How to make the bike comfortable?

riding long distance on the vfr800 makes my ass sore and my neck sore. Too much wind I guess. How do I make the bike more comfortable?

 

I'm 5'7" about 170-180lbs and I've got the rear of the seat on the lowest setting but the front still on high position. Then I've got the Moto pumps 1.25" risers and I'm quite happy for about 400-500KMS before my butt hurts. Also, the more you ride, the more you get used to it.

 

Double bubble screen helps

 

Getting the right bar and peg positions will help properly situate your hips on the seat.

The neck issue might be helped by improving your posture and body position too. If your head isn't at the right angle the aerodynamics of your helmet won't be able to work as well as they should.

 

Windscreen, pegs, seat, handlebar risers...after that, there are limits...some bikes just don't fit some people, so many choices, standards, cruisers, sport touring, sport...pick your pleasure.

 

I've found the biggest part of being comfortable on a motorbike is being fit. The more you work your core muscles, the less riding anything hurts.

When I got back in the saddle from some time off I was dying after 30 minutes!

 

I will add to that, i ride a bicycle also, people will always ask, are you comfortable, that saddle, leaning over the handlebars, skinny tires etc. firstly, it's all about fit, the ergonomics, seat height, fore aft position of seat, handlebar reach, saddle til that determine how low you can ride comfortably. Then it's the choice of equipment. It's like audio equipment, quality sound can be listened to for hours. Poor sound fatigues the auditory system and you just want it off...if the motorcycle fits t right, the suspension is not set up to your needs....the ride will exhaust you sooner than later...

 

Being in both the retail and pro sound biz for years, I'm glad to see someone else realize the cause of audio fatique!

 

Continuing the sound theme...any loud sounds over a period of time can cause fatigue as well. Try doing a long ride without earplugs, and then do the same long ride with earplugs. That wind noise just saps your energy, and makes it feel like you rode twice as far as you actually did. One of many reasons I never ride without them.

 

Before answering the question what do you class as long distance? How often and how much do you ride?

 

For me, a 500 mile/12 hour group ride is a long day. But generally anything over 200 miles is long enough to get fatigued if things aren't ideal.

I put 20k miles on in 3 years, with nothing but canyon carving for fun.

 

Yeah I mean more highway miles. I can do 500 miles on twisties nos weat, but sitting on the bike on a highway going 80 gets really grating.

 

for your neck. I have 3 helmets. Each one has different visibility up and down and side to side. I find I like one better when riding my VFR's. Why? It is because I don't have to hold my head up so high as the visibility is better looking out the upper part of the shield. Having higher bars would help neck also. My 1997 has limited room for higher bars and they stopped making Helibars for that model. I did raise the forks in the triple about .5 inch and that was all that was possible as it was very close to hitting the fairing on full right turn. My VFR400r has room for different bars (like maybe off a Hawk GT) but I don't ride it more than about 60 miles at a time so it will remain stock.

 

Well there is one more thing, recently i adjusted bikes suspensions sag and damping... the difference in overall handling and comfort is day and night.
Now i try to hop on the bike at any opportunity i have and its just great ride every time. But soars a bit after 250-300 km , but that place needs some training

 

A custom Sargent seat roughly doubled my comfortable distance, but the bike felt pretty close to a good fit even before that.

Echoing something posted above, I spend as much time mountain biking and weight lifting as I do riding the VFR. Especially before the long annual ride I build up strength and flexibility, because the stamina will help on the road. (God forbid I ever have to lift up this piggy bike!)

 

I hear ya, I had 92 st1100 before this that I had to pick up twice in 20 years....the adrenaline just kicks in...it's a brief oh my god moment..,I have to get this bike up off th found before someone sees...

 

I lose all my energy when I drop a bike. It's this crushing overwhelming sense of defeat that saps my strength.

 

Technique trumps strength when picking up a bike

 

BMWs don't fall as flat as other bikes because the heads stick out. Also, this particular stance doesn't work on gravel or wet pavement either (or ice), because you tend to push sideways too much. And who drops a bike on dry, clean pavement anyway? What's the fun there?

 

But if you just grab the bars and try to yank it up that way,
it's easy to tweak your back.