Talking about needing support....

[Zukin]

Hi

As a complete novice when it comes to adventure riding, does anyone want to share their experiences, or hints on how to stop getting a sore butt when riding long distances, day after day on seats that arent really made for comfort??

I know from experience the ole butt gets a little tender after a few hours in the seat off road, and I stand up a bit offroad, so I guess if I was sitting on it longer and further it could get quite uncomfortable.

Should we be training for larger distances? is it something that you get "used" to after a while?

I see some riders have sheepskin covers, does this make a difference?

Cheers

[Motu]

Stop often,you need to check the sights,take photos and stuff.Stand up through every small town,or where the going is slow enough to allow you to stand up for a few kms,stretch at the same time.A sheepskin is good....and can supply comfort on lonely nights too.

[XP@]

Use a kidney belt!
especially if your long distance involves some rough stuff.

and the sheep skin helps too. Don't bother with a specially fitted one, a throw over, tuck in and bungee works really well, fast to get on and off when it starts to rain. your local sheepskin place should do you one for $50-$60

[ZeroIndex]

Use a kidney belt!
especially if your long distance involves some rough stuff.

and the sheep skin helps too. Don't bother with a specially fitted one, a throw over, tuck in and bungee works really well, fast to get on and off when it starts to rain. your local sheepskin place should do you one for $50-$60

hmmm.. i'll have to think about looking at one of those.. although I should be fine (aka: too hard-arsed to spend money at the moment, trying to save for a better bike)

[Zukin]

Use a kidney belt!
especially if your long distance involves some rough stuff.

and the sheep skin helps too. Don't bother with a specially fitted one, a throw over, tuck in and bungee works really well, fast to get on and off when it starts to rain. your local sheepskin place should do you one for $50-$60

Hi

Thanks for that hint about the kidney belt, I had never thought about that (see I told you I was a novice)

Cheers

[Transalper]

Some people use pushbike pants on bikes with little or narrow seats too.
I find i like a little more padding on the CRF230, but the Transalp is pretty good as it come although not as nice as the old CBR1000F was.

[clint640]

I found having a windscreen to be a great thing for distance comfort, takes the load off the arms, & means I can stand up at 100km/h comfortably. As Motu said standing up often, right from the start of the day, is important.

x2 on the kidney belt also.

Cheers
Clint

[Oscar]

As Motu said standing up often, right from the start of the day, is important.

How would you know if Motu was standing up or not?

[far queue]

A sheepskin is good....and can supply comfort on lonely nights too.

Yep, take a sheep with ya, especially on the overnight rides. Comfy to sit on for the ride there, although they wriggle a bit which can be a bugger in the corners, warm and ... ahhhh ... "entertaining" through the night, although the "marbles" are a bit of a bugger in the tent, and if you get hungry you can always rig up an impromptu spit roast.

But if you don't want to take a live one, the ol sheepskin is good. I use one on the longer rides to rallies, lotsa comfort on the way there, it's a pillow for the night, and for the likes of the Brass Monkey use it as a woollen underlay under the sleeping bag. Don't get a fitted one, use the whole thing, try a factory 2nds shop or something like that. Make sure you bungy the front down or the wind blows it back under your arse when you stand up.

I also wear padded push bike shorts under my pants. The DR has a hard seat, and I've softened mine.

[thehollowmen]

I stand up when going down the main road of a small town.

Also play with your suspension, too soft and my butt goes to sleep and gets sore, while too stiff jars my back...

[Transalper]

I stand up when going down the main road of a small town.

Also play with your suspension, too soft and my butt goes to sleep and gets sore, while too stiff jars my back...

I think i heard somewhere that increasing the rebound damping of the rear shock helps your back.
But i don't know that for sure.

[Fryin Finn]

I had an XR650R - the answer to seat comfort for this particular bike on adventure rides was adding a flat piece of wood with nails sticking up to the seat.

[Oscar]

I think i heard somewhere that increasing the rebound damping of the rear shock helps your back.
But i don't know that for sure.

Where did you hear that?
A Chiropractor?

Most dirt bikes are set up far too hard.
Our old maxim was that if your suspension didn't bottom out once a lap, you weren't using what you'd paid for. In other words, what's the point of 270mm of shock travel if only 150mm got used?

One problem is with progressive suspension setups (like those found on the back of most dirtscooters) is that a soft setup can make the suspension go stiffer. Confused? If you have too much sag in the rear, the shock will lever past its soft section and only ever use the hard stuff...

[warewolf]

I think i heard somewhere that increasing the rebound damping of the rear shock helps your back.
But i don't know that for sure.

I've heard the opposite...if you are feeling every bump in the base of your spine, it's a sign you need to decrease your compression damping. (Most rebound adjusters also affect compression by about 1/10th as much.)

But on the other hand, if you have too much rebound, the suspension will pack down over a series of bumps (eg corrugations) and you will certainly feel it in your back then!

[Transalper]

Guy that told me was refering to sealed road touring and i think the idea is that the bike didn't kick (to exagerate) back upwards after the suspension has compressed on a bump.
But yes, now that you mention it, I can imagine the "suspension will pack down over a series of bumps" becomming an issue on a trail.