I bought a new 2007 VFR800 ABS. I have put a Laminar Lip and a set of Gen-Mar risers on it in an attempt to find some long range comfort on the bike. I just ordered some Heli Bars to replace the Gen-Mars. There is just too much pressure on my wrists so my hands cramp up. Other than that, i love riding the bike. Any ideas?
[image: View Post]flash1034, on 16 February 2010 - 08:08 PM, said:
I bought a new 2007 VFR800 ABS. I have put a Laminar Lip and a set of Gen-Mar risers on it in an attempt to find some long range comfort on the bike. I just ordered some Heli Bars to replace the Gen-Mars. There is just too much pressure on my wrists so my hands cramp up. Other than that, i love riding the bike. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Flash
My first GF would say..."You're doing it wrong!"
You should try changing your posture to reduce "wrist pressure". Tuck in your stomach muscles, grip the tank with your knees, loosen your spine, unlock your elbows, rest your shoulders on the wind blast coming up from the nosecone and lightly grip the handlebars with firm light pressure.
As a guy who now rides with a permanently broken wrist I can definitly sympathise with you. I have the Heli bars which are terrific, I also use a throttle meister, which is so valuable as my broken wrist is my throttle hand. I have also put on high quality grips, with a somewhat spongey feel, and lastly with the aid of a Seargent seat I make it a point to sit with very good posture. Not hunched over, this helps take the weight off of my wrists. Good Luck.
I found that a few things helped with my hand problems; Grip puppies, Genmars, NEP cruise control and the above mentioned loosening techniques. :fing02:
You need to constantly remind yourself to keep your elbows pointing down and not outwards; especially after braking. This will make your core muscles (stomach and back) hold you up. The higher bars will certainly help too but it's removing the pressure/weight that's key.
[image: View Post]FotoMoto, on 16 February 2010 - 11:07 PM, said:
Getting old sux. :warranty:
You need to constantly remind yourself to keep your elbows pointing down and not outwards; especially after braking. This will make your core muscles (stomach and back) hold you up. The higher bars will certainly help too but it's removing the pressure/weight that's key.
I just ordered the LSL bar kit for mine. I have serious back and neck issues and I can only ride with dirt style bars. I should have them next week. Speigler USA is the place to get them. I've used the kit on several bikes and I've always been happy with them.
[image: View Post]HispanicSlammer, on 17 February 2010 - 01:51 AM, said:
Sometimes wrists cramping up going numb are problems with your gloves too. Thats the case with me anyhow.
This is actually good advice. When I first started riding, I was having similar problems. A change of gloves helped me out a TON. The pair I use isn't the greatest in protection or have cuffs to the elbows, BUT they offer good protection and a TON of comfort.
It is a cheap "mod" to try and see if that helps. That's the way I looked at it anyways.
Sargent Seat - Sooooo much better than stock! And great customer service to boot.
Genmar Risers - This was enough lift for me to get into a more comfortable position for long-hauls. Many rave about the Helibars..
**Most Important** - Proper Riding Position... This made more difference than anything else. Strengthening the muscles needed to maintain this takes a little time and effort, but the payoff is definitely worth it.. After 3 months I'm considering taking the Genmar's off and seeing how the more sporting tuck will work now.
It's all about maintaining the proper position that ArTravlR described up there ^ as long as you can on each ride. After a while the position feels natural as your muscles are trained to support you properly. There is NO pressure on your wrists if you're doing it right. And as a bonus, you are in better control of the bike because of the light grip on the bars...
being 6'3" and 270...ish, I've had to adjust things on my '04. number one was the changing of my seating posture, I was use to a '99 GSXR750 and it took me a while. The peg lowerers, the Sargeant, and the Genmars are what has helped the most. A Throttlemeister or equivalent will definitely help on longer rides. Check my sig for more stuff to add.
The answer for me is proper posture. I ride a stock VFR and when tired, I tend to get sloppy with my posture and start hurting. When I correct this, I can go all day long.
[image: View Post]ArTravlR, on 16 February 2010 - 09:00 PM, said:
[image: View Post]flash1034, on 16 February 2010 - 08:08 PM, said:
I bought a new 2007 VFR800 ABS. I have put a Laminar Lip and a set of Gen-Mar risers on it in an attempt to find some long range comfort on the bike. I just ordered some Heli Bars to replace the Gen-Mars. There is just too much pressure on my wrists so my hands cramp up. Other than that, i love riding the bike. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Flash
My first GF would say..."You're doing it wrong!"
