Guest acoats11 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I love the 2004 VFR. But, I am switching from an XR650L and am used to an upright riding position. The power is smooth and adequate with the VFR, but does it have to feel like I am doing an handstand when I riding my bike??? Especially if I am going downhill or slowing down, the weight on my wrists is amplified and makes around town stop and go the pits and honestly takes the joy out of riding. The obvious mod was to get the heli bars or gen mar to scrub off that steep angle demanded by the racey (non-touring) setup from Honda on this bike. I like the racey position when I am in switchbacks, but lets be honest, what percentage of the time do we find ourselves in switchbacks. I find WAY to many straight roads in my neck of the woods. Bottom line, I DON'T want to mess with the handling of this bike, but I would like to be more comfy and am still contemplating making the switch. But, as the title of this post suggests... I am REALLY pumped of the simple mod that was made the other day. I installed the NEP cruise control and all of the sudden I have the option of becoming vertical on my bike on straight stretches with just my left hand touching the grip. I cannot explain the difference being about to "move around" on the bike helps to keep me from getting stiff (especially in the wrist, neck, and back area). Without the cruise control, my wrists are "locked" in the same position with all of the weight on my hands. How many miles on the interstate can you do before you become uncomfortable. For me, I was constantly trying to "improve posture" and while this helped, it really wasn't a practicle suggestion as I really just wanted to get comfy and rest. Is it just me or does the VFR have a very strong inertia with BOTH hands off the wheel. I tried to turn the bars whether it be by accident or a pot hole and it took a lot of pressure to stear it off center with going 50 mph or more. It felt VERY stable with no hands and allowing me to really sit up and relax for brief periods. I know this is dangerous but I was suprised by the viffer's stablility at those speeds and felt comfortable doing it on straight stretches with a smooth road. Now I really have much less reason for getting heli bars and I believe my next mod instead will be the corbin seat. I feel like the current seat wants to push and mash the "unspeakbles" into the gas tank and just feels generally all-together wrong. Am I right in assuming the corbin doesn't shove you downhill in the tank? I know that installing the cruise made the riding more dangerous but I feel so much more comfortable getting the weight of the wrists for a brief moment here and there. I really feel like with just those 20 bones spent on the cruise control, I have pushed my distance limit from about 1 hour to probably 2 hours or 2.5 hours before I reach the same level of fatigue (no exaggeration!) Interstates are not as big deal anymore in terms of comfort. For the record, it was recommended to purchase the NEP single cable Yamaha one instead of the dual cable Honda as the Yamaha fits better without modification. What's your take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbs34 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 As far as your wrist discomfort, and the turning you may really want to concentrate on your posture more. I know you said that you were correcting your posture for comfort, but what you really need to concentrate on is putting weight on your feet, not so much on your butt either. Your legs are the strongest muscles in your body after all so go ahead and use them. Along with this you'll want to use your knees more to grip the side of the tank, then use your hips to turn the bike at slower speeds to dodge those pot holes a a little easier. Putting the weight on your legs is why it was more comfortable to stretch when you took your hands off the controls briefly. Just remember, weight on the legs and light on the controls, and as a by product you'll develop better throttle and braking inputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Hi, and welcome. Beyond the NEP throttle lock, you might consider adapting an Audiovox CC-100 to your bike, or springing for the full-boat MCcruise setup: http://mccruise.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted August 12, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted August 12, 2009 As far as your wrist discomfort, and the turning you may really want to concentrate on your posture more. !! 0 weight should be on your arms, hands, and wrists. Next time you ride, consciously think about pulling your elbows in and making sure that there isn't any weight on your arms. Instead, weight the balls of your feet, squeeze the tank with your knees (this takes most of the weight off) and straighten your lower back by kind of pushing your stomach forward. It takes a while to get used to, but this posture should take ALL of the weight off of your hands. And, it sounds like helibars probably will help in your case getting you a bit more upright. The VFR is actually fairly upright for a sport-bike. If you think the VFR has a handstandy, racy posture, don't even try to ride a R1/CBR/GSXR/etc!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 +1 on what's been said above. You should be able to "flap your arms like a chicken" while holding the bars and riding. Good test to see if you're loose enough or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer trav72 Posted August 12, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted August 12, 2009 +1 on what's been said above. You should be able to "flap your arms like a chicken" while holding the bars and riding. Good test to see if you're loose enough or not. and you look really cool while doing it. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 +1 on what's been said above. You should be able to "flap your arms like a chicken" while holding the bars and riding. Good test to see if you're loose enough or not. and you look really cool while doing it. :biggrin: Especially if you do it when :mellow: :excl: :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wdgah Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 You should be able to "flap your arms like a chicken" while holding the bars and riding. Good test to see if you're loose enough or not.If you're riding a VFR without the mirror extenders, you're doing that already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I agree...the throttle lock reduces a LOT of fatigue, even if you have perfect posture. I have a bad back, so holding perfect posture is a bit tough on it, but the throttle lock allows for much longer days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TMJ1967 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 One item that can really help with posture and griping the tank with your knees are the Stomp Grip Race Ovals. I have had them on my '02 for about two years (?) now and they have helped me immensely. They are also very nice for preventing those hard checks up against the tank under hard braking. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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