SV Comfort

Hey all

Just looking for suggestions really, as most of the threads on here about comfort are about tall people having issues.

I'm the opposite (short)! 5'4, slightly lowered seat (dont know by how much)

Just took the SV for a 50 mile round trip, 25 miles of motorway and 25 miles of A roads.

Now I know I am going to experience some aches here and there as I adjust to riding in general but I wonder how much I can attribute to this?

I am keeping as relaxed as possible, conciously gripping only has hard as I need to. This is a lot harder though when you cant feel your hand

What I have found is:

My right hand goes numb. On the way back I had pins and needles to the point of not being able to feel the front brake, lol.

Left wrist is still aching. I can change gears ok now, the pulling motion of the clutch doesnt hurt anymore. Its from weight on my wrist, pain from the base of my little finger in a striahgt line just past my wrist.

Now I am trying to make my trip to the AR as comofrtable as possible.

I am going to try another ride later/tomorrow with my winter gloves on, as they are thicker and offer more padding.

Gong to invest in some stomp grips, heared they work well.

Would raising the bars / bar kit help with shorter people?

Where on the seat should I plant my ass? Is there a proper way? Right now I tend to sit balls to the tank, tried shufling back a bit but I'm not sure if I like it. Wondering if my posture is to blame for some of this?

Thoughts, comments.

Thanks

[dyzio]

I'm about 5'6 and found it comfy (after I got used to it), with the Ape now, I get a numb hand only when going slow.

I found that when riding the curvy long distance, a tank bag helped a lot as I could rest my belly on it and hide behind the fairing.

Another tip would be, adjust your brake and clutch levers. If that doesn't help you could try look for some Heli bars.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add I had to go from a double bubble to the standard screen after my off, as I broke it

So another one of those is on the cards when funds permit.

I have adjusted both levers to be at a better position (were too high up).

[CLARKYsv]

How are the vibrations on the bars? If they are quite high... maybe some weighted bar ends would be useful.

Grip more with your thigh on the tank than your hands on the bars... you'll find the more you squeeze that tank... the less weight you put on your hands.

Have you got adjustable rear sets? Are they set to standard or have they been set for another rider prior to you? Mine came with an adjustable add on and are set too high for me really. Means less weight will go on the pegs and more to the front.

For another one (and this is a question as well as a possible answer) check that your suspension isn't hard at the back and soft at the front.... otherwise weight will tend to want to go forward sometimes (however this may be drivel....)

I am not a short rider, but bar angle is the wrist killer for me. They are always set too far back and raising them does diddly until they are straightened out.

Thanks.

1) Vibrations on the bars...I dont know if its abnormally high, to be honest. I have feck all to compare to!
2) I do grip with my knees, however now and then I find I have relaxed them and holding my weight on my hands, and have to re-adjust.
3) Standard rearsets.
4) Now this is interesting. My front forks are very, very soft. The rear shock seems ok to me if I'm honest, but maybe thats becuase I'm light?

I wonder if sorting the forks would resolve at least some of this (vibrations and the last point)

The bar angle - not sure. Again, first bike I have rode with bars like this, I think they are ok but who knows.

Are standard bar ends "weighted"?

check the line of your hand/wrist in relation to the levers.
Its generally worse for taller people, they often ride with their risk at a steep angle to the thier forearm, but maybe yours have been adjusted by someone and its now causing you the same issue.
Personally I like to point my levers down as I ride pretty much sat on the tank.
The wrists will hurt for a while regardless just while your body adjusts to the possition, once you've got a tollerance for it and developed the right muscles then it goes away.
(Thats an assumption mind fella, I know mine used to hurt then they stopped. Then I got the pointy and they ached again... then they stopped I therefore assumed it was more to do with the time it takes to adjust to the bike.

Hongman, I am of the belief that you are a fairly new rider,possibly only to the SV and a lot of the problem is you are gripping the bars to tight,try and relax your grip a little.
Even I get numb fingers sometimes and I find tapping the finger ends on the tank helps and wiggle your fingers when holding the bars.
If you are going to the AR it might be more than your fingers that are numb

The wrist pain lasted about 2 months for me before it seemed to vanish. I think it just takes a bit of time for a body to adapt to the new experience.

[Messie]

Squeeze the thighs together Hongman. You are thinking and focussing far too much on your hands and wrists. Instead think about your legs. The best bits of advice I got for this sort of problem (and others :0 ) was to try to keep your knees together!

And do check the angles as well. Make sure the angle of the clutch and front brake levers are parallel to the full length of your arms. Simple twiddle and makes a big difference.