A very good reason to ride a sport type motorcycle

[john fish]

Your stenosis is relieved when you flex your spine hence riding a sport bike feels better. But the person next to you could have stenosis (or a bulging disc) in a different area and have their condition be aggravated by the sporting/flexed position: hence they need to get into lower back (lumbar)  extension: a more upright position.  

Most folks I see in an upright position are in lumbar flexion.  Cruisers definitely promote lumbar flexion.

Everyone is different-- glad some folks have found things that work.

[Aaron D.]

I know I can do more miles a day, and more hours a day, on a sport bike provided I'm going fast enough to get some lift on my chest. Also, after an accident wherein my private parts dented a fuel tank, a sport bike was the most comfortable seat I could find.

[Stormtruck2]

In 2012 I had a four level fusion, (S1-T3).  Spinal Stenosis was just one of the diagnosis'. I could ride my 98 EV okay, but the most comfortable bike was my 04 Ballabio.  The Centys were good except for knee pain after a period of time.  People at the prison, especially management, would ask how I could ride the bike to work, but not the car. They didn't believe that the bike was more comfortable.  So I can agree with the OP that the forward lean can relieve spinal pain.  As every human body is different, not every body responds the same to the same treatment, not everybody will have the same relief riding a forward lean bike.

[actwin]

Guess I'm saying we each see more on the types of bikes we ride or are interested in because that's who we socialize with.

In my case I do and ride what I WANT not what the guys at work do or ride or the neighbor does or rides. The marketing types are wasting their money on me because I have my own mind. That's why I ride alone too, my own speed on the roads I like and stop and start when I want. I always have a big grin too!

[tazio]

Loved my '97 1100 Sport i.
Above a certain speed, all was bliss. Below that, not so much.
I tend to be a "sight seer" on the bike, head on a swivel and all that(and good for survival :BEER:)
But working the head left and right, when in a sporting position at the lower speeds, brought me considerable neck pain.
It is the #1 reason I sold this bike.
My '71 R75/5 with short windshield was about perfect for hours-on-end travel.
~I would like more distance between seat and footpegs on my Ambassador...

[segesta]

I thought bumps were absorbed by a good suspension.

Sorry, but my California 1400 ain't a Sedan DeVille. And this is the midwest, where terrible roads are the rule.

[Guzzistajohn]

Some body has to ask, let it be me.  Will your doctor write a prescription for a sport bike?  I have always been told that without my health, nothing else matters.

A doctor can write prescriptions all day long, doesn't mean any insurance will pay for it. Try taking your Rx to a motorcycle shop, I bet they don't do medicare billing ;D

[Kev m]

In my case I do and ride what I WANT not what the guys at work do or ride or the neighbor does or rides. The marketing types are wasting their money on me because I have my own mind. That's why I ride alone too, my own speed on the roads I like and stop and start when I want. I always have a big grin too!

That's NOT what I said.

I'm saying that because of the bikes we are interested in we have, over the course of our lives, become friends with/acquaintances with more people of that similar taste than we would have otherwise.

That doesn't mean I wasn't the only guy at work riding a Harley instead of a BMW or the one guy that showed up at the Harley event on a Guzzi.

[Kev m]

Sorry, but my California 1400 ain't a Sedan DeVille. And this is the midwest, where terrible roads are the rule.

Guess you should try a Harley. :-*

[LowRyter]

Just to clarify:  Most of the bike mentioned, particularity the K750 from the OP, are sport standards -not full on sport bikes. 

[dilligaf]

Just to clarify:  Most of the bike mentioned, particularity the K750 from the OP, are sport standards -not full on sport bikes.  

Oh!  Thanks for clarifying that for us.  ::)  I have more miles on my LeMans than any bike I own. GMAFB.  ::(  OK  ;D  You don't get to be a members of the Couillon Cycliers just sitting around "dicking the dog" :BEER:
Matt  

[LongRanger]

Interesting topic. I've found my K-RS to be very therapeutic to a stiff and sore lower back, which I have always attributed to its ergonomics (slight forward lean and rearward-biased footpegs). By contrast, my admittedly-cramped V7 Cafe Classic was misery due to its forward lean but mid-mount foot pegs. Bent over at the waist with no corresponding extension of the legs.

[HDGoose]

Define sport bike.

I do prefer the "European touring lean" over the cruiser and 'sport' bikes.

[johnr]

Looks like it only effects 8-11% of the population, so I'm thinking claiming there's a general health disadvantage to an upright motorcycle might be more than a bit of a stretch.

I have found that an upright position tends to jar the spine quite a bit and that things get far more comfortable when there is even a small amount of forward bend in the spine. (better control too) There are lower bars in the future for my EVT for that reason, when they reach the top of the priority list.

