hours riding-my main problem..

[VisionDonNebr]

I don't want to steal Shawn's post, wonder if anyone has ideas on my biggest long distance riding issue. OH yeah, get some sore butt, wrists, hands but what will kill me after a few hours is getting a pain in the lower back of my neck. Once that pain starts it will happen sooner the following days.  Now, I am currently 66 but even 10-12 years ago I would l still get it. 6 ft and somewhat overweight at about 215-220.

Perhaps something to do with my own bone, muscle, spine structure? Type of helmet,  windshield, tension, wind blast?  Now about four years ago on the last long ride on my old Yamaha Vision, I had lowered my little Vetter Rifle windshield and it seemed on that trip I did not get the pain.

No one answering Shawn's post seemed to have any such problems, just me??? Sure open to ideas.  HJC full face helmet, time to buy a new one this year however.  Connie has bar risers stock shield with laminar lip-or for hot weather I have a cut down stock shield where I then created sort of a lip by putting the cut off part on with Velcro -other wise it was way too noisy. 

Thoughts please??

         

 

[gsun]

If you lowered the windshield on your Vision, maybe you got wind on the upper part of your body. That would relieve pressure on your wrists, back and neck. You probably have some back pressure now, that is, wind at your back from your screen deflecting the wind up and over your head and on your back. Sometimes I lower my screen to get wind on my chest and that relieves my wrists.

 

[Graphicjunkie]

Just alter your body position.  Scoot forward on the seat, allowing an ever more neutral body posture. 
Wedges/risers will also help.  Also relax your shoulders more.  Sounds like you are riding stiff.

 

[Bruiser]

It sounds like you are getting some wind blast, causing you to stiffen your neck.  It could be such a subtle wave of air, you don't really think about it, till you get the pain.  I would try one of 2 things.  Redo the seat, to lower yourself  a bit, or get a taller windshield, or...add a secondary piece of lexan across the top of your windshield, to break up the wind.  Look at the website called Laminar Lip.  You can either purchase a piece made just for your bike through them, or you can make one like I did. I can almost guarantee this will fix your problem. My bike is a C14, but I'll send you a couple of pics of what I mean.  I attached it with Velcro, and it doesn't even move.

 

[Stevewfl]

i rode this 1 cylinder on enduro knobbies coast to coast, I don't comprehend many complaints  ;D

 

[Stasch]

Your physiology may have something to do with it.

For me, my head already tilts forward a bit thanks to a header into the concrete as a young lad.  Have some arthritis in there too.

Add a helmet and a slight lean forward with the OEM sportier bars and my upper back between the shoulder blades would be screaming after a while in the saddle, all due to holding my head up during a longer ride. 

I figured it all out when riding my sportier bike with very small windscreen out to Mt. Snow national.  The wind held my head up and I didn't have the discomfort.  Just a lot of wind noise.  Hmmm . . .

I changed seat and bars around on the C10 to allow me to sit up straight and all is well.  YMMV

 

[VisionDonNebr]

Thanks guys, ......not so sure  what to try, have risers, have the laminar lip, have the cut down second shield (but wow, soooo noisy-was better after i added the home made lip to it)

again, thanks for ideas.

 

[Graphicjunkie]

Something that I just learned about last night, is posture and body tension.  If you are really rigid on the upper body, it adds a lot more stress and fatigue to the equation.  Your core, legs and knees should be supporting your weight, and your arms should be pretty loose. 
It could be related. 

 

[combustify]

Thanks for posting the laminar lip suggestion!  :beerchug: How much extra air clearance does it give?

 

[face33]

i rode this 1 cylinder on enduro knobbies coast to coast, I don't comprehend many complaints  ;D

Wow man - zero empathy.

FWIW - I did 13,000miles in 75 days on a KLR last summer and had zero issues myself. On the Connie I have wrist, hand and shoulder issues. Maybe the upright posture, pegs under the knees and flat, wide bars was a good thing. I've made a huge effort to bring my Connie bars up and back - and I wont lower the pegs for performance reasons. I miss riding sport bikes and am grateful for the Connie - but it's not good for injured bodies....

If it were up to the doctors I'd be a bike less, drum less, bicycle less man at home on pain pills.....not an option!

