Anyone built for comfort, not speed. Suggestions on seat, grips & clutch lever

[Ninjamomma]

I stated in another post that I was built for comfort not speed - BUT if I'm comfortable, I go faster (ha). So you'll understand why the below person is a sissy, I am a 54 year old woman who bought her first bike 9 months ago and having the time of my life, but with many aches and pains I want to remedy as best as possible. So, cough up some advice - youngsters.

Has anyone got experience with the Corbin seat for Ninja's. Seat replacement is sooo expensive that I made my own out of memory foam (2") that helps a little, but bottoms out. Bought an inflatable hemorrhoid cushion (don't laugh)for $8 didn't fully inflate it and squished it into a cover. This works great, but you can feel all the folds after a while and it doesn't look uniformed. I don't care about looks, just comfort to ride longer. Thought about going into business to have manufactured an affordable inflatable little square to inflate at your comfort level - for us wimps with sore bottoms who don't want to spend alot of money. Would anyone be interested?

I read in another post something about gel grips. I've seen grips at the stores that feel like gel, but are very thin. Can't imagine they make a big difference. Back in the 60's my brother bought grips for his motorcycle called (sorry) tiddy-grips. Now those were comfortable (much gel enclosed inside solid grip).

One more thing. My hand gets tired pulling the clutch in/out when I am in traffic with many stop and goes. I've adjust the cable, but the lever becomes loosy goosy. Can you get a clutch lever that is closer to the handle as my fingers barely reach the lever?

[Momaru]

I'm a bony little man so I can understand the seat issues very well. However I usually ride with overpants that have foam impact butt pads in them, so the seat hasn't bothered me much. However, I'd suggest contacting user noche caliente as she's been using one of the Corbin seats for a while.

Regarding levers, I know Pazzo makes adjustable levers, as do Shinto and Cycle Control. They're not cheap, but they will definitely bring it closer to the grip for you.

Not sure about gel grips, but I think about anything that fits our bar diameter could be made to fit. Probably want to look @ cruiser websites though, as they seem to have the thicker grips that I've seen.

[Havok]

Originally Posted by Ninjamomma

I stated in another post that I was built for comfort not speed - BUT if I'm comfortable, I go faster (ha). So you'll understand why the below person is a sissy, I am a 54 year old woman who bought her first bike 9 months ago and having the time of my life, but with many aches and pains I want to remedy as best as possible. So, cough up some advice - youngsters.

Has anyone got experience with the Corbin seat for Ninja's. Seat replacement is sooo expensive that I made my own out of memory foam (2") that helps a little, but bottoms out. Bought an inflatable hemorrhoid cushion (don't laugh)for $8 didn't fully inflate it and squished it into a cover. This works great, but you can feel all the folds after a while and it doesn't look uniformed. I don't care about looks, just comfort to ride longer. Thought about going into business to have manufactured an affordable inflatable little square to inflate at your comfort level - for us wimps with sore bottoms who don't want to spend alot of money. Would anyone be interested?

I read in another post something about gel grips. I've seen grips at the stores that feel like gel, but are very thin. Can't imagine they make a big difference. Back in the 60's my brother bought grips for his motorcycle called (sorry) tiddy-grips. Now those were comfortable (much gel enclosed inside solid grip).

One more thing. My hand gets tired pulling the clutch in/out when I am in traffic with many stop and goes. I've adjust the cable, but the lever becomes loosy goosy. Can you get a clutch lever that is closer to the handle as my fingers barely reach the lever?

A few people have the Corbin seat and from what they told me it's not so much you sit on it and feels so much better it's more that when you ride it for extended you don't feel anything (in a good way)

As for levers you have options for adjustable ones. Pazzos are quite popular but fairly expesuve as well. If you look in the tech section though there are 25 dollar ones that have rave reviews from members here an I know cuong had a set on order.

As for grips I am clueless I am sure any gel ones willbe better then stock and you can always try heavier bar ends that may help with vibration.

[Alex]

/moved to farkles

(not that it's a perfect fit there, but this isn't about motorcycle gear)

[DaBlue1]

Well, I'm not a youngster by a long shot, but I do understand what you mean by being comfortable while riding. So, I'll share with you what I've done to make my riding the Ninja a lot more comfortable. First let me say, I have a damaged thigh along with back and knee problems, so seat position and comfort was a must.
I like quite a few others think that Corbin seats are expensive, however I found a solution that was a little cheaper and works just as well. I had my seat re-padded and covered. the extra padding provides a little more cushion as well as prevents me from sliding into the tank. the second thing that i have done was to add an extra seat cushion. This seat cushion is a gel seat cushion made for a car but the cut and design looks like it was made for the Ninja. I found this cushion at Walmart for about $20 and it works very well when I am on longer trips. Bike shorts help to add some cushion too.