[redrider90]

Most folks I see in an upright position are in lumbar flexion.  Cruisers definitely promote lumbar flexion.

Everyone is different-- glad some folks have found things that work.

The more vertical one sits the more, the lumbar spine moves into extension/lordosis. But this is highly dependent on flexibility of the hamstrings and position of the knees and hips.   Knee and hip position affect the pelvis and lumbar spine. The more forward controls on cruisers decreases knee flexion and increases hip extension which relaxes the hamstrings. This makes it easier to sit upright without torquing the pelvis. This effectively makes it easier to sit in lumbar flexion yet have a more vertical trunk. Overall height of the individual also comes into play here. A taller less flexible person has more difficultly achieving lumbar flexion on any given motorcycle than a shorter person more flexible person. 

[john fish]

Funny, I was at the local Level 1 trauma center seeing an L1 burst and T12 compression when this came through.  Seems we'll just have to agree to disagree.

The more vertical one sits the more, the lumbar spine moves into extension/lordosis. But this is highly dependent on flexibility of the hamstrings and position of the knees and hips.   Knee and hip position affect the pelvis and lumbar spine. The more forward controls on cruisers decreases knee flexion and increases hip extension which relaxes the hamstrings. This makes it easier to sit upright without torquing the pelvis. This effectively makes it easier to sit in lumbar flexion yet have a more vertical trunk. Overall height of the individual also comes into play here. A taller less flexible person has more difficultly achieving lumbar flexion on any given motorcycle than a shorter person more flexible person. 

The only people that I routinely see in anything close to extension are women and cops.  I find it so remarkable that I, well, remark on it.  The forward lean of a more sporting bike, IMO, doesn't promote extension so much as lengthening and decompression.  It would be interesting to get some sagittal films of riders on various bikes. 

[Zoomie]

I met another rider at work.  Assigned together   We both have Sciatica.  He rides a CBR600R and I a Breva 1100 and Ducati ST 3. I have two hips and a knee replaced.  Co worker is in his 30's. When the Sciatica hits, we both feel better on the bikes.  In my case, the Ducati will hurt far less than the Guzzi because the pegs are set to the rear.

The first time I hurt my back was on a Yamaha dirt bike in the dirt.  No one told me I should stand up.  That bike had a perpendicular riding position.

[redrider90]

Funny, I was at the local Level 1 trauma center seeing an L1 burst and T12 compression when this came through.  Seems we'll just have to agree to disagree.



The only people that I routinely see in anything close to extension are women and cops.  I find it so remarkable that I, well, remark on it.  The forward lean of a more sporting bike, IMO, doesn't promote extension so much as lengthening and decompression.  It would be interesting to get some sagittal films of riders on various bikes.  

What anatomy of the body are you talking about when you say "IMO, doesn't promote extension so much as lengthening and decompression". If one side of the spine is lengthened and decompressed then the opposite side is shortened and compressed.
Here are 3 pictures of the same women on 3 different bikes. Clearly the sport bike puts her in excessive lumbar extension. This bike does not fit. There are many factors when looking at the ergonomics of an individual on a bike. But just raising the handlebars and moving them back a bit on the sport bike would reduce her forward lean angle and raise her off tank which would reduce lumbar extension. But one also has to look at foot control placement and seat height in relation to the foot controls.


[URL=http://s1318.photobucket.com/user/redrider901/media/riding-position-standard_zpsa4c43757.jpg.html]

[URL=http://s1318.photobucket.com/user/redrider901/media/riding-position-cruiser_zps89672ad9.jpg.html]

[raul]

It all depends on where you have spinal stenosis.  Mine is in C6-C7 and is the reason I've been fighting the suspension on my V7.  It is especially painful on roads with bad expansion joints like are all over Iowa.  I was about to call my wife to come get me on my way home from Elkader this summer.

I've also come to the conclusion that wind protection is part of my problem with the V7.  I need to find some kind of windshield that works without turbulence. 

[LongRanger]

I can commiserate. Riding my V7CC on the weathered concrete slab roadways of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa was torture. The constant pounding of the expansion joints made for a brutal ride.

[Damnyankee]

When I went to pick up the Daytona 675 I stood and looked at it wondering why I thought I could ride what looked like a torture rack. Initially, there was some pain in my wrists for a few days but my back felt surprisingly good.

My Bassa is a very comfortable ride, ridden it non stop from Bama to NYC many times but I admit, it does cause some back pain. Would I attempt to ride the Daytona from Bama to NYC non stop...hell no but it is easier on the back than the Bassa.

[mjptexas]

Guess you should try a Harley. :-*

I have.  IMHO not even in the same league as a Cali 1400.  As for riding in the Midwest, I'm glad I don't have ride on those frost-heaved roads anymore.

