Muscle fatigue on the bike

[el milanes]

Do you guys feel fatigue after riding? Since I got my motorbike, I've noticed that my back muscles are becoming increasingly rigid. Also my right hand is often sore, because I keep two fingers on the brake lever and that adds to the daily fatigue due to office work. Do you feel better on a sport bike rather than on a cruiser?

[TonyB]

I'm no expert, but I wonder if your getting spinal shock (or whatever it's called)- where the upright riding posi is allowing the shocks from the bumps in the road that the suspension can't cope with to travel straight up your spine.

I have to ride something that has the rider leaning forward a bit to stop this from happening (my back is a mess).

Plus if your hands are getting that sore you might be hanging on too tight- common problem. Or your levers might be in the wrong posi- you shouldn't have to lift your fingers up or bend them down too much to get at the levers.

[RedRocks]

Relax man,enjoy the ride and take your fingers off the brake. If the pain is muscular it could just be from being a bit tense or stressed out due to the other nutters on the road....

[cowpoos]

tony is makin scense as usual...why not try softining the preload on your shocks?

[Smorg]

Relax man,enjoy the ride and take your fingers off the brake. If the pain is muscular it could just be from being a bit tense or stressed out due to the other nutters on the road....

Yup i concur once you get used to riding and used to the other crazed motorist that inhabit the roads things will become a bit easyier

[James Deuce]

I've only just started rotating lever assemblies around the bars with my last couple of bikes, and I've found that it cured upper back pain, and reduced wrist pain tremendously. It also took all the stress out of my fingers when covering the brakes.

The backs of your fingers should just brush the inside of the brake or clutch lever when you extend them from the grips to operate them, so that they are at a natural angle.

[Str8 Jacket]

Do you feel better on a sport bike rather than on a cruiser?

I had a GN when I first starting riding and I found that it was quite hard on the body, especially hands, shoulders and back. I did find that as I became more confident riding the bike I tended to relax my hands more which seemed to help the muscle aches etc. I have found that the KR is a much more comfortable bike to ride it seems to have a much more comfortable ridng position.

[bugjuice]

don't forget, if you're not used to riding bikes, then you start, you'll be using muscles and be in positions you weren't normally subjected to until now. If you normally didn't suffer before you started riding, then it's most likely you using muscles that didn't get much attention before. It'll go away the more you ride, and soon you won't even know what you're on about here..

If pain persists, see your local GP

else just stop bein a wuss and ride

[Bartman10]

If pain persists, see your local GP

Or Scandinavian nurse for a massage!

[stunz]

Try not to grip the handlebars so hard. The effect of constant gripping will result in tense back and neck muscles. When the motorcycle is in motion it only requires a minimum of effort to keep it in line. Just relax.
A good level of physical fitness helps as well.

[Waylander]

Just give it time. Your body uses different muscles when sitting on a bike and you may not have those built up yet. You'll get used to it after a while but go ahead and check your levers and controls and adjust to where it is the most comfortable and easy to access for you.

[vifferman]

For a start, many cruisers have a riding position that appears to be comfortable, but the curve in your back in the lumbar region is WRONG, and is either curved out instead of in, or your back's too straight there. This in itself is part of the reason your back hurts. Also (plus!) because your feet are forward of your hips on many cruisers, your pelvis is tilted the wrong way (which is what causes your back to be unnaturally curved).

A secondary thing is just getting used to bikes, their ergonomics and posture required for comfy, pain-free riding. Your muscles will adjust with time and you will get more limber. Or broken...

Fifthly, if your feet aren't under your body, you can't cushion yourself from socks as the bike goes over bumps, potholes, pedestrians and dead animals. You can't push down with your legs and lift yourslef slightly off theseat to cushion bumps, and your (unnaturally curved?) spine gets jarred.

Thirty-seventhly, your hand muscles will get stronger, but it may not be necessary to cover your brake lever all the time. Yes, many experienced riders do it. Many also don't (but not usually at the same time as doing it).

Don't hold your bars tightly, but with a relaxed grip. This should help you to not get hand fatigue. As Jim said, make sure your bars, levers, and other controls are adjusted as much as possible to the optimum (or optidad, if you prefer) position for you. Or your monkey, if you let him take control sometimes.

Although most of what I spout on this forum I pluck out of nowhere (or sometimes from my butt), hence my signature/disclaimer, most of this stuff in this post I got from my friend who is also a physiotherapist and motorcyclist. I was visiting him for several months for a non-MC related injury (later exacerbated by a lowside), and he confimed that riding a bike is usually better for your back than driving a car, due to the postural considerations outlined above. Unless it's a cruiser with mental ergonomics.

Having said that (i.e., one-hundred and nineteenthly), sometimes my sprotsbike makes me hurt. My right wrist gets sore (aaaaarrrrthritis and gripping too tightly), my left knee hurts (knees bent too much, aaaaaaarrrrthitis, and too tight knee armour), my bum hurts (seat?) and my left inside thigh hurts (seam on my pants coincides with seat edge).

[Mental Trousers]

Get a back protector. Worn under a leather jacket they act as a support and take a lot of the strain off your back. With cruisers the strain is from having an unnatural curve in your back. With sports bikes, the strain is from leaning forward and having to support your upper body wieght.

[sAsLEX]

Do you guys feel fatigue after riding? Since I got my motorbike, I've noticed that my back muscles are becoming increasingly rigid. Also my right hand is often sore, because I keep two fingers on the brake lever and that adds to the daily fatigue due to office work. Do you feel better on a sport bike rather than on a cruiser?

I too cover the brake with two fingers around 99.9% of the time and in the beginning my hand would get sore after a few hours riding, now with the help of a hand exerciser(http://www.powerballs.com) my fingers hands and wrists are stronger, plus with lots of riding and now my hand only hurts after a full days riding.

[Sparky Bills]

My legs start to hurt when one the bike for too long.

I suffered a bit on the last race of the Winter series. Half hour race, being treated for fluid on the knee the week before and uncomfortable bikes do not mix.

When i say long rides, i mean around 3-4hr rides and longer.

Im not the shortest person in the world so my legs are usually getting cramped up.
Arms are fine.