Going to a R1?

JMundy

JMundy

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The more I think about it the more I don't like my fz1. Don't get me wrong, they are great bikes, but for me they are not comfortable. I rode a R6 for 3 years before selling it for my FZ1, and I was more comfortable on the R6! It's crazy and from most people I've spoken with they cannot believe me. I did 800 mile ride in 2.5 days on my R6 with the longest leg of the ride at about 350 miles and I was fine, but I can't do 150 miles on the fz1 without pain in my lower back/ tailbone area. That's with or without the Corbin I had.

Looked at the new R1 yesterday and guy at dealership knew exactly what I was talking about. He explained same pains and symptoms from riding friends bikes over his R1 on distances and said he rides his R1 over 1500 miles every year just fine.

I like my fz1 but I ultimately want to be comfortable when I ride. Has anyone experienced the same issues or came from a sport bike like a R6 and also had same pains?

I'm open to spending some $ to make the fz1 more comfortable but I don't want to just throw cash at it to try to fix something if it can't be fixed. BTW - that ride on R6 was stock seat and I prefer stock fz1 seat over that Corbin I had.


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This may sound strange but I have the same comfort issue with bicycles. I'm perfectly comfy on a full road race bike in the drop position and can ride 100 miles easily within 6 to 7 hours. Now put me on a mountain bike and within a half hour or less than 15 miles I feel pain in my lower back, shoulders, neck and hands.

Some of us are just more comfortable taking weight of the butt and moving it forward. On my FZ1 I like the seating position and find myself leaning forward, however, the stock seat and bars provide me with enough comfort to ride 300+ miles (the longest I rode in one stretch since getting the bike). I have nearly 6K on my FZ1 since the end of April. I admit that the R1 was my first choice over the FZ1 but the FZ was $5K less and the seating position is exactly what I was used to on my previous bikes also the FZ has more power in stock form than I can use effectively.
 
No sense in owning a bike that is not comfortable to ride.
I rode a friends R1 for 20 miles, that was about 15 miles to far for me but I never found screwing the turtle a comfortable riding position on any sport bike.
Get what works for you.
 
Why try to make FZ1 more comfortable then? Just get the R1 you want and be happy.

Most people I know find supersport ergonomics to be absolutely torturous for street use. They're built for the track.. and are meant to be ridden with your butt slid back in the seat, head tucked behind the screen, arms bent so you can actually steer it (unlike so many people who ride them on the street, with arms fully locked out.. so they don't have to be so bent over.. steering is overrated! LOL)

If you're lucky enough to actually be more comfortable in that position, go for it.
 
Take a look at some convertibars. Huge range of motion and not limited by fixed risers or a particular bend in bars.



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Again, never have I ridden a R1, just the R6 I owned.

I like the fz1, and the power, I just want the comfort back. Really looking to see if I'm crazy or if others have experienced same thing with the fz1.


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JMundy said:
Again, never have I ridden a R1, just the R6 I owned.

I like the fz1, and the power, I just want the comfort back. Really looking to see if I'm crazy or if others have experienced same thing with the fz1.


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That's fair, but seems to me like R1 is your ticket. Ergonomics are similar to R6 (I've ridden 2013 R1 and sat on 2013 R6) and the power.. it makes FZ1 seem slow!! :O
 
Erci said:
That's fair, but seems to me like R1 is your ticket. Ergonomics are similar to R6 (I've ridden 2013 R1 and sat on 2013 R6) and the power.. it makes FZ1 seem slow!! :O
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Really the power is last of my wants... Fz1 power is great. I love my hard luggage on the fz1 also. Any way it won't be till spring that I look at anther bike


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OneSizeFitsAll said:
Get what works for you.
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Exactly. What you may consider comfortable may not be for everyone.

