I'm a physical wreck!

[Bill Lumberg]

I stop hourly when the wife is on. I stop when I'm at one bar on the fuel gauge otherwise. Going from north GA to NOLA later this week, leaving and driving nonstop except for fuel and probably one bathroom break. I'm sure this thread will occur to me. If I had ridden the fjr before I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it. It was billed as a sport tourer, so I thought it'd be configured like one. It's so strong in other areas, the mods to make it comfortable are more than worth it.

 

[thompsonian]

Personal of a question as this may be, but what are you wearing under your riding gear? I've found that certain types of undies cause undue pressure points in areas I would've never considered. I bought a pair of the Motoskivvies Adventure and they made a huge difference on my recent trip to Maggie Valley. They were good for a tank of fuel, then I needed a stretch, cause like you I'm 6'3 and of larger dimension.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

For me, jeans (while comfortable) are the worst for an all day ride. Starts out fine. Turns to hell towards the end of the day. I still wear them sometimes. But I prefer 5.11's.

 

[Steel_Gin]

Stock setup, 60 to 90 minutes I was totally uncomfortable. That forced me to buy an RDL and Heli triple tree, now I can ride full to reserve in comfort. I believe being in moderate shape helps a whole lot more than people realize. Walking or jogging three or four times a week alone would be a big help. Adding some push ups and sit ups a few times a week would be even better. All simple things anyone can do at home and not turn in to a gym rat. Speaking from personal experience, on those multi tanks I'm tired at the end but I have a big smile on my face. Plus the conditioning helps to be recovered and ready to go the next day with a good nights sleep.

 

[garyahouse]

Do it soon, riding season is almost here for most of N America.

-Steve

Where ya been, Steve? It's BEEN HERE for several weeks now.

-- Oh yeah, Canada... what was I thinking?

Gary

darksider #44

 

[sapest]

Gary

Where I live its riding season all yr round, just like where you live. (except for 47 days this winter when we had snow on the ground, which is NOT normal)

I was thinking of where other poor souls live who are just digging out and checking batteries and such!

-Steve

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

Great advice, as usual, from this crowd. Personally, 6'3", about 10 or 12 pounds overweight (after last weekend's Healthy Eating and Drinking Tour to Road America for the races................) some arthritis, but not too bad, a couple lower back discs that I have to be cautious about. The usual for my age and a lot of the folks here, I guess.

Everything stock, bars in the forward position. Coming from a sport bike (Honda VTR SuperHawk, which I still have), I totally agree on what some others have said. Windshield is too tall and/or shaped wrong for someone my height. The dirty/clean air line hits right at the base of my helmet, which causes considerable buffeting and noise. If I sit bolt upright and stretch taller, the airflow is wonderfully clean. The stock seat is fine for someone my weight, but I like to stop every 1 to 1.5 hours (With the people I ride with, we tend to make up for that break-caused time deficit by making a little more "progress" when we're in motion.......). That said, when I've done longer trips, to get a few states away for some fun riding, I occasionally run until I hit reserve, somewhere around 200 miles. As stated earlier, when doing those longer stints, posture becomes hugely important. Standing on the pegs for a mile or two really helps, too. And lots of water.

The prior comments about physical conditioning should be taken seriously, at least if you want to go a few hundred miles in a day. We're all individuals, and can do whatever the hell we want, and make our own choices, but riding a motorcycle as big and heavy as an FJR requires some physical exertion, especially if you like curvy roads. Getting yourself in riding condition sure can help. I sure as hell have my lazy stretches, and the first ride or two of the year can cause some mild discomfort. But, like others have said, maybe a different bike is the answer. Just don't give up yet. Go for shorter rides more often, and see if it gets better. Good luck, and let us know if it gets better. You can do it!

 

[Kneedragger55]

Chiming in because I'm a bit different but have experienced similar issues, and have yet to dial in the FJR exactly how I'd like. I've got another 25 years of work before I retire, and I'm only 5'6" and 170lbs with gear. I am in pretty good shape, I still mx and ride mountain bikes, but a host of car/moto accidents and bad genetics have left me with 7 vertebrae out of place in my upper and lower back, as well as a hugely stiff neck. I try as I may with regiments of chiropractor, an inversion table, and various rollers on a yoga mat. They all play their roll, but it's a collaborative effort to keep me going. I'm never pain free. Before a longer ride, I try to do all 3 (chiro, table, rollers, stretch, everything). It makes a big difference.

