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Seriously thinking of selling my VFR :(


Storx

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I am seriously thinking of selling my VFR and replacing it with something more cruise friendly. I truly love the bike, but even after mods I'm finding that I'm uncomfortable riding it for anything over an hour. I've placed helibars on, lowered the pegs and installed touring screen with very minimal luck. 

 

Basically if I ride my bike more than an hour I really start to suffer between my back starting to hurt and my knees from the pegs. I love to ride motorcycles, so I don't want to give that up, but I feel my time with this bike is coming to a end :(.... I recently rented a cruiser for a day from harley because I've never owned a cruiser and after an entire day of riding my back was not even close to hurting along with my knees from the forward pegs. So I'm thinking it's the bike ergonomics  more so not matching my body type. 

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37 minutes ago, Sweeper said:

As an alternative, try an adventure bike. CB500X, Versys, Vstrom. I love my CB500x.
 

 

Or a Cross Runner/Cross tourer.

 

I have to admit I'm the same, I added higher bars but still got leg cramps. My other bike, also a Sports/Grand Tourer I don't get the same discomfort.

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2 hours ago, Storx said:

I am seriously thinking of selling my VFR and replacing it with something more cruise friendly. I truly love the bike, but even after mods I'm finding that I'm uncomfortable riding it for anything over an hour. I've placed helibars on, lowered the pegs and installed touring screen with very minimal luck. 

 

Basically if I ride my bike more than an hour I really start to suffer between my back starting to hurt and my knees from the pegs. I love to ride motorcycles, so I don't want to give that up, but I feel my time with this bike is coming to a end :(.... I recently rented a cruiser for a day from harley because I've never owned a cruiser and after an entire day of riding my back was not even close to hurting along with my knees from the forward pegs. So I'm thinking it's the bike ergonomics  more so not matching my body type. 

 

Do you have a preexisting injury or something else that causes you to have this pain? If no, my next question would be: How much seat time have you put on this bike? I'm a firm believer that a bike needs to break the rider in and not the other way around. While mods to the ergonomics can help, the real secret to long distance comfort is the rider.

 

Good luck!

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3 hours ago, Sweeper said:

As an alternative, try an adventure bike. CB500X, Versys, Vstrom. I love my CB500x.


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Its funny you mentioned that, because the bike i sold prior to buying the VFR was a 2007 KTM 450exc that i owned in Colorado. I brought it to Florida when i moved and it struggled with the heat of Florida and constantly tried to overheat on me with Florida traffic, so i sold it for a more road friendlier bike the VFR.. the entire time i owned the KTM i never had any back or knee issues riding it.. 

26268831781_27a42170fa_h.jpg

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45 minutes ago, Dustin said:

 

Do you have a preexisting injury or something else that causes you to have this pain? If no, my next question would be: How much seat time have you put on this bike? I'm a firm believer that a bike needs to break the rider in and not the other way around. While mods to the ergonomics can help, the real secret to long distance comfort is the rider.

 

Good luck!

 

Well i have had knee surgery before, but i have never had pre-existing back issues.. literally the last 2 times i took the VFR out for a 2+ hour ride, i was layed out on the couch for 2-4 days with a hurting back....

Im not a heavy rider, but i do ride when the weather is nice in group setting.. 95% of my riding is in group rides with local motorcycle groups. I put 953 miles on the bike since my last oil change on January 3rd.

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The great thing about the CB500x is I can ride in several different positions and non with any weight in my arms, shoulders, or legs. I can't do feet forward with my back. The CB is also really light compared to the VFR. I can ride it standing quite easy which is great to rest.


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Try the BMW R1200RT. I have a 2014 as well as my VFR. Not sure which one I'd sell if I could only have one bike.

 

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On 2/22/2017 at 8:47 AM, Woodie said:

 

Or a Cross Runner/Cross tourer.

 

I have to admit I'm the same, I added higher bars but still got leg cramps. My other bike, also a Sports/Grand Tourer I don't get the same discomfort.

 

My leg cramps when away when I replaced the stock seat.  The horizontal ridge on the seat seemed to cause the problem.  I also run lowered pegs.  Unfortunately, my seat maker is now out of business.

