rider position (long post)

[flynbulldog1]

I bough my FJR new in 05 and haven’t really done as much touring on it as I’d hoped but I still love the bike and get my wife out on it with me as often as I can.

I was a member of one of the forums for a while back then and did a few little things like fix the heat issue and add a PCIII to smooth out the 4500RPM dead spot that came standard on my bike. Other than that I’ve just ridden it.

From new I’ve always had trouble being comfortable on this bike. Plain and simple; my butt hurts! At about 75 miles my butt starts to hurt and from that time on I have to stop every 50 miles or so. The problem has actually caused one of my riding buddies to ask me not to go on longer rides. I’ve just lived with it so far but in the last few years I’ve acquired some other bikes and I’ve noticed that my backside doesn’t hurt on any of those bikes like it does on the FJR…

That got me to question why I have trouble on the FJR and if I could fix it. I’m not much of a “sit on yer butt and tour” kinda rider, I’m a little more active and I like my weight on my feet, I could never ride a bike with forward controls, your legs are just hangin out there in the breeze doing nothing and how do you control a bike sittin on yer arse?. All of my new bikes are sport oriented bikes so it seems that my problem with the FJR is that I’m too upright forcing all of my weight straight down my spine to my tailbone.

You guys know that you can find risers all day long for the FJR but I couldn’t find anything that would lower my position and I could buy within a week or so (for an upcoming tour). So I pieced a system together. I also tried to get a Sergeant seat but the wait time is five weeks!!!

I got a set of TAG motocross bar clamps for 7/8” bars and used a Euro style superbike bar. This was the only low bend that would work because of the pull-back, straighter bars would interfere with the fairing at full lock.

So far the mod has been a complete success. It has changed number of things for the better:

I feel like the bike is smoother and more comfortable dropping into a corner. It doesn’t fall into the curve but it is quicker and more controllable both in and out of the lean. The bike actually feels lighter.

My helmet position works much better with the windscreen. Gone is the buffeting when the windshield is fully down and in an up position the windscreen is much more effective. Wind noise is also slightly lower.

With the stock bars if my wife got too close to me we experienced severe wind buffeting that would throw our heads all over the place. I would have to ask her to lean back away from me, I didn’t know that caused her to be quite uncomfortable (she never complained). Now she has a lot more room to move around on the back, her visibility is better and the buffeting is gone. She’s a lot more comfortable.

The bike just feels like it fits me better. And it’s still not so low that I would have any wrist fatigue (it’s still the most upright bike I have).

I’m planning a 300 mile ride this Saturday so I’ll find out if it helped the butt pain but so far this has been a fantastic mod that I wish I had done a long time ago. I don’t think that lowering the bars is for everybody, in fact it’s probably not for most but for me it has made a new bike out of the FJR.

If anybody wants to host the pics let me know I'll email them to you.

 

[fjrrider]

You'll get all kinds of opinions about this topic! There are some that spend countless hours and dollars trying to find the elusive sweet spot.

IMO the best thing you can do is "RIDE" and then ride some more. You will develop a tolerance.

For me I move around quite a bit while on the bike, I also stand up, alot! I ride an 06A, bone stock.

I did a SS1000 at NAFO last month and had no problems at all. I think its what you get used to and how much to you really want to ride.

Anyway good luck with the fit and remember you just cant make a short cut to lots of seat time

 

[jnor]

+1 on ride, and ride some more....my butt will hurt eventually on any bike for some reason, I've had many bikes, and spent many dollars on aftermarket seats...to no avail. I've found that if you stop at first when your butt hurts, walk around every time you stop, and take a couple of Advil's before you take off it helps me a bunch. Eventually it goes away, and I could, and have ridden many miles with no pain.

 

[daveski]

russel saddle, no butt burn ever again.

 

[flynbulldog1]

russel saddle, no butt burn ever again.

A Russel couch is not for me, Like I said, I'm an active rider.

Also guys seat time is not the answer when I know I don't have problems on the other bikes, I do feel the seat on the FJR is too soft though.

 

[Solo]

I've found that my Sargent seat about triples the time before I start moving around on the seat. It is designed so that you can adjust your position to shift weight around and thus ride longer--something that doesn't help on the stock seat. Plus, it is close to the profile of the stock seat so you can be "active" on your bike with it.

Edit: On reading your post again I see you looked for a Sargent seat, but you have a long wait. Long term, I think it may be the answer.

 

[flynbulldog1]

Yes, I think Id like to try a Sargent seat. Anyone have a used one they'd like to sell?

 

[NNorth]

Y'know..took me 30 years to figure out what you are talking about..always rode the standard situp, or a cruiser and always had the sore butt/back thing due of course to all the weight on the rspine( now I know, not then tho)..One day took the kids gsxr for a long ride and to my surprise found out that once up to speed where the airflow would hold me up that nothing hurt! go figure? Yes it stunk piddlin in town with no lift, but I finally figured this sore butt thing out. Yes it took me a 10 hr day to figure it out, a hr never did the trick, but either way what a pleasant surprise.I bought a 05 vfr after that, and found it to be the absolute most comfy thing i ever drove, nothing ever hurt..of course i did the typical, raise the bars thing, raise the shield thing, and guess what, right back to a sore rear sitting upright like that and no lift...hmmmm!!..pitched that crap and happy ever after, and have done 1200 mile days on it and no problem, at 55 yrs thats a nice surprise! Biggest thing I now know about a new bike is to leave it alone and go for a 1000 mile ride and just get used to it..works most of the time now for me! Anyway..like you found out, there are diff ways to be comfy...On my fjr I have the bars ahead far as i can get them, and the seat up, just to get some forward lean. Its not too bad, can do all day and no real seat com[plaints at all..I have done the 1300 miler day on the fjr also, and it wasnt too bad setup like this. If I was going to keep it I would certainly look into what you did..another few inches ahead would be perfect..One thing tho that doesnt work as good on the fjr with this tho, is the lack of good lift due to the bigger fairing and shield. I did however find that a 6 in lower shield, (easily made out a sante fe cruiser windshield and a disc grinder in 10 minutes) really helped in that dept. Its not as comfy to me as my vfr, but its sure close now and the best 2 upper I could find! I doubt tho I can go much lower with the bars and get enough lift to be comfy going slow, but since i dont ride it in town, that would work.!... So yea..never will i do the more upright mod thing on a bike. If I need to go to that, will get me a electraglide and do it right.

Took me 25 years to find that a different take on things works sometimes.

Nice mods! Not for everyone, but glad they worked for you!

 

[GGPa]

Putting a medium sized AirHawk on the rider's seat solved the tired butt and numb package for me. Love it. Ride for hours now. $130 on the web, $195 at a dealer.