GS1150 vs. a painful coccyx

[Matt Gibbs]

Airhawk

Kev,
Being one one of the vertically challenged I brought a low seat only to find its the same as the normal seat with a bit of padding removed so I invested in an Airhawk, and yes it is "Bottom bliss". There are those that swear by a sheepskin so that is another option. Over the miles I have found that I can now go farther on the old low seat without resorting to the Airhawk and can only assume its what you get used to. If you want to try the Airhawk I'll run it down to you to test.
Regards
Matt

 

[KevinW]

Thanks Matt I really appreciate your offer but I'm going to try to get the seat modified by Tony Archer first. If that doesn't work the Air Hawk seems the next logical choice.

Kevin

 

[Wizard]

Fit a set of Renthal bars as well..... that'll move your position forward a bit and take the weight off yer arse bone

 

[Jonny_L]

Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW! Well I've just bought a GS and ridden it home from Wales to near Dover. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to sit down again! Mostly motorway which was as boring as hell but I did manage a few off-motorway bits - nice bike. I was surprised at the size of the tank though - I thought it was bigger than that and I'd get more miles out of it.

Anyway, back to my coccyx which is very much at the forefront of my mind at the moment! Thanks John for confirming Tony was able to do something. Thanks also for the offer of your seat for me to try but it's quite a way from Dover to the wilds of the North Lands and, if I'm coming up that way, I might as well make an appointment with Mr. Archer and see what he can do.

I guess I'd better sidle over to 'I'm new here' and peruse the forum to see what goodies I need to buy...

Kevin

Glad you got yourself one, beware, purchasing seemingly useful but generally not really required accessories is pretty addictive Aside from the pain I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Mutley]

Welcome to a world of ......

anything you can throw:

The GS is a compromise machine

If you have specialist demands then search anywhere but here

 

[Melanie Cheeks]

"Anyway, back to my coccyx which is very much at the forefront of my mind at the moment"

What sort of yoga is it you practice?

 

[alcanara]

Try This

Hi.... Welcome.

Try this...... this is a forum thread 19 pages long..... but you only need to see the first couple of pages to work out if this seat is for you.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107164

It's the Russell Day long seat from the states.... apparently expensive.... but can be modified to your bum (coccyx) . It is a spring system with seat wings that support your bum and flanks so to speak... thus supporting you more all over.... must be able to create a cavity for you.

With the dollar rate at the moment, you may do very well.

Hope this helps

Stuart

 

[davegs]

Tank size

Welcome to the site, yiou can always fit an adventure tank(if you have an 1150) dunno about 1200s.
Good luck with your seat,
dave gs.

 

[colinw]

Hi Kev,

Nice to see you here, Hows the Busa??

Colinw FJR

 

[KevinW]

Hi Kev,

Nice to see you here, Hows the Busa??

Colinw FJR

Hi Colin, it's sitting in the garage with 76 miles on the clock. We were away for the first part of the year, I had my knee operation in March and I can't manage the knee angle the Bus requires yet .

On the coccyx front, Tony Archer is so busy he couldn't fit me in until tomorrow which was cutting it a bit fine so I asked a local lad to give it a go. It's not perfect and could do with a bit more work but I think it's useable; time will tell.

Kevin

 

[barnabas]

Hi Kevin - the Airhawk is made by a company who make Roho pressure relieving cushions (used in health care) and they look a bit like inflatable egg boxes and I think they share the same construction. The point is that you can actually tie off individual projections to stop them inflating and thus creating a coccyx-sized hole. I have done this many times for people with very painful sores and it should work for your problem. Alternatively / additionally ask for a referral to pain clinic - there are treatments for coccydynia (painful coccyx - well recognised and disabling problem)

 

[KevinW]

Thanks Barnabus. SWMBO ordered a couple of Airhawks this morning (one each); I was hesitating about these as I didn't realise we could disable individual cells and wasn't sure it would help.

They should be delivered tomorrow (no thanks to Buster's Accessories who couldn't guarantee when they would put it in the post - "Guarantee is a word I don't use" or help with which size we needed "You'll have to go out and measure the seat and decide for yourself" and all credit to Bikebitz who knew which size we needed once told which bike it was for and said they'd be sent out this afternoon. Guess who'll be getting our custom in future).