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On 2/22/2017 at 7:48 AM, Storx said:

I am seriously thinking of selling my VFR and replacing it with something more cruise friendly. I truly love the bike, but even after mods I'm finding that I'm uncomfortable riding it for anything over an hour. I've placed helibars on, lowered the pegs and installed touring screen with very minimal luck. 

 

Basically if I ride my bike more than an hour I really start to suffer between my back starting to hurt and my knees from the pegs. I love to ride motorcycles, so I don't want to give that up, but I feel my time with this bike is coming to a end :(.... I recently rented a cruiser for a day from harley because I've never owned a cruiser and after an entire day of riding my back was not even close to hurting along with my knees from the forward pegs. So I'm thinking it's the bike ergonomics  more so not matching my body type. 

 

I highly recommend cycle-ergo.com to sort through potential replacements.  I've considered a number of other bikes over the years and I find that I can look at this site and get a good idea on what the physical impact would be to my body.  I have relatively short legs and discovered that I shouldn't ride certain cruisers with forward controls because my legs won't reach!

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There are lots of upright motorcycles out there. Someone already mentioned the Africa Twin, but pretty much every manufacturer makes an Adventure bike. Then there is the Ducati Multistrada. Oh, and the Aprilia Tuono!

So many motorcycles. So little time , , ,

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've lowered the pegs on my vfr which I found to be very helpful but for me at 6 ft tall I find the bars just a bit to low for long term comfort.   That being said I've stayed with the bike as is for years mainly because I've got another bike with a good old fashioned handlebar which works well on long road trips.  Everyone is different but for me the old sit up and beg position is infinately more comfortable for multiday rides.    I've read on this board and others how folks lower pegs, try heli bars, speigler handle bar kits, larger wind screens, seats but in the end they end up chucking it all for something with real comfort out the gate.    Nothing wrong with switching machines for comfort reasons, these days there are a lot of bikes with standard-bike ergos, why torture yourself on something that is not enjoyable to ride for any distance.   The vfr is a nice bike but time has moved on and there are better choices for comfort and sport touring ability.

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Have you considered trying to sort out your back rather than changing bikes....after all, if there's an issue with your back that the VFR highlights, surely it will only get worse over time and the sooner you attempt to sort it, the better. I appreciate it can cost a lot of money over there to get non-critical health issues sorted but it may save you time/pain/money in the future.

 

I had a fairly intrusive lower back issue a few years ago which I was luckily able to sort out through work, getting appropriate physio to help me improve core strength, relaxing, getting fitter and regular appropriate exercising. I still had to stop riding the 6th Gen though and I have a big test on my 7th Gen coming up in a few weeks which may cause me to have to try bar risers. Fortunately, they sell the VFR800X Crossrunner over here so I have one of those now and no back issues at all and very comfy to ride.

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I've a bad back also (age 67), esp lower back. I had to develop a posture and procedures to deal with it. With miles building up as summer progresses, my back improves.

A couple of key I've found:

- Upright and S-curve in my spine,

- Developing strong lower abs (the bottom of the six pack) to replace the weak lower back muscles (not meant to hold you upright on a mc)

- Strong grip on the tank with my knees leveraged by my feet on the pegs

- no weight on my arms/wrists/hands on the bars with forearm ~ level with the ground

 

I also frequently stretch my legs either by momentarily extending them forward or backwards, even resting them on the passenger pegs.

 

I tried Heli-bars and lowered pegs, slightly more comfortable but reduced feeling of control. So I ditched them and have been a HappyOldRider since.

 

My worst pain comes by my shoulder blades (after a few hours in the seat), which my doc said was from holding my ~4 lb. heavier helmeted head up in the wind stream. Can't do much about that and still have a good time riding. 'Grin (easy) and bear (no so easy) it' works for me.

 

Your mileage Storx may vary. Good luck.   

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12 hours ago, MaxSwell said:

I've a bad back also (age 67), esp lower back. I had to develop a posture and procedures to deal with it. With miles building up as summer progresses, my back improves.