If you are only doing 800 miles in 2.5 days, long distance riding doesn't seem to be a big concern for you anyway. If the R6 is more comfy, ride that! That's a great bike and leaps better than an FZ1 for twisty roads and pure riding enjoyment
 
Dustin said:
If you are only doing 800 miles in 2.5 days, long distance riding doesn't seem to be a big concern for you anyway. If the R6 is more comfy, ride that! That's a great bike and leaps better than an FZ1 for twisty roads and pure riding enjoyment
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Well normally we will be doing 400 a day for a week on big trips with the friends I ride with.

We did 350-400 the last day of that 800 mile ride and I felt fine... Was hoping when going to the fz1 I would feel same after that long of a ride.


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In the end it's what will make you happy. I have had my RSVR for a couple of months now. I love how it handles, I love the power it makes and I love to look at it. If someone showed up at my door with MY FZ1 and said you could have it back but would have to give up the Ape. Bye bye Ape.
 
To explain what may be happening may take a few paragraphs so bear with me.

You have let's say 5 main segments to address when talking about ergonomics; Legs, Pelvis, Spine, Arms (shoulders) and Head.

Legs
The legs are the base of your riding position. However you can have your leg comfortably fit on a bike and align your pelvis and thus the rest of your body is going to go a long way into creating comfort. If you can visualize a tribesman sitting in a squat or Malasana (Garland) Pose from yoga, Garland Pose | Yoga Poses | Yoga Journal. Then you will get an idea of how our lower body is actually supposed to be set up for a resting posture. (or Rossi squatting to stretch before a race View attachment 16349)We used to sit around campfires like that for hours on end. What happens in modern culture we sit with or legs at 90 degrees and eventually the hip flexors and hamstrings get tight so that when we go to stand fully there is a muscle group called the IliopsoasView attachment 16347 will pull tightly across the lower back and put extra pressure on your lumbar spine, especially if you have had any injuries there or degenerative disc disease * (which most of us start to develop in as early as our 20s-30s depending on our lifestyle, interestingly the Malasana pose puts a great stretch on that lumbar spine, making space for the intervertebral disc so that they can stay healthy)

* If you can imagine your spine or look at this image View attachment 16348. The vertebrae being solid are like books and intervertebral disc are like jelly doughnuts. If you were to put the jelly doughnut between two books the doughnut would hold it up and you would be able to make it wobble a little with light controlled pressure on the corners of the book. However, if you were to press hard on one corner of the book the jelly is going to shoot out the opposite corner of the doughnut. The way the spine is set up that pushes the disc bulge or disc herniation out toward where the nerves are in the spine and generates what is called radiculopathy or radiating pain/numbness/nerve problems occur from the nerves affected by the change in the spinal support.

If you're legs are strong and well balanced then what will happen is the gluts will help support your pelvis while you use your quads to assist in change of body/seat position. Your lower legs are there for more finite control and should be used in an athletic type posture to connect you with the bike. Overall the better your legs are balanced and strong they will create the support your pelvis needs to hold up the rest of your body.

Motorcycle changes (legs). Mainly changing rear-sets will give you the opportunity to adjust your leg position to help you find the best riding position for your legs.

