Finally Got a VFR, but fearing I made a mistake

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by headshrink, Apr 2, 2018.

  1. headshrink

    headshrink New Member

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    message no longer relevant.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2019
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  2. Zeta

    Zeta New Member

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    I have honda bar risers on mine (came on bike), never rode one without them and I'm very comfortable on the bike. I use my knees to brace body not putting weight on my wrists or locking arms. I find the seat very comfortable with my longest seat time to date of 7 hrs. My seat is raised in the forward area and lowered in the rear. I'm 5'11", ~200lbs, longer torso and shorter inseam 30-31", 63 yrs old, riding style, spirited. Try giving it some time and try to do some 200 mile days where you can adjust to the bike. Buyer's remorse is common, but for me every time I ride just keeps getting better and always puts a smile on my face. I like sport tourers with more sport than tour and this is one of the best bikes I've ever owned in 50yrs of riding, racing, and raising hell.
     
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  3. Audible

    Audible New Member

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    Gee, I've never heard anybody call the VFR an uncomfortable bike.

    The bar risers will help a lot. I've got the 24mm which I'm comfortable with, sounds like you'll want the biggest 32mm ones.
    I have no problem riding my VFR without the risers. If anything, I get a neck ache from the "looking up" position of my head long before I get any wrist/back/legs pain. That's the main reason why I got the risers for mine.

    Added weight on your wrists though indicates to myself that your core seating position is incorrect.
    This is a fairly common complaint with riders who upgrade from a small bike. Your used to a 150kg approx. 250cc bike and are now perched on 240kg of 782cc's of bike.
    Usually what happens is that without realizing it, you have a "death grip" onto the VFR, that your hanging on for dear life because you've gone from a bike that will go 0-60mph in 8 seconds, to one that'll do it in 4 seconds.
    Well, I don't actually know the exact 0-60mph times for either bike, but the point is, the VFR's will be a lot faster than the 250r's and your hanging onto the VFR tighter as a result making yourself uncomfortable.

    It's more important to get your seating position correct on the big bikes, because when you start using the extra power, you will wear yourself out very quickly leading to wrist/back/leg/torso pain because you have this death grip to the bike using the wrong seating position.

    Your riding position should be that you have very little pressure on the bar with your hands. You should be able to take either hand off the bar with no change to your riding position or take your hands off the bar and just grip each handle with thumb/forefinger with no weight bearing.
    Your arms should be bent at the elbows and relaxed, not straight and holding the weight of your upper body up.
    Your legs, torso and back hold you up, not your arms. And it won't work unless you have the correct position.

    There are a number of videos on youtube on the subject, this one isn't one of the best, but the points this tuber makes are valid. Feel free to search more on the subject.



    As for the seat, well again, it could be because of your bad posture, you could be "humping the bike". VFR is a pretty bike, but I dunno about humping it all day long :)
    You don't have to replace the seat, having it re padded by an auto upholsterer can help a lot.

    Lowering the pegs may also help. But just as important is setting the bike up to suit you primarily. Check out this video. This is something you should do with any new bike you buy and after you change bar/peg height.

    Edit. seems I can't post two video's in one post. Just search youtube for "set up motorcycle controls" and watch the video by MC garage.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2018
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  4. bigbadbass

    bigbadbass New Member

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    Good info provided by members, but I too am very surprised of your impression. My 5th gen *by far* the most comfortable bike in my stable of 3 (other 2 are Ducati supersports)

    i'm 66 year old ...out of the 3, the VFR my instant pick for any super long distance or multi day interstate ride.
    The Duc SS's get picked for other specific uses, but thats off topic here.

    Hopefully, you'll get to the cause of your reported discomfort and find "fixes".
     
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  5. fink

    fink Member

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    How old and how bike fit are you? Before you start blaming and trying to alter the bike look at yourself and how you ride.

    The 8 th gen is a fairly comfortable bike, I can rack up 500 mile days with only the normal stiffness you would expect because you are sitting so long. Get a few hundred miles under your belt.

    Think about how you are sitting on the bike, are you relaxed or do you have a death grip. New bikes always feel different to what you are used to especially coming from a much smaller lighter bike.

    The seat on the 8th gen is adjustable.
     
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  6. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Sounds like a core problem not a bike problem
    JMO


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  7. blitz jr

    blitz jr New Member

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    Like you, I came from the 500R, which is a more upright bike. My biggest problem when I first started on the VFR was my hands, not only because of the forward lean, but the clutch is much harder to pull in than on the 500. The first thing I did was lower the seat and got a pair of grip puppies. I was going to raise the bars, but by the time I got around to it, the problems seemed to go away. My left hand probably got stronger, as well as the abs. Just give it a little time before you do anything drastic. Take some short rides and relax. You might be tensed up being on a new bike with so much more power. Give it some time.
     
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  8. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Your bike is horrible for you. You should just give it to me and get a FJR1300. Problem solved. I'll book a flight there as the bike will be payment for my services helping you out of this terrible predicament. You're welcome.
     
