I've just fitted Jaws footpeg lowerers....it amazing what an extra 2 inches gives you....much more comfortable on my knees and hips.....photo in gallery. Waiting for Apex handlebar risers to arrive...
I suffer from the Thumb problem and numb hands at times, not good when you need to break. I concentrate on relaxing and using my legs/knees/back to support my weight I can ride all day, but must concentrate. If i just jump on a go for it, I can have sore thumbs within 30 miles. even on my upright speed triple i used to have same issue, but not as bad. ( 5" 10 and 47 yrs)
Nope. You need to ride and hold yourself up with your thighs and core muscles. If you lean on your arms your wrists will probably kill you. Especially if they're bent and not straight. Same with your back. Keep it straight, and look up with your neck, but don't lift your head too far... And the faster you go the more the wind will hold you up allowing a slight rest H
I am 5 10 and have 1,000 miles to Lemans and back and another 950 to Ireland this year and find the Blade as comfy as anything. I do tend to slide my ass as far back as I can and try and ride with my hands relaxed on the bars. Also have my pegs under the balls of my feet all that gives me a good riding position Perhaps I am just a lucky one that has no problems Trial and error I guess I know some people can get arm pump, and I did once see Randy Mamola (showing my age) once walking around with a squash ball, squeezing it That strengthens your wrists for some reason my wrists seen fine and I think I know why lol
Started to get back into the gym to get fitter for next years riding season, want to fit into an alpine 2 piece suit that wont make me look like the Micheline man, part of my routine is to do wrist curls to help strengthen and build my muscle in my forearm...
I do find with new, but otherwise correctly fitting, gloves, the pressure comes on at the fork of thumb and index finger. Not enough slack material. Whether I have abnormally long thumbs or not, I don't know (Devon). My height distribution isn't a 50/50 split from my hips, shorter body, longer legs, so despite sitting balls to tank, my shoulder line is further back, causing me to lift them and transfer more of my weight onto my wrists than I'd like to. With that weight bearing down on the glove material over the thenar space, my thumbs get quite sore while cruising. Twisties and around town, not so much, due to movement, I suppose, and when the gloves break in it gets better. But it's not so much about your height as to the ratio between hip and shoulder line that alters the weight you place on the grips.
It sounds to me like all of you have the same problem which is you are basically nervous/afraid of the bike you're riding and therefore much, much too tense. That's exhausting in itself. The bike won't hurt you if you're gentle with the throttle. It takes about an hour to get used to the instant power. You can away with bad body position, leaning on wrists etc on city or touring bikes but never on a sports. You have got to relax which means be confident on the bike. There's only one way to do this. Get on track where there are no distractions and build up speed slowly in the novice group. When riding your arms have to be relaxed, you need to be able to flap the elbows while your hands are on the bars, you have to take a degree of strain in your stomach muscles not on your wrists, you have to get the weight moving in corners and remember, it's much more relaxing to ride on the open road where the wind helps support your upper body than in town. But there's so much to think of you need to get on a track to be able to at least forget the distractions of the road. Do press-ups and sit-ups in the mornings. That's why they're called "sports" bikes. I've added Stomp Grips to help my thighs grip the tank and take the strain along with my stomach muscles but there is no substitute for unhurried practice, practice, practice, relax, relax, relax. Don't fight it, become part of the bike. I'm over 60 and I can go 10-days, two weeks all day, every day through the Alps (just come back) without any physical pain, but I've been riding Sports bikes for 15 years. You've got be patient and work at it - just like anything - and one day you'll never want to ride anything else.
I'm 48 and 5'9", when I bought my '07 Blade a few months back the first things I fitted were adjustable rearsets, two reasons really. 1 is that I use GP shifting and the only way to achieve this this was rearsets, second reason to get the pegs under the balls of my feet so I could take my weight off my hands. It took a couple of adjustments before I found the correct position for the pegs, but now I can easily use my legs to relax my hands off the grips plus enables moving about in the seat to get over the side of the bike through faster corners etc. The other couple of mods I fitted for comfort were a quick action throttle tube, takes away the awkward angle at higher throttle positions on longer journeys, also neoprene grip tape as used on mountain bikes, thickens up the grips and provides a softer bar, which, for me, helps with numb fingers through vibration, as I have clinical vibration white finger...not very helpful when cutting along at a decent rate and find you cant feel your fingers on your right hand to grip the brake. Twist Of The Wrist 2....yes great read, good video bad acting but very informative, certainly saved me from hedge hopping a couple of times by putting into practice what I read and watched.
Riding Position Just joined the forum and this was the first thing that caught my eye. As a 5' 7'' rider I can catagorically state that your aches and pains are nothing to do with your height. Its your position, bike set up and potentially any number of things. 1. How many 6' tall GP racers are there. 2. As above, work your core 3. Stretch hamstrings and shoulders 4. Ride and you will adapt your riding position. Dont go to the gym, just ride. 5. You are bound to be stiff after 1 ride. I fing the Balde very comfy and this summer we had to return home to Scotland from France in a hurry. 685 miles in 1 day. Genuinely no aches and pains. Plenty of stops. Stick with it and your height should become an advantage on a small sportsbike not a hindrance. cheers
thank you FQ5 and welcome to the forum I am the OP to this thread and I really dont think the 1995 CBR900 Urban Tiger would be referred to as a small bike
I'm loose and relaxed on my blade and slide all over it! Let the bike flow round the bends, hang off, it all seems to click into place after a while. I move my body into the bend first and the bike swings out into the inside of my outside knee and seems to just move round the corner on the outside of me. If that makes any sense at all? I do think its harder/pointless to move around on the bike if you're going slow though.
