Numb Bum & Back Pain..

Tried most seats

I have tried most seats and I found them better than the normal seat but not perfect. My solution was to adjust the standard seat high in the front and normal at the rear. Coupled with an Air Hawk under a sheep skin. Works for me!
 
Perhaps a harder seat is the way to go?

Just fitted a second hand Sargent seat today to the GSA in place of the reworked (and Gel insert fitted) original.

What a revelation. It seemed very firm and an odd shape at first, but I did a 3 hour ride without any of the former back ache or Coccyx pain. My riding posture is very much improved.

I know its subjective but it works well for me, I'd recommend trying one if you can. I wish I had bought one years ago.
 
Cycling shorts anyone? Seriously.

I've just traded my 12RT in for a GSA so am intrigued by this lack of comfort thread.
I had Sergeant seats on my RT and didn't realise quite how brilliant they were until I put the stock seats back on to take the RT to the dealer when I traded her in.

I'll see how I get on on the GSA when I pick her up but at the 1st sign of discomfort I shall be scouring the For Sale section in the hunt for some replacement Sergeants.
 
Might put the cycling shorts on for today's riding and see if it enhances my comfort. Good idea. Thanks.
 
I've got a GS with the BMW low seat fitted and Fastaway pegs on the low setting. I find this OK for up to 200 mile trips but after that it's a PITA.

After a short road test I decided to borrow a standard GSA seat for a tour around France this summer and had no problems with up to 400 mile days.

I'm 5'10" and 77kg and run the suspension preload on solo plus luggage.

On the low seat I have very little noise or turbulence from the screen but with the GSA seat both a significantly greater.

I find the riding position on the low seat odd, even with the lower pegs my knees are still too bent and I sit too much in the bike, not on it. Some people (judging by the enthusiasm for bar risers quite a lot of people) probably like this, but I find the seat to handlebar relationship is better with the standard seat and the lower bars give me better control.

My solution is (was?) to look for lower bars and see if I can keep the low seat and low wind noise. And there's the problem, when I measure up the standard bars they are actually very low rise, only about 60mm. What is unusual about them is the amount of backwards sweep (160mm). Comparing the standard bars to Renthal Fatbar and Twinwall options all of these have more rise (80-120mm) and all have much less backwards sweep (40-60mm).

So I figure any change will give me a higher bar, but further away, narrower, and without the strange backwards angle which so annoyed Toobers and let to his most excellent post on the subject of handlebars.

I seem to be agreeing with both Toobers and Fanum about the riding position, trouble is I don't seem to have a solution. Standard seat and higher screen seems the obvious way out. Damn, I didn't mean for this post to be about screens. At least there's no oil in it.
 
I found the handlebars took months to adapt to. They made my thumbs ache and are still not "that" good. Ive ended up with the bars tipped forwards enough to have to relocate the switch gear. This has relieved the thumbs a little but I would still prefer more upwards angle and less pull-back (I am used to Japanese bikes after all). Less pull-back would also put me closer to the screen so could be something to try.

Im 5' 8" and wear 32 inside leg trousers. For me the Adv seat is usable on low but it's still a stretch. I prefer a standard GS seat height used on low for stop-start runs and high for longer runs.

I'm currently using a Kahedo standard height seat because I found the Sargent too wide (dug into my thigh) and the BMW GS seat has a lump at the back that dug into my tail bone. Why they would do that is anyone's guess.
 
I found the handlebars took months to adapt to. They made my thumbs ache and are still not "that" good. Ive ended up with the bars tipped forwards enough to have to relocate the switch.[/QUOTE

Just tried that today and rotated the bars about as far back (towards me) as they'll go, which lowers the grips by about 25mm. Looks odd, and switchgear is in the wrong place but I'll give it a go. Coming to the view that I need new bars and a standard seat on the low setting.

Used to have a Tiger 955 and tha seat was really wide at the front and I didn't like it. Changed the bars on that for lower flatter ones and I felt much more in control of the bike.
 
I like my control levers just below horizontal so I dont have to stretch down and then only reach them with finger tips. Having them flat means more of a lift to get fingers over but overall gives me more control.

I put the RHS switchgear so the throttle cable sits above the brake lever. The LHS I drilled the grip screw flange. I put another hole on the front side of the existing screw hole. It tips the switches a bit too far forwards but holes any closer would have made an oval. This stops the clutch lever fouling the aux lights switch housing and is a better compromise for me than standard.

I considered some of these http://www.fasstco.com/shop/flexx-handlebars-mx but my mortgage advisor was busy.

My cross brace is now almost above the bar clamps but just behind vertical. Hope that makes sense.
 
Some people like the bars so far back (each to their own & all that) that I dont know how they can be fully in control. I prefer my foreams not quite straight so even the standard setting is too far back for me.

I also have control levers just below horizontal so I can get a good grip without a stretch downwards. Having the levers flat needs more of a lift to get fingers over but overall gives me more control.

I put the RHS switchgear so the throttle cable sits above the brake lever. The LHS I drilled the grip screw flange. I put another hole on the front side of the existing screw hole. It tips the switches a bit too far forwards but holes any closer would have made an oval. This stops the clutch lever fouling the aux lights switch housing and is a better compromise for me than standard.

I considered some of these http://www.fasstco.com/shop/flexx-handlebars-mx but my mortgage advisor was busy.

My cross brace is now almost above the bar clamps but just behind vertical. Hope that makes sense.
 
Bars rotated back as far they will go without hitting the tank, and standard risers reversed to move the bars forward, but not by much. So far the best setup I have tried, but the backwards sweep seems more accentuated and I really notice the pressure of the outside edges of my palms.

Not there yet.
 


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