You should try changing your posture to reduce "wrist pressure". Tuck in your stomach muscles, grip the tank with your knees, loosen your spine, unlock your elbows, rest your shoulders on the wind blast coming up from the nosecone and lightly grip the handlebars with firm light pressure.
Practice, practice, practice
Its possible, that someone is weighting all their weight on the bars, that would definitely cause premature wrist fatique.
We dont know thats the case here, he could have perfect posture and still have wrist issues, cause forward biased sportbikes are more fatiquing in the way.
The biggest issue I found with the vfr stock clipons, is the horrible rearward sweep(great for pushing forward). But this kocks your wrists inward and you knuckles outward.
Thats a serous comfort area to improve , Gen mars are crap, you dont even need them, can do the same thing with stock clips.
I dont run heli bars, but they will allow forward movement of the clipons, grately improving wrist comfort. I've done this with stock clipons, maintaining the more forward bias where the heli bring the bars back toward you.
All great advice. I know for me, coming off a few years of "HD's", the change in riding position was pretty significant, and I had to, and still am, learning to adapt to different riding ergos, and like others said, concentrate on not putting pressure on my hands, but letting my stomach muscles and back do the lions share of the work...
Spent 500 miles on both in a varighty of conditions.
I thought the standard lip was the best in clear, the dark was like looking over a dash board and I didnt like that.
found the standard lip excellent in clean air, but alot of upper shoulder and lower helmet turbulance around multi vehicles at higher speed.
The taller Lip. I found in going against head winds, complete googley eyes to where I want to throw up. But you can get below the wind with this lip if your a lay on the tank rider, which im not.
also these lips add alot of pressure to your shield, so dont be surprised if your shield devlopes some cracking.
The best mod I have done to my VFR is a Corbin seat.
The second best mod was a Throttlemeister.
I have to ride several hours to get to good twisty roads. The throttlemeister helped ALOT with a numb throttle hand on long slab sections.
When I'm on easy curved and/or straight country highways with little traffic (lots of those in rural south Georgia) doing 55+ mph I will turn on the throttlemeister and take my hands off the bars and sit back a little or slouch forward and rest my wrists on the tank. I can maintain lane position by applying small amounts of pressure differences on the foot pegs or by dropping a hand out for some drag. I can do easy corners using only air drag on my torso and and arms to steer through them. I've gone as long as 15 minutes at a stretch at 65mph without touching the handlebars. If you ride on roads like this to get places and can be comfortable riding this way it would probably help alot with wrist pain.
I lowered my pegs big help, along with the seargent seat. Haven't done anything with the bars yet, and can run 100miles of slab before a break with no issues, and do that again and again 3 days in a row
OK. Got the Heli-Bars on and I raised them to their highest position. What a difference. I also ordered some grip puppies but they havent come in yet. I think they will also make a big difference as the stock grips are a little on the hard side. I must admit, I love the way this bike handles, even on the stock Metzelers (which I think are crap when compared to Michelin PR2s).
I want to thank everyone for their input. It really made a difference. BTW, do most of you guys remove the hero bar scrapers from the bottom of the stock pegs? Are they there for any particular reason? Also, who sells the peg loweing blocks...that sounds like a good idea. :)
[image: View Post]flash1034, on 19 February 2010 - 11:46 AM, said:
OK. Got the Heli-Bars on and I raised them to their highest position. What a difference. I also ordered some grip puppies but they havent come in yet. I think they will also make a big difference as the stock grips are a little on the hard side. I must admit, I love the way this bike handles, even on the stock Metzelers (which I think are crap when compared to Michelin PR2s).
I want to thank everyone for their input. It really made a difference. BTW, do most of you guys remove the hero bar scrapers from the bottom of the stock pegs? Are they there for any particular reason? Also, who sells the peg loweing blocks...that sounds like a good idea. :)
Thanks,
Flash
Do you mean the tabs that lock the stock bars in place from moving side to side? Some people have removed them, others have simply switched the Left bar to the Right side and the Right bar to the Left side to get a slightly different position.
The lowering blocks are sold by member BusyLittleShop, or BLS, for short.