Pelvis
The pelvis, which is broken down to the hip bones and the sacrum/coccyx (tailbone). The hip bones, in particular the ischial tuberosity (commonly called sits bones) is the bony contact of your ass and the seat. You can see/feel how if your lower body is stronger that it can help control the position of your hip bones and how they contact the seat. The sacrum which is where the hip/legs attach to the lumbar spine and subsequently the rest of the body. So depending on how you can comfortably sit on your 'sits bones' will dictate how you will adjust your pelvis and thus your sacrum leading into your lower back. If we think back to the legs, the hamstrings attach to the ischial tuberosity (sits bones) and the gluts connect to the hip bone (pelvis) and then down the femur (leg bone). Both flexibility and strength in the gluts/hammy's will give you better control over your pelvis and seat position. The issue I've noticed with the difference in ergonomics is related to seat position/angle. Cruisers and some ADV bikes have what would be considered a neutral pelvic tilt to a backward pelvic tilt (picture the pelvis like the top of a bucket, neutral would be even on both sides, forward would be tilting the bucket into the tank and spine forward, backward tilt would be tilting the bucket toward the tail of the bike). Sport bikes and sport standards have varying degrees of neutral to forward pelvic tilt. If we can recall our book and jelly doughnut example we could consider the pelvis like the table they are sitting on, and the seat would be the equivalent of the ground. If you tilt the table forward or back and applying a down force (gravity) as long as the books and doughnut remain stacked evenly they should hold. If in a sport riding position, the forward tilt mixed with strong core muscles can keep that neutral position between the vertebrae and disc. If there is collapsing/rounding of the lumbar spine then back to the jelly doughnut example it starts to push out the jelly in this case toward the back. I also should mention also that a tilt in either direction can result in aggravated facets (intervertebral facets are the bony connection between the two adjacent vertebrae). Even in a neutral pelvic tilt sometimes (less likely) and more commonly forward or backward pelvic tilt will get what's called facet syndrome/facet arthritis will cause aggravated back pain because the facet are attempting to support the body.

Motorcycle changes for pelvis: bike itself and seats. The overall ergonomics of the bike will affect how you're able to position your pelvis. Secondary to that the seat can affect the position of the pelvis as well. With a firmer seat in an aggressive riding position for many that requires strong legs and core muscles to support the pelvis and thus the spine (rest of the body) to keep the vertebrae stacked correctly. A cruiser style seat will position the pelvis in a such a way where the strength of core muscles aren't needed but more so relying on the stacking of the spine itself which may severely aggravate a spine with weak points (bulging disc or facet arthritis). The shift in the pelvis due to how the ischial tuberosity (sits bones) contact the seat and are supported by the seat can explain why sometimes a softer seat makes the bike less comfortable because the softness is forcing the core muscles to take up and account for holding the spine in the correct position opposed to a properly supported pelvis that can thus support the spine.

Spine

to be continued (I'm tired)
 
johnnyontherocks said:
In the end it's what will make you happy. I have had my RSVR for a couple of months now. I love how it handles, I love the power it makes and I love to look at it. If someone showed up at my door with MY FZ1 and said you could have it back but would have to give up the Ape. Bye bye Ape.
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What? You'd swap the Ape to go back to your FZ1! Is it just the ergos?
 
I went through similar things a couple of years back. Had an 08 R1 which I got rid of to get the FZ1. I could not get used to the upright seating position, I was always trying to get more weight over the front end. Overall their was nothing wrong with the FZ1, I had ridden sports bikes for the past 18yrs & the FZ was different. In the end I bought a GSXR & am comfortable again. Ride whatever you feel good on!!
 
Thanks Ssky for the info. This also explains why I'm more comfortable in the forward lean position because I ride my road bike anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 miles per year. Also I work out my leg balance for the ski season to attack those black and double black areas in the mountains. My physical therapists often commented on how strong my legs and core muscles are when I had to do post ACL reconstruction rehab.
 
Wow ssky0078 - very impressive wrote up so far. Seems to explain what I've been feeling. I play hockey so I have very strong legs, especially thighs, and although there is no 6 pack there, I think I have a pretty solid core. It's unfortunately hidden by all the extra skin from my massive weight loss a few years ago.....


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Fangn said:
I went through similar things a couple of years back. Had an 08 R1 which I got rid of to get the FZ1. I could not get used to the upright seating position, I was always trying to get more weight over the front end. Overall their was nothing wrong with the FZ1, I had ridden sports bikes for the past 18yrs & the FZ was different. In the end I bought a GSXR & am comfortable again. Ride whatever you feel good on!!
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Well I'm glad I'm not the only one. I want to like the fz1, mostly because that R6 was my baby and I loved it, but heating from more people makes me feel better as almost everyone I speak with says I should be more comfortable on the fz1


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