I have Pro Gel Grips. They are softer than stock, but after a long ride they tend to lose their effectiveness, however if you wear gloves with a little extra cushion they are quite nice. I like the way they feel with my winter gloves. Bikemaster http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...WT.ac=SLI_SERP makes some foam grips which are thick and cushy, but I felt they were too thick with winter gloves. So I stuck with the gel grips.

Recently, I purchased some adjustable levers which I absolutely love. For people with small hands, I highly recommend them. Check my review. http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=64704

Other things to help with making a more comfortable and smoother ride, is proper shock adjustment and good tires. All these things combined have helped make my rides more enjoyable.

[Ninjamomma]

Thanks ole' man from NC, for taking the time to answer very detailed (BIG HELP). I'm going to order the levers then head off to Wally Mart, auto department - woohoo! summer comfort hear I come.

[slolane]

Seat - I'm going through this now myself... purchased a 2nd front seat to strip and modify. To me it is the padding but more so the shape and lean that isn't comfirtable. When I built a seat for my ZX14 I spent some time getting it to just the right shape, I only had an inch and a half of padding but had the perfect shape. If that doesn't work out for me on the 250 seat than I'm just buying a Corbin. I have had Corbin's on several bikes, they are nice once you break-in but they are $$. As noted above, bicycle padded shorts are nice for longer rides too and may help, I wear these for rides over 90 minutes.

Grips - I have ProGrip 719's that are a bit more squishy and reduce vibes a little.

Clutch lever - I have Pazzo's, they adjust the lever in or out while keeping the cable in adjustment. I love em but will be looking into the eBay adjustable levers for my wifes bike since I have heard such great things about them on this forum.

[bluepoof]

I have a lot of posture/back problems so seats are super important to me! I personally don't like Corbins -- they're too stiff for me -- so I use Rick Mayer seats exclusively. They're custom made out of memory foam like hospital beds use. I haven't had one made for my Ninja yet but here's a photo of the one I had on my old Z750S:



Highly recommended!

The other thing to check out is an Airhawk -- it's essentially what you mentioned about an inflatable square.

http://www.airhawk.net/

The other thing that's helped me, ergo-wise, is bar risers. Makes the reach to the handlebars a lot more comfortable.

[slolane]

Hi Carolyn, those seats looks nice. I haven't seen one on a new-gen yet or known anyone that has had one but I have heard great things. Interesting, I will have to look into that if I can't mod a stock one to work. Thanks so much

[SaintJPN]

I'm mid 30's and I ride my bike 5hrs a day 5 days a week commuting to and from work in crazy Japanese traffic through so many different Prefectures including Tokyo and Shibuya... I can preach all day about sore tailends.

For the seat...My best advice is good riding pants and a Buttbuffer from www.buttbuffer.com

I've been using mine for little over a year now and I have greatly reduced having a sore tailbone. I have quite a few other riders that ask me about my seat pad...lol feel kind of goofy calling it a buttbuffer.

For the grips...I love my stock grips just the way they are...my trick is to buy good gloves with nice padding in the palms and fingers. Another thing you can do and I highly recommend this, is to wear a pair of silk or cotton glove liners. Silk feels better of course but both work just as well and will greatly increase your comfort.

For the clutch...double check and make sure that the clutch cable is ran properly and is not causing a bind anywhere. You can use silicone lubricant instead of the normal grease used and that'll make the draw a little smoother.

If you're riding in town a lot and have to constantly clutch...find your friction zone and use it so you don't have to completely pull the clutch all the way in and release all the way out. Make sure your wrist is straight when you're doing this...if you're clutching a lot and your wrist is bent you will get sore very quickly.

[littledog]

For sitting comfort I like this :

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/parts/..._seat_pad.html

It does make the seat about 1 inch higher.

I have the large size on my '09 model. Medium might fit better.

[jstrain]

I purchased an Airhawk seat cushion for the first really long road trip I took. It was a lifesaver for me. I've gotten more used to longer trips and don't use it much anymore, but it was great.

Not cheap (although cheaper than a Corbin), but it does a really nice job.

[SaintJPN]

If you're really worried about spending money then you can always eat nothing but junk food for a solid 3 months. That should build up enough "natural padding" to cushion all future riding.

Downside: gotta buy bigger riding pants

Upside: possibly get more looks

[Sailariel]

I liked the Corbin and did quite a few 10 hour trips with it. Handlebar risers are also a good idea. A ZG Touring windshield kept me from getting beat up by the wind and a 15T sprocket got rid of most of the buzziness at 70 mph. I put 12000 miles on the ninja.

[The Blue Rider]

Grip Puppies from California Sport Touring. About $10 shipped, they're great for giving a thicker, more padded grip on the cheap. I really like mine.

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by Shalev

Grip Puppies from California Sport Touring. About $10 shipped, they're great for giving a thicker, more padded grip on the cheap. I really like mine.

Thanks for the tip...