Its all about the posture!!! When I rode coast to coast (well almost..) I was doing 1000+ Kilometer days with ease.. First off I was in shape. Another thing I found that helps alot was a Motocross style kidney belt. What a HUGE difference this made... Just gave me that extra support to gut out those extra miles every day.. And at the end of a long day of riding.. well yeah I was tired but I'd feel great. I do also have Gen mar's,Seatgent seat and a throttle lock.. these all help too. Good gloves and a jacket that fitted properly too.. All that flapping around will tire you out in a hurry! I guess its all about what makes YOU comfortable... And it takes some time to figure all this out.. Be patient.. You'll find you holy grail of comfort... I did...
I'm going to be the first guy to say IT MAY NOT BE POSTURE!
Posture helps BUT - The geometry of the bike could be off. I have a Sergeant seat and heli-bars and for a year hated riding my bike because not matter how great my posture was my weight was always right over the front tire. Why? I asked a local shop to help me setup my Ohlins rear shock and they dialed everything to 11! Firstly the shock had the rear seat all the way up in the air, shifting my weight forward. Secondly it was tight as hell so it gave a super harsh ride. I was ready to light the bike on fire. Finally I stopped in here and expressed my frustration. Baileyrock and Sebspeed both advised I remove the Ohlins, set it back to factory settings, reinstall it, then set the sag properly. It worked. My bike is now comfortable when I use proper posture. The rear suspension is a perfect match for both commuting over potholes and keeping things tight in the twisties.
So keep in mind how your bike's geometry effects everything. With the heli-bars on there you may need to readjust your sag, both front and back.
[image: View Post]canib, on 19 February 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:
I'm going to be the first guy to say IT MAY NOT BE POSTURE!
Posture helps BUT - The geometry of the bike could be off. I have a Sergeant seat and heli-bars and for a year hated riding my bike because not matter how great my posture was my weight was always right over the front tire. Why? I asked a local shop to help me setup my Ohlins rear shock and they dialed everything to 11! Firstly the shock had the rear seat all the way up in the air, shifting my weight forward. Secondly it was tight as hell so it gave a super harsh ride. I was ready to light the bike on fire. Finally I stopped in here and expressed my frustration. Baileyrock and Sebspeed both advised I remove the Ohlins, set it back to factory settings, reinstall it, then set the sag properly. It worked. My bike is now comfortable when I use proper posture. The rear suspension is a perfect match for both commuting over potholes and keeping things tight in the twisties.
So keep in mind how your bike's geometry effects everything. With the heli-bars on there you may need to readjust your sag, both front and back.
:+1: on this! I had to readjust sag after installing the Genmars (more upright) and seat (different butt position). Having proper sag set is a must for comfort and handling. :fing02:
[image: View Post]creggur, on 19 February 2010 - 03:11 PM, said:
[image: View Post]canib, on 19 February 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:
I'm going to be the first guy to say IT MAY NOT BE POSTURE!
Posture helps BUT - The geometry of the bike could be off. I have a Sergeant seat and heli-bars and for a year hated riding my bike because not matter how great my posture was my weight was always right over the front tire. Why? I asked a local shop to help me setup my Ohlins rear shock and they dialed everything to 11! Firstly the shock had the rear seat all the way up in the air, shifting my weight forward. Secondly it was tight as hell so it gave a super harsh ride. I was ready to light the bike on fire. Finally I stopped in here and expressed my frustration. Baileyrock and Sebspeed both advised I remove the Ohlins, set it back to factory settings, reinstall it, then set the sag properly. It worked. My bike is now comfortable when I use proper posture. The rear suspension is a perfect match for both commuting over potholes and keeping things tight in the twisties.
So keep in mind how your bike's geometry effects everything. With the heli-bars on there you may need to readjust your sag, both front and back.
:+1: on this! I had to readjust sag after installing the Genmars (more upright) and seat (different butt position). Having proper sag set is a must for comfort and handling. :fing02:
I love it. You guys deserve some applause for your dedication to your ride quality. Good on ya! :biggrin:
[image: View Post]flash1034, on 19 February 2010 - 12:46 PM, said:
> BTW, do most of you guys remove the hero bar scrapers from the bottom of the stock pegs? Are they there for any particular reason? <
Thanks,
Flash
No! They're there for the fireworks show! :goofy:
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1215247999/gallery_5444_3979_26810.jpg Railin 421 in Shady Valley Hey look, sparkles!