A couple of key I've found:

- Upright and S-curve in my spine,

- Developing strong lower abs (the bottom of the six pack) to replace the weak lower back muscles (not meant to hold you upright on a mc)

- Strong grip on the tank with my knees leveraged by my feet on the pegs

- no weight on my arms/wrists/hands on the bars with forearm ~ level with the ground

 

I also frequently stretch my legs either by momentarily extending them forward or backwards, even resting them on the passenger pegs.

 

I tried Heli-bars and lowered pegs, slightly more comfortable but reduced feeling of control. So I ditched them and have been a HappyOldRider since.

 

My worst pain comes by my shoulder blades (after a few hours in the seat), which my doc said was from holding my ~4 lb. heavier helmeted head up in the wind stream. Can't do much about that and still have a good time riding. 'Grin (easy) and bear (no so easy) it' works for me.

 

Your mileage Storx may vary. Good luck.   

 

I agree - posture is crucial and it's surprising how many of us have a weak core - myself included. Having a bad back is just a symptom of something else not being right, so, as Skids eluded to, it's most probably worth the OP addressing the root cause rather than putting a band-aid (not the charity supergroup) on the issue. 

 

It is possible to strengthen your front neck muscles to take the pressure off your shoulder blades - I have similar issues and feel your pain! We need to build up our neck stability muscles as opposed to using the big movement muscles either side of our throat to keep our heads from falling off, otherwise the rear ones just get overloaded. There are some good videos on Youtube as to how you can go about achieving this. Keeping your shoulder blades tucked in and down is also good, in order to make sure that we are using the correct muscles when lifting/using our arms in general - our bodies are clever and will find ways of cheating if we have muscular weaknesses.

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10 hours ago, Loftust said:

 There are some good videos on Youtube as to how you can go about achieving this. Keeping your shoulder blades tucked in and down is also good, in order to make sure that we are using the correct muscles when lifting/using our arms in general - our bodies are clever and will find ways of cheating if we have muscular weaknesses.

Thanks Loftust, I really appreciate your advice. That scapula stuff is my biggest pain obstacle; I'll be checking out your referral. 

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Totally agree with the fitness and posture stuff. That being said, my 2015 V-Strom ADV is one comfortable ride...

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On 2/22/2017 at 6:00 PM, deltaboxii said:

Don't forget about the Honda Africa Twin...drool.

 

I sold my 2005 VFR for the CRF1000L Africa Twin. Love the suspension, cushy ride and seating position.

That being said I loved my VFR and after 90,000 kilometres never really found it that uncomfortable other than wind blast.

first_ride_crf1000l.jpg

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Congrats SFOM. I hope I can return to ride with and try to keep up with you. The Canadian PNW is the best area I've been in for mc riding.

Last summer those African Twin were hard to come by (selfish dealer in Nelson!) in your neck of the (fabulous) woods; was yours hard to find?

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8 hours ago, MaxSwell said:

Congrats SFOM. I hope I can return to ride with and try to keep up with you. The Canadian PNW is the best area I've been in for mc riding.

Last summer those African Twin were hard to come by (selfish dealer in Nelson!) in your neck of the (fabulous) woods; was yours hard to find?

I really enjoyed meeting you last summer, too. We had a great time at the meet. I love the interior of BC for riding, too.

 

They were hard to come by. I finally got mine in the second week of December. So, I basically waited a year for it. It's an absolutely fantastic bike.

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On 2017-04-25 at 5:27 PM, superfunkomatic said:

 

I sold my 2005 VFR for the CRF1000L Africa Twin. Love the suspension, cushy ride and seating position.

That being said I loved my VFR and after 90,000 kilometres never really found it that uncomfortable other than wind blast.

first_ride_crf1000l.jpg

 

Where did them big, blue Albertan skies go?!? They are replaced by the typical greyish, overcast and depressing skies of the west coast..... even the mountains contribute to making this illusion more believable.... 

 

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On 4/24/2017 at 1:48 PM, Shinigami said:

Hmm.  I've got a ruptured L5 disc and am ONLY completely comfortable on my VFR.  Sitting upright is agony!

That's gotta suck big time.    Hopefully sitting up on a barstool at a pub is still workable!!   

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