> Alternatively / additionally ask for a referral to pain clinic - there are
> tratments for coccydynia (painful coccyx - well recognised and disabling
> problem)

I've tried physiotherapy, osteopathy and, latterly, acupuncture. I went to the osteopath when the physio suggested seeing an orthopaedic specialist (not that I distrust her opinion, that couldn't be further from the truth, but I wanted to try everything I could before I saw surgeon as I've had several operations in recent years and I'm sick of them).

I went for acupuncture when osteopathy wasn't helping with the pain. On Saturday, the osteopath told me I should go to see the orthopaedic surgeon as he felt he was treating symptoms rather than the cause which is pretty much what the physio told me - all credit to both of them for their honesty. I'll make an appointment to see the ortho when we get back.

You're right about it being disabling. I guess being unable to sit down (and once down get up again) and, sometimes, even lay down is a 'comical' problem from a viewer's perspective but it is definitely life-impacting.

Kevin

 

[KevinW]

Thanks Barnabus. SWMBO ordered a couple of Airhawks this morning (one each)

...and they arrived today.

I'm actually sitting on one now as it's quite comfortable so, as long as I can reach the ground when it's on the bike, I think it's really going to help.

Thanks again Barnabas, Bryn, Twotter and Sgt Bilko for the suggestion.

Kevin

 

[hondated]

Nice one

Great to read that you may have some comfort and I am glad that you did not decide to go for the Gel Pad Seat as I recently brought one and apart from being very dangerous as they cannot be properly secured it was uncomfortable

 

[barnabas]

Kevin -
That sounds like great service from Bikebitz - think I'll try them myself.
There's no easy cure for the old coccyx but before going down the surgery route, an anaesthetist-run pain clinic (there should be one at every big hospital) might be able to help with a nerve block or steroid injection (pretty painless but sounds horrible) into the joint where the coccyx meets the sacrum. You'd need a referral from your GP. Hope you get some help - if it's any consolation, it tends to right itself over time but that can be a very long time when you are in pain.

 

[KevinW]

That sounds like great service from Bikebitz - think I'll try them myself.

We thought so as well and in fact that Air Hawks would have arrived the day before if only Parcel Force had got their act together; the driver on that day apparently couldn't find us.

There's no easy cure for the old coccyx but before going down the surgery route, an anaesthetist-run pain clinic (there should be one at every big hospital) might be able to help with a nerve block or steroid injection (pretty painless but sounds horrible) into the joint where the coccyx meets the sacrum. You'd need a referral from your GP. Hope you get some help

I had one of those injections about 3 years ago which was administered by the surgeon I'm going to see and it did the trick for a while. Unfortunately this is a recurring problem that has been coming and going since a bike crash in the late 80s. It usually only lasts a few weeks but this one has been going on since June of last year and, I think, was triggered by a rowing machine` (proving that exercise isn't always good for me!).

Kevin

 

[Matt Gibbs]

Airhawk

Kev,
Remember with the Airhawk you only want the minimum amount of air in it for it to work. You will need to take account of your weight as well as your back problem but least is best. If you blow it right up it makes for a very strange and unnerving riding experience - you feel very detatched from what is going on beneath you and then you find your feet don't touch down like you are used to.
Hope it works for your back
Regards
Matt

 

[KevinW]

They're on. Er, am i being too mistrusting to think that I'll need to take these off whenever we leave the bike for a long period to stop someone taking them?

Kevin

 

[boundless]

Tried to explain away the coccyx problem before on this thread. Nobody really seemed to understand.

A suitable pie chart now, which should make it clear:-

 

[KevinW]

...The point is that you can actually tie off individual projections to stop them inflating and thus creating a coccyx-sized hole. I have done this many times for people with very painful sores and it should work for your problem...

How do you tie off the cells please? IIRC there are 4 cells across the back and I could do with shutting down the middle two; I just can't figure out how to do it!

BTW, without the Air Hawk I'm pretty sure we'd have been forced back home weeks ago so I'm really pleased we bought one.

Thanks.

Kevin