I found some comfort from using my drop pegs, which lower the pegs by 1" and were custom designed for the VFR. I also used GenMar risers and tried to concentrate on my stomach muscles and posture.
[image: View Post]VFRBulldawg, on 17 February 2010 - 07:21 PM, said:
The best mod I have done to my VFR is a Corbin seat.
The second best mod was a Throttlemeister.
I have to ride several hours to get to good twisty roads. The throttlemeister helped ALOT with a numb throttle hand on long slab sections.
When I'm on easy curved and/or straight country highways with little traffic (lots of those in rural south Georgia) doing 55+ mph I will turn on the throttlemeister and take my hands off the bars and sit back a little or slouch forward and rest my wrists on the tank. I can maintain lane position by applying small amounts of pressure differences on the foot pegs or by dropping a hand out for some drag. I can do easy corners using only air drag on my torso and and arms to steer through them. I've gone as long as 15 minutes at a stretch at 65mph without touching the handlebars. If you ride on roads like this to get places and can be comfortable riding this way it would probably help alot with wrist pain.
Can you sit on the Corbins saddle horn comfortably, I mean close up to the tank?
[image: View Post]spud786, on 19 February 2010 - 10:04 PM, said:
[image: View Post]VFRBulldawg, on 17 February 2010 - 07:21 PM, said:
The best mod I have done to my VFR is a Corbin seat.
The second best mod was a Throttlemeister.
I have to ride several hours to get to good twisty roads. The throttlemeister helped ALOT with a numb throttle hand on long slab sections.
When I'm on easy curved and/or straight country highways with little traffic (lots of those in rural south Georgia) doing 55+ mph I will turn on the throttlemeister and take my hands off the bars and sit back a little or slouch forward and rest my wrists on the tank. I can maintain lane position by applying small amounts of pressure differences on the foot pegs or by dropping a hand out for some drag. I can do easy corners using only air drag on my torso and and arms to steer through them. I've gone as long as 15 minutes at a stretch at 65mph without touching the handlebars. If you ride on roads like this to get places and can be comfortable riding this way it would probably help alot with wrist pain.
Can you sit on the Corbins saddle horn comfortably, I mean close up to the tank?
Seems it has somewhat of a saddle Horn
A little bit, yes. I can get right up on the tank if I want to, though I may not be the best person to go by. I have a bit of a gut sticking out right now. :-) A skinny guy might possibly get a little different results. I've never sat on a Sargent seat so I can't compare the two, but the Corbin in way better than stock on comfort and I don't think it gives anything up on performance except a little bit of extra weight.
[image: View Post]creggur, on 19 February 2010 - 11:11 AM, said:
:+1: on this! I had to readjust sag after installing the Genmars (more upright) and seat (different butt position). Having proper sag set is a must for comfort and handling. :fing02:
Can my dealer set up the sag properly? I don't know the first thing about it...
[image: View Post]VFRBulldawg, on 21 February 2010 - 10:49 PM, said:
[image: View Post]spud786, on 19 February 2010 - 10:04 PM, said:
[image: View Post]VFRBulldawg, on 17 February 2010 - 07:21 PM, said:
The best mod I have done to my VFR is a Corbin seat.
The second best mod was a Throttlemeister.
I have to ride several hours to get to good twisty roads. The throttlemeister helped ALOT with a numb throttle hand on long slab sections.
When I'm on easy curved and/or straight country highways with little traffic (lots of those in rural south Georgia) doing 55+ mph I will turn on the throttlemeister and take my hands off the bars and sit back a little or slouch forward and rest my wrists on the tank. I can maintain lane position by applying small amounts of pressure differences on the foot pegs or by dropping a hand out for some drag. I can do easy corners using only air drag on my torso and and arms to steer through them. I've gone as long as 15 minutes at a stretch at 65mph without touching the handlebars. If you ride on roads like this to get places and can be comfortable riding this way it would probably help alot with wrist pain.
Can you sit on the Corbins saddle horn comfortably, I mean close up to the tank?
Seems it has somewhat of a saddle Horn
A little bit, yes. I can get right up on the tank if I want to, though I may not be the best person to go by. I have a bit of a gut sticking out right now. :-) A skinny guy might possibly get a little different results. I've never sat on a Sargent seat so I can't compare the two, but the Corbin in way better than stock on comfort and I don't think it gives anything up on performance except a little bit of extra weight.
End of thread · 30 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 6 Apr 2010