I've owned an Across now for about a month and wanted to get people's opinions on the comfortability of the seat and its positioning. I don't own riding pants yet so i can't complain about the seat but the lean forward to the handlebars absolutely breaks my back and overall posture if riding more than 15 minutes. Does anybody else feel this?
Correct seating position is so that you can grip the tank with your knees/thighs. On the FZR250, this means the balls of your feet need to be on the pegs, with your ankle/heel against the heel guard, to get your knees/thighs high enough to grip the tank properly. Once you grip the tank, relax your arms and upper body. Newer bikes like the Ninja 250R have better ergos and a more upright seating position so it is easier to get the correct seating/grip position.
G'day mate Interesting subject.......Posture!! The sport tourers are built that way, the seats on many push the body into the tank (not great for the Boys), the handle bars are low which leads to some serious discomfort. In the 60's and 70's the major Japanese manufacturers built bikes with a more upright position which were more comfortable to ride. The 80's and 90's the design rules seemed to change more towards the sport tourer design. Great bikes, but comfort seriously compromised. The last few years we've seen a swing towards a more upright riding position from all manufactures, we should enjoy the ride more. Much has to do with the riders height as well, it's the never ending saga of getting the exact fit.......not easy to achieve . I had a CBR1100XX, best motorcycle I have ever owned, big and powerful and great handling bike, alas seating (comfort) was very poor and I had to purchase an air hawk seat which changed my ability to ride for any duration. Num Bum happens to often.
If your new to riding then you probably need to relax more .... relax your arms and hands on the bars and drop your elbows some I tend to find I grip the bars way to hard when I havnt ridden for months .... untill I get back 'in the groove' It also could just be you and the state of your back / spinal chord ... I know your young but I hear many young guys complaining about their backs in general Im old and have chronic problems with my spine thru a work accident and degeneration .... but the one thing that doesnt cause me grief is riding the bikes I have .... even the FZR which is a very low slung riding position and Im not a little guy But of course , as Phil mentions, we all suffer the num bum syndrome I was told once by a doctor that u can be fit thru being active , having a physical job etc but it will never get your back fit .... u need special exercises to achieve that ... and he was right.
Funny that. My back is all screwed up from broken femur and other sundry accidents. I cannot ride a "sit up" bike it kills me. I have to be in racer crouch with the weight on my legs and arms not my spine.
It is a process of trying different positions and finding what is right for you, and as Grey said , relax. With my arthritic problems I find the 'racer crouch' near impossible to ride further than the street corner, and the 'cruiser' lean back puts too much pressure on the spinal joints. I find that a slight forward lean that takes a bit of my upper body weight on my hands and puts my spine forward of verticle is best for me.
i ride an across and don't find it to bad. you get sore after a little, but i find if you move around a bit. sit up right and stretch ya back, it stopped stretch a bit, lean forward for a little and then sit normal. i did a 3 hour ride a little bit back with just one stop for fuel and was not to bad. the 3 hours back later that day on the other hand, my back and ass sore as at about the 2 hour mark. but just kept moving around a bit and was fine to keep going.
Pmsl this sounds like me. Only thing I could suggest other than what others have already stated,is ride more and ride longer rides. You will find your own groove so to speak. Or you could try doing a course at Hart. I've done a course there and it really helped my riding