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

I'll go on record saying the bars on the C10 simply are to narrow, and have bad ergo angles for larger upper torso people. I found this after the first year of riding my '86, my elbows, and shoulder ached, it wasn't the forward lean I found, but the odd angle forcing my elbows and shoulders to be squeezed into my body when simply resting my hands on the bars.
I got a set of Kevin Bakers (KB) tubular bar adapters from Murph, and installed them on both my 86' and 88', interesting note, the tubular bars I ended up using on both, were actually lower than the height on either OEM set, the fact they were lower, but wider, and opened wider so my arms were further away from my torso, with my hands flat on the bars, offered much wrist relief and elbow/shoulder fatigue. Many people used these mounts to allow higher bars, and tilt them backwards, but spreading your hands further apart for a wider distance, seems to be the major cure, and relives that pinched up shoulder back syndrome.
ymmv
look into it

compare

Superbike Bars, my favorite... very comfy


Daytona bars


stock




widening the grips, and reducing the "elbows in your ribs angle" made the difference.

 

[Bruiser]

Thanks for posting the laminar lip suggestion!  :beerchug: How much extra air clearance does it give?

From the pics I see under the Laminar Lip website, it looks to be about 1/2" airspace. My home made one is closer to 1"

 

[lhartman]

What MOB said. I find the angle uncomfortable on wrists and elbows due to the angle. Kind of like going from a regular keyboard to an ergo one..... So much more comfortable on the wrists.

 

[VisionDonNebr]

Interesting Man of blues, I will go to good old Murphy's site and check it out....again, thanks for ideas.

 

[Jorge]

Don,
I'm 6' tall, a little more... substantial than you, with fairly long arms.
I've had pretty bad pain in my upper back, inside of shoulder blades; not sure if that's the same location as you, but they'r eat least close to each other.
Several things I've done, and do, to prevent it, or at least reduce it:
- Risers (I saw you already have them)
- Try to keep my posture, shoulders a little back, rather than slumping forward - this helps quite a bit. Hard to maintain at first, easier the longer you try to keep the right position. Think of keeping your shoulders and chest in a straight line, rather than letting your shoulders "pull" forward.
- Keep head back on your neck. I think of it as a pidgeon stroking their head back and forth as they walk, I keep my head in the back position. This keeps the weight from your head from hanging forward and causing stress in your upper back/neck area.
These items cause your back to have a slightly more forward lean, but not so much (at least in my case) that it causes any issues.
I also roll my shoulders every once in a whiel to loosen them up, and also pull m y shoulders straight back (like trying to get my shoulder blades to touch) and it also helps keep me loose.

I hope you figure out what works for you.

Jorge
The last thing: I take breaks every 70-90 minute, no longer. The one time we were running late and I decided to take out a couple of breaks to make better time, I paid for the decision for days after that.

 

[combustify]

Those superbike bars have me drooling. When I'm cruising I tend to cup my hands around the bar ends with enough left to control the throttle and work the levers. Doesn't work in traffic or at highway speeds.  :'(

 

[MAN OF BLUES]

Those superbike bars have me drooling. When I'm cruising I tend to cup my hands around the bar ends with enough left to control the throttle and work the levers. Doesn't work in traffic or at highway speeds.  :'(

they make a HUGE difference, I only paid like $20 for them from Bikemaster...
the mounts, well, lets say they were proto's, the first ones Murph had made, and I did have a bit of "adjustment" on my part to complete ( bores were a bit tight, required a little honing), but the price was right at the time... :rotflmao: :great: :great: :beerchug:

 

[rothaksa]

I found that the seat caused most of my problems. I am 6'1" and 285 pounds and so far a stock seat is perfect for me. Lower back issues could come from your legs? Maybe some highway pegs somewhere or a lower seat so you can sit upright? When you first get on do you feel neutral and this comes on eventually?

Keep a mind on your posture too! I found myself slouching when I'm comfy and I am on scenic route for a while and then wonder why I'm sore after I get off.

 

[ddback]

BruceS - would you mind taking a pic of how you mounted your lip to the windscreen?

MoB - interesting thoughts on bar width - I swapped out cruiser bars on my old 440LTD for bars almost exactly like yours, and it totally changed the bike to be so much more comfortable. What are those bars?