Struggling With Comfort Issues

[canib]

Hello VFRD! Long time no post.

I’m having a hard time with comfort issues on my 2006 VFR. I have the Sergeant seat, Heli-bars, and ZG double bubble wind screen. I have a ton of other mods too, but none of them should be relevant to comfort. Here’s the problem; rides longer than 30 minutes are uncomfortable in my back, neck, and shoulders. If I didn’t have so much money invested in the VFR I would seriously consider dumping it for a standard (love the Superdukes and FZ1s) The problem is it seems like the reach to the bars is too far. A friend of mine, who rides a ninja, even agrees that it’s a long reach to the bars. The worst is commuting through stop and go traffic. That really wears me out. I squeeze my knees when I come to a stop, but I have to put my feet down eventually and end up with too much weight on my arms.

Here are my questions;

What am I missing?

Am I just a 31 year old pu**y?

Does anyone have experience with the LSL Superbike bars on the 6th gen?

Anyone within 100 miles of Vegas with those bars who’d let me try them out?

The Sergeant Seat seems to make me sit farther away from the bars, anyone else notice this?

When I put the heli-bars on, did I not have them tilted back far enough? They are about 1.5 inches away from the tank at full lock.

Thanks in advance for all your help! I already scoot my butt as far forward as possible and keep my abs tight to help support the lower back. I’m really hoping there’s a way to fix this so I can keep my lovely VFR. Leg position is fine, I just lean too far forward.

[canib]

Thanks all! This is why I love this forum. You all had great suggestions and I’ve summarized them at the bottom here. I’ve also answered some of your questions. I do work on my riding position when I remember, but I’ll work on it more. I’ll go center-stand practice until I think I’ve gotten a better position.

Dimensions: 6 feet, 175lbs

Exercise regularly, in good physical condition, don't stretch as much as I should

Been riding 7 years

I've put 13k+ miles on this bike

Suggestions;

Riding position, riding position, riding position.

Try someone else’s bike. Either it's the bike or it's me. (Thanks, I was actually super comfortable on my Harley and old CB650. I'll borrow my friends FZ1 for a day to see how I feel.)

Relax hands and arms (nervous in traffic? In Vegas stop and go traffic, yes.)

Try a Corbin instead of a Sergeant, there seems to be very different seating positions.

Do back stretching exercises before a ride. (I work out but rarely stretch, thanks!)

Converti-bars

Vario-bars

Tank traction pads (I just put on some no-slip shower floor stickers that work great)

Try sweeping the bars forward a little. The angle may be cocking my wrists at a bad angle. Could cause tendinitis of the elbows.

Try dropping the forks all the way down. (Good idea, I'll need to research how this effects ride-ability first though)

[Misspent Youth]

Get the Spiegler Superbike bar conversion and BLS's peg brackets and you'll forget about comfort issues altogether (and start thinking about more torque down low . . . .).

I put a set on my '98 and it was the best move I've made. No more numb fingers, elbow pain, lower back issues, nada.

[FotoMoto]

Rule of thumb: elbows pointing down, not out. You can't support your upper body weight if they are down which takes a great load the arms/hands/wrists.

I ran the handlebar setup previously posted above because it didn't necessarily move the bars higher (it did slightly) but more so it moved then farther back reducing the reach which helps greatly too. A near 6 gallon tank is big/long. :cool: