Muscle fatigue on the bike

[Hitcher]

While an EL250 may look like a cruiser, it doesn't have a cruiser riding position -- notably no forward pegs. The Jesus bars aren't cruiser-style either. I would endorse suggestions to experiment with rear suspension settings and rotating the grip assemblies on the bars.

[Riff Raff]

now with the help of a hand exerciser(http://www.powerballs.com) my fingers hands and wrists are stronger

Erm.... if I go to that site am I going to see dodgy pics of men 'exercising their balls' to strenghten their wrists?

[sAsLEX]

Erm.... if I go to that site am I going to see dodgy pics of men 'exercising their balls' to strenghten their wrists?

nah a little hand powered gyroscope thingo to use the technical term, you just have to pull your mind out of that gutter that WT likes so much

[dawnrazor]

no expert on this, but everything i've read about riding stress that the key to smooth progressive riding is a relaxed body. A light grip on the bars and slightly bent arms will go a long way to make for a more comfortable ride. The more tense youi are, the quicker your body is going to get fatigued. In general riding a bike takes more out of a person the driving a car, so don't expect to do long journeys and not feel the effects of fatigue. On a bike you are concentratng on a much higher level, all your senses should be taking in information about the road and your surroundings, through feel and sight, and even smell can give you clues to road hazards on the road ahead, like spilt diesel and other crap. Adapting yourself to accept all this info and processing it is all part of road craft. Try looking for some books like a "a twist of the wrist", by keith code.

[Skyryder]

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?

Welcome to the biker world of pain, strains, and down right ageing before your time.

First of all take the fingers off the brake lever. You got four fingers and a thumb for holdling onto things. The throttle is there to roll with all your digits. It may seem strange but that may well be the cause of the back pain. You body is compensating for bad posture.

Skyryder

[scumdog]

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.

I agree, it makes a hell of a difference if you rotate the levers and/or bars even a few degrees, try it and see. .

[limbimtimwim]

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?

Find some corners! Straight roads do me in something terrible on my bike. As someone else mentioned, experiment with rotating the lever around the bar. Do it in smallish steps though, I find the the feel of the lever changes slightly due to the increasing mechanical advantage my fingers get when it is lower.

[Rhino]

First of all take the fingers off the brake lever. You got four fingers and a thumb for holdling onto things. The throttle is there to roll with all your digits. It may seem strange but that may well be the cause of the back pain. You body is compensating for bad posture.

Skyryder

Sorry, I have to disagree. If you have your levers adjusted to line up with a straight line down your forearm and fingers when sitting comfortably on the bike, you shouldn't get any aches in the fingers/wrists. I always use my full hand to roll on the throttle, but when travelling at a constant speed two fingers are always over the brake lever. All fingers stay over the clutch at all times.

I have ridden covering both clutch and brake levers for 37 years (learnt on a 2 stroke that would seize if you looked at it the wrong way.)

The reduction in response time could prevent an impact with something solid or a spit down the road.

[SPman]

If you havent ridden before, you will also just have general tension aches. You tend to get quite stressed until you settle into all the basic riding routines, so that certainly wont help.

[el milanes]

Thank you very much for your replies!
I have ridden this bike for a year and a half now, before a scooter for 8 years... but not for 60 km a day! It's true that the EL is not a real cruiser, but still your weight doesn't rest as much on your arms as in the case of sport bikes I suppose.
I've copied a couple of sheets of exercises you can do at work to relax your muscles and I've been using the mouse with my left hand for a week and it's much better!

[Smoggie]

Can be a problem when you are riding. I suffer with arthritis in my hands, and so heated grips help slightly, and just clenching and relaxing the fingers. With the back, just regular stops, then do some slow bending and twisting exercises. Put the back muscles through their full range of movement.

[zooter]

Alexander was a stage actor who struggled with his voice projection. It lead him to a lifetime study of effective use of the body. He formulated what he learned into a regime you can learn from a qualified teacher in most western cities.
Alexander Technique is studied by musicians and athletes for peak performance as well as regular folks, usually motivated by headache, back and neck pain.
My brother is a qualified teacher and thanks to what I have learned I can ride the length of the South Is, stopping for fuel and a mealbreak, without getting sore. Magic.

[NordieBoy]

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.

So what's your best score with the Powerball?

[sAsLEX]

So what's your best score with the Powerball?

just under 13k but got one with lights so harder too fast

[awesker]

Do you guys feel fatigue after riding? Since I got my motorbike, I've noticed that my back muscles are becoming increasingly rigid.

I dont really get muscle fatigue unless Ive been riding for like 9 hours or something .. only fatigue I get on a day to day basis is all mental like ive just had an exam. Guess thats the price you pay to be 100% alert when riding