tank all the time, you can't be loose.

Ideally, you're looking for your elbows to be bent, with forearms parallel with the ground.

Look at video of racers, even if you don't ride fast. See how they flow with the bike? They're not sitting rigidly, ever. They move all the time.

If you're sitting up against the tank, upright and stiff, you can't flow with the bike.

[hereiam]

Perfectly explained.. thanks adouglas!! I guess I have been in a too upright, tense position - looseness makes far better sense, something I will work on when out and about on the Ninjette

[csmith12]

Mr. Fist is leading you on the right path. Seating position is a rider preference and best assumed to be different for each rider/bike combo.

When you sit back in the saddle, it also allows your knee(s) to get a better lock on the smallish lip on the 250 tank. The better you lock your lower body, the looser your upper body and arms can be. Riding relaxed should be what you're shooting for, if that means you're sitting more upright or leaned over is kinda irrelevant. If you find that you're not really liking an upright riding position. Then clipons and rearsets may be in order to adjust the riding ergo's to your preferences.

[Supernam]

Your riding position should be dependent on your style of riding at the time. Comfortable seating position like you are already doing may be the best position for longer rides while proper aggressive/track riding might be your most uncomfortable riding position.

[hereiam]

Thanks csmith and Supernam.. I don't think I need to change the ergos of the bike, i.e. clipons and rearsets, but I guess, as Supernam suggests, it's dependent on where/how I'm riding at the time. On longer, relaxed stretches it is rather comfortable being closer to the tank - somewhat more upright and on faster runs it would probably feel quite good being further back and leaning over the tank. It was actually quite a revelation for me to sit so far back.. had no idea it changed the whole dynamics Still so much to learn

[adouglas]

On my tour I found it most comfortable to move back, get the weight off my butt and onto my thighs, and rest my chest on my tank bag.

Since discovering that in 2009, my butt has not been sore, even once.

[NevadaWolf]

For me personally, I found I could not get my forearms parallel to the ground without killing my back or grip the tank with my knees without straining my calves.

I found, for my style of riding, being right up against the tank is the most comfortable as it gives my pelvis support. Raising the bars kept me from resting my torso weight on my wrists. Lowering the pegs removed the strain from my knees.

I move around a lot, back, forward, sides, just to keep moving around in the seat and not lock up my muscles on long rides. But more often than not, I am far forward, upright, with my arms loosely hanging and my hands lightly resting on the bars.

[InvisiBill]

You can play around with http://cycle-ergo.com/ to visualize how your body is on a particular bike. You can alter the seat position in the Options.

Note that the small Ninjas are more standard bikes with some sportbike-ness added to them. The ZX-6R, CBR600RR, and GSX-R all have nearly identical positioning, while the Ninja 250 and 500 both have similar, more upright positioning compared to the true sportbikes. While there are still similarities, you're simply going to be more upright on a Ninjette than on a race replica, simply due to their different designs.

[hereiam]

Thanks so much for the replies adouglas, NevadaWolf and InvisiBill, really appreciate the input That cycle-ergo site is great!!!

[Mocha Man]

It really just depends for me. If I get uncomfortable 'down there' then I'll usually adjust a bit and hope for the best. My butt also tends to get sore after being in one position for a while, so I adjust for that as well. In general, though, I think it's more comfortable to be slightly hunched. I feel like I'm more attentive that way. Not in a full tuck (I hate people that do that throughout town with a passion) but just enough so I'm not completely upright either.