In stock form the FJR gave me TOO much neck and upper back pain, even after 30 minutes. My arms are too short, and the reach was too far. I installed MV risers, and they have helped some, but it's not couch comfortable. I find the type of riding I'm doing plays a big role in how comfortable I am. Commuting to work or slabbing, I'm still fairly uncomfortable (the risers helped). Anything else, and I'm ok. Any little bit of movement for turning, etc helps me a ton. I still have the stock windscreen and seat, although I have a touring screen in the garage I haven't tried. Being short, I'm not sure how much the tour screen will help, but I'm going to give it a go soon. Usually, anything in the realm of 200+ miles, in multiple tanks or just one, requires a 2-5 minute stand up session on the bike. THAT DOES WONDERS FOR ME. When we took our trip across the state, we would both alternate standing up for a few minutes at a time, and a 2-3 minute stand up equates to an additional 30min-1hr of comfort for me. I'm hoping a new seat will add some comfort, and I may end up adding an additional bracket under the MV riser, but it's not bad now. Hope you find the woosah. Sometimes it takes the sum of a few different things to keep you happy, whether it's farkles, nutrition, body maintenance, or all 3.

 

[rvnmaniac]

2007 FJR with Heli-bars and RDL seats and Highway pegs. I've ridden over 400 miles no problems at all...

 

[Fred W]

I am 6'2" 230 lbs (my doctor says that is obese) but wear 32" inseam dress pants, so my height is in my torso more than my legs.

What works for me:

Russell Daylong - Wouldn't be without it. Have one on my Vstrom too.

LD Comfort Shorts under riding pants on any long days. No jeans. In cold weather I add polypro sweat pants.

Bar Risers - Helibars bridge on the 3rd Gen, but I had the Heli up-and-back spacers on the 1st Gen and actually liked that bar position better.

Yamaha touring windshield with spacers to tilt the shield back. Allows me to drop the shield far enough out of the way to get wind to my upper chest when it's hot out, Wind blast hits about mid face-shield when all the way up, good for rainy days. In the really cold months I have the XL Cee Bailey shield that I also run on spacers, that puts the air to the very top of my head.

I now have some highway pegs (mounted to my T-rex engine guards) which I learned the value of on our cross-country vacation ride in 2014. It allows me to fully support my torso weight on my forward legs instead of leaning on my arms at all.

The number one biggest thing for LD comfort, in my opinion, is to ride longer days often, and work up to the distance you want to do in a full day slowly. Here in the northeastern US we take a couple of months off each year for snow and ice. So each spring we get to recondition our bodies to riding again.

I turn 60 in a few monmths. Surprisingly, I can still get very comfortable on my bike and when riding solo I tend to ride without stopping. Master Yoda is my friend. Moving around in the seat helps, changing foot positions helps. Stopping and taking breaks helps when riding with others or two up. I usually shoot for the 2 hour mark then.

Sorry to say, but every year it gets a little bit tougher to get back into riding shape. My lower spine is FUBAR from S1 all the way up to L3. Hardly any discs left anymore and the vertebral bodies are eroding. In addition to that, both hips are now arthritic making most conventional exercise torture (ref: 230 lbs). As our good forum friend bbdig likes to say: "This getting old is not for sissies!" He's much older than me (73?) and still riding full days, so I figure he must know what he's talking about there.

 

[Leprechaun]

Update.

I 've just come back from the same trip I did before,and my ass isn't killing me! what have I changed?

I tried the Master Yoda(if I understand correctly); I pushed up right against the tank, back straight,and

leaning slightly forward. I put the balls of my feet on the pegs,and from time to time changed to the instep.

At the beginning of the trip I was able to lift my ass up a little,which helped,but after half an hour I couldn't

do that any more because of my bad knee. I still get muscular pain in my back, I don't put any weight on my arms.

I still stop after an hour and a quarter to give my passenger and my knee a rest. Compared to sitting in a car,

the big difference is lumbar support.

Thanks to everyone for the great information.