long rides

[jaimz]

So I've been riding my xb12s for roughly 3 years now. and still I don't understand how some of you guys take these long ass rides.

I'll do 60 miles and my back hurts horribly, and it feels like my chest is going to collapse on itself.

lol am I sitting wrong on my bike or something!?

I'm 6' tall 180lbs, so it's not like I've got some strange shape and size.

I've ridden in many positions to see if anything helps. It seems like whether I'm sitting up as straight as I can, or if I'm nearly laying on the air box cover there's not much difference.

I think the longest I've ridden is 70 miles at most.

 

[Loki]

Try a different seat?

 

[jaimz]

yeah but I don't want to drop a bunch of money to try a different seat. It's not like they're $50 or anything.

I thought about maybe getting a low seat. Right now I just have the stock. Ideally I'd like to have the select seat with the orange part. but I doubt I'll be finding one of those any time soon.

Can anyone else comment on how changing their seat has increased their ride time?

 

[Jonny5zaliv]

That stock seat is MURDER, dude! I finally found a streetfighter seat through here for $150. I definitely understand where you're coming from. About 60-70 miles on the stock seat, and you'll want to be done for the day. Change it for something with more cushion, though, and you're set!

 

[snrusnak]

How often do you ride? I can ride my bolt 8 hours easy. My butt gets sore a little but not bad(not much padding in the stock seat). My wrists will get a little sore as well but some foam grip covers pretty much resolved that. I'm 6'4" 220lb so my knees would get sore but I switched to the 1" drop lightning/Ulysses pegs and that resolved that.

Other than some minor wrist and butt soreness I can pretty much ride as long as necessary. I think my wrists get sore more than others due to an injury/surgery. I don't usually hear others complaining about this. I did 600 miles in a day and a few hours in AR this summer.

I noticed too the more frequently I ride the less sore I am. I haven't been riding frequently lately and when I ride my wrists get more sore.

 

[bfletcher]

Try padded bicycling shorts before you drop the dinero on a seat.

 

[jaimz]

I'll ride about 30 miles every two days or so. I work from home so I don't travel much. I'd just like to start taking some longer rides without stopping at a chiropractor ever 60 miles

 

[deathandtexas]

Ride through the pain and eventually your ass goes numb.

 

[dannenvance]

60 miles? That really sucks. Nothing worse than having a great bike you can't enjoy very long. I'm on a '09 Lightning scg and have a stock seat & bars and I did my first 250 mile ride two weeks ago and was more bothered by the Texas heat (102 at 1pm) than the mileage. I was a little achy by post-lunch time but nothing bad and I even have a not-so-great lower back.
I wonder if switching to lower or more forward-leaning bars will get some weight off your spine and help w/ the back issues? Best of luck!

 

[raz65man]

I'm on a 09XB12Ss and I will agree with everyone that the stock seat sucks for long trips. For long trips I use a Buell Touring seat that is fantastic. With that being said, there is also alot of other things you can do to make it easier on your body.
1)Core strength-If your core is weak the rest of your body suffers. At 44yrs old I never realized how far I let myself go until I bought my Buell. At 47 now I can finally enjoy riding long distances. Do some type of daily exercise to strengthen your core and it will start to pay off within a riding season.
2)Base Gear-Compression shorts,Under Armor,synthetic socks-All compress the body to premote circulation, they wick moisture, and regulate body temperature. Fabric is dictated by the temps you plan on traveling in.
3)Hydration-Your body functions better when it has the proper fluid level, just like your bike.
4)Frequent stops-You are not on a Chrome Couch, distance riding is not a Buell's forte. I stop on average about every 150mi or 2hrs.
Sorry to be so long winded but this is one of the few subjects I have experienced and can give some educated advise on. May you have many safe miles Buell Brother.
Raz

 

[jaimz]

Actually I believe I do have lower bars, I've got an r front end

 

[snrusnak]

I'll agree with raz, even though I can ride non stop I need to stop every 1-2 hours at the most to stretch. Even if I leave the bike running and just stand up do a jumping jack ( ) and sit down and ride it makes a world of difference. If I don't then my joints feel like they get "locked" in place.

 

[Btown 9er]

I was fortunate to get two seats in the deal for my bike.
One was the stock seat. The other is a bit lower and sportier seat with the Buell Pegasus emblem on it.
Needless to say, I feel the same way about the stock seat. Had it on once took a 50-60 mile trip and was ready to to be done. My opinion is that it's it's wider forcing the inner and upper most parts of your thighs wider thus sitting you up a bit more which adds a bit more on your upper half to support.

I'm 5/11 and weigh 250-260lbs LOL and the 'performance' 'select' 'race' whatever seat I have rides like a dream in comparison.

 

[bbletterin]

Try riding a uly, much better riding position. Still gotta stop every couple hours to strech.Heck I gotta stop some when I drive my suv.

 

[snrusnak]

I gotta stop some when I drive my suv.

I think that's key. I'm 6'4" and whether in my dodge ram, my bolt, or the wife's aveo I can drive forever if I stop and stretch every hour. And I've done 10+ hours on all of them. Recently we drove 24 hours non stop in the truck from AR to FL. Gotta admit that SUCKED. Couldn't stay awake for that long.

 

[freak2180]

My select seat is by far the best seat I've tried

 

[jaimz]

See. I know for me it can just be that I have to get up and stretch. I mean that could be a part. I'm a software architect so, I sit at my desk all day. Sometimes multiple days without even realizing it!

I've driven non-stop for 26 hours in my car alone. And I take bi-weekly trips that are 7 hours.

I must find a seat! So, it looks like I'd be awfully lucky to find a select. What should I look at?

 

[snrusnak]

Why don't you try adding padding or gel or something to yours? It's very easy to recover a seat. I plan to do mine just haven't got around to it. The seat is by far the worste part of my rides.

 

[williegoat]

Two little things that really help:

1) wear ear plugs
2) relax

Both will serve to drastically reduce fatigue.

 

[BuellRiderX]

Maybe some old injuries acting up?...