  9. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I agree the stock positions can be a little radical. I went from a 6th gen (with the pegs lowered) to a used '14 a couple of years ago. As I drove it out of the dealship, I couldn't believe how high the foot pegs were! I got a set of the Knight Designs pegs (only ones available at first) and got the MotoPumps handle bar risers. Being 73 and a little stiff myself, these made a world of difference. Changes were not drastic, but enough to make the bike comfortable for me. 20K miles later, I even more stiff around the house and have found I have arthritis in several of my vertebrae, yet the only time I am comfortable is on the VFR! The jostling of riding make my neck sore after a couple of hours. Hang in there, pegs and risers are very reasonable (alot less than an aftermarket exhaust). Your comfort level will improve with your confidence level in the bike. I occasionally stop by the dealership who sells Honda Yamaha & Kawasaki, and there isn't a bike in there I would rather have. That's not to say there aren't more powerful faster bikes, but for all around versatility, the VFR is hard to beat.
     
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  10. jimmyp

    jimmyp New Member

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    I thought the seat on mine was uncomfortable too, but it turned out my wallet was causing the pain in my arse, now I put it in my jacket pocket And it's all good. The risers and footpegs will help too.
     
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  11. Viffer J

    Viffer J New Member

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    I had Sargent rebuild the stock seats and add heat, much more comfy than the oem IMO.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Bubba Utah

    Bubba Utah Member

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    You got heat under the seat! Nice!
     
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  13. Bubba Utah

    Bubba Utah Member

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    I will add that I have the bar risers 1.25 and like them. Like some have said my problem is with the stock seat. My ass goes into pain mode after 150-200miles. I know that there is underwear that helps $99, I can add some gel inserts for $85 and do it myself, or I can pay top dollar to have someone like Sargent did to the seat of Viffer. I do not know the cost of what his change was. But, I do know that you have to work out some of the issues per your style and build. I'm 5'9 210lbs and have an inseam of 29". The seat changes I tried and really the high post was what worked best for me with my knees but with pain at about the same point as my bony ass!;-). I want to look at peg lowering as well. It's all about test and trial. Money is the issue for me. I figure that about the time I pay off the bike I will have the proper adjustments for my fat short ass!:wheelie:
     
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  14. headshrink

    headshrink New Member

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    Sorry I should have added some more information. I didn't get notifications for some reason, so I'll try to reply to everyone in this post.

    I put 40k miles on a Ninja 250r from 2008-2014, 27K miles on a CBR500r from 2014-2018, and now about 200 miles on the Interceptor. I've commuted daily on a motorcycle since 2008.

    Corbin seats on both bikes changed everything. I found, true to Corbin's design philosophy, we don't need more padding, we need a properly shaped seat. Both my seats are hard as a rock yet amazingly comfortable. I can do 300 miles and I may have stiff hips, etc., but my butt can go forever.

    I'm in my 40s, 5' 8 or 9" and 160lbs. I usually go to the gym 3-5 days a week as part of my chiropractor's treatment plan for anterior pelvic tilt, and bulging disk in L4-L5.

    Yes, I know I'm not supposed to have weight on my hands at all. Still working that out. I plugged all these bikes into cycle-ergo today and was shocked to see just how different they are. One thing I found that makes slow/tight parking lot maneuvers difficult is when approaching full-lock I can't operate the clutch and throttle, because my hands get jammed between the tank and bar. Hopefully raising them the 1.25 inch will suffice.

    I don't have big hands, but I found adjusting the clutch and brake levers all the way out helped somewhat. The clutch now feels a little more predictable, and closer to what I'm used to on the 500. The brakes also feel a little stronger (obviously perception). Before this the breaks felt kind of scary weak. Pads are somehow already at 50% with insignificant mileage, and fluid is still light colored.

    It will take a while to get the new parts after realizing how much I just spent (didn't consider the sales tax the DMV would come for).
     
  15. fink

    fink Member

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    Also consider rotating the levers to a more comfortable position.
     
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  16. Lint

    Lint Member

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    This helped me with hand cramping. I only wish that I could rotate the levers down more, so that my wrists would be in a straight lne following my arms down. I have a tall torso and long arms, so it leaves my wrists bent. I only really notice it after spending all day in the saddle though.
     
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  17. headshrink

    headshrink New Member

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    How? I only know about the riser blocks.
     
  18. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Look at the base of your levers, not your bars. The things you pull on for clutch and brake. They are held in place by two little 8mm bolts. loosen then enough to rotate the lever assembly; don't remove them, push them forward and down. Re-tighten the bolts.
     
  19. headshrink

    headshrink New Member

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    Ah, yes.... I misunderstood what you meant originally. I first thought you meant the angle of the bars themselves. Thanks for clarifying.
     
  20. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    All good advice, but like you I hated the stock seat. I couldn't ride 50 miles before my left leg started falling asleep.
    The solution was the Sargent seat. I had a Corbin for my FJ1200 and hated it, and their lousy customer service at
    that time, back in the 90's. The Sargent is the cat's ass.

    I always adjust my levers, both position and amount of travel when I get a new-to-me bike. I also have the Helibars which work
    very well for me. My stats are very much like yours but I find the foot pegs just fine though.
     
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