Maybe its because I have short arms but I modestly lean forward on my Cali, so not exactly a 'sport bike' riding position, but not the laid back cruiser position either.  I can't ride a sport bike very far because my neck doesn't flex like it used to.  However, I do find the forward lean on many of my bikes a very comfortable riding position.  I don't especially care for the forward controls on many cruisers as I like to stand up on the pegs during a long ride.

[bpreynolds]

This pass September on a ride to New England with my son in law I experience sever back pain when I stepped just wrong at a state park in Vermont.  I was riding the K75S and while riding, the pain was greatly reduced in fact, four days later the pain was gone.   ;D

Early November the pain returned with a vengeance. I could hardly walk but, with great effort I could get on my motorcycles.  While riding, the pain was greatly reduced.  The diagnosis is spinal stenosis.  I told the doctor about the motorcycle and, once she understood it was a sport bike, she agreed that riding a motorcycle would be beneficial.  Leaning forward relieves the pressure on the nerves that are being pinched by the spine.  

I switched from cruisers to sport bikes about 1980 and never looked back.   I have preached, often to no avail, that an upright cruiser type motorcycle is not a good choose, both from a handling and health point of view.  I understood the handling but never understood the health thing.  I just knew that at the end of the day I preferred a sport bike to a cruiser.  This is what I found on the web and it supports the doctor's statement.
 

   Patients are typically more comfortable while flexed forward. Examples of activity modification for treatment of spinal stenosis might include: walking while bent over and leaning on a walker or shopping cart instead of walking upright; stationary biking (leaning forward on the handlebars) instead of walking for exercise; sitting in a recliner instead of on a straight-back chair.

So......for you stenosis suffers, is there a sport bike in your future.   :BEER:
Matt

I have to believe some of this true.  I've read it on so many motorcycle boards that I can't count; folks with bad backs who have found that sport or sport touring rides suit them more.

Some of you may not have back trouble, but having experienced these levels of pain will give you absolute insight into what works for you and what doesn't.  I have 3 discs that have been reinjured probably 7 times in the last 8 years.  It can be excruciating and paralyzing when injured.  If you have lower disc injury, there's no amount of suspension in a motorcycle that can absorb all the bumps, potholes, etc. to a totally pleasing level if all the weight of your upper body is pushing down on that area while riding (cruiser, some standards).  Like Matt, I have found the sport riding position better for me personally over the long haul.  My Striple doesn't start off barka lounger comfortable like my wonderful Stone, but 3 hours later it's not any worse whereas my back on the Stone will start having a heated discussion with the rest of me by that time.  Same with the Stelvio I used to own.  Good suspension helped it but it still put most of my upper body weight directly upon my lower spine.  The backrest on the Stone has helped somewhat since slumping makes the problem worse and rest kinda forces me not to do that.  

Would I choose one over the other for my back rather than my personal preference of ride that day?  Nah.  When I go to the garage I still choose the ride I most want to spin that day but it does make a difference over the long haul.  It's why I have avidly tried turning the Striple into a sport touring setup.  

[redrider90]

Some of you may not have back trouble, but having experienced these levels of pain will give you absolute insight into what works for you and what doesn't.  I have 3 discs that have been reinjured probably 7 times in the last 8 years.  It can be excruciating and paralyzing when injured.  If you have lower disc injury, there's no amount of suspension in a motorcycle that can absorb all the bumps, potholes, etc. to a totally pleasing level if all the weight of your upper body is pushing down on that area while riding (cruiser, some standards).  Good suspension helped it but it still put most of my upper body weight directly upon my lower spine.  The backrest on the Stone has helped somewhat since slumping makes the problem worse and rest kinda forces me not to do that.  

Lumbar sacral corsets unload the intervertebral disc spaces. A good fitting corset acts like on the spine by hydrostatic compression of abdominal soft tissue. This compression unloads some of the vertical/axial loading on the spinal column.
Anybody MCist with low back problems would benefit from a good fitting lumbar sacral corset. Given you presentation I would bet the farm you would receive some benefit wearing a corset.

[not-fishing]

Here are 3 pictures of the same women on 3 different bikes. Clearly the sport bike puts her in excessive lumbar extension. This bike does not fit.

I am not a physician or bio-mechanics expert just a common joe who has ridden a bicycle for many decades for ungodly hours per day on occasion.  Proper Cycling "Form" has always been a big thing with me.  For proper form I submit:

A picture of Zakelj  in a climbing position.



A picture of Eva Lechner and  Maya Wloszczowska descending on the same nasty course.



In cycling handlebar width is critical.  From Looking at the proportion of the handlebar to these elite X-Country mountain bike racers it looks like your "monster" example has far to wide a handlebar that is forcing her into a wide "push-up" form.  Shortening the bar on the Monster by 5 to 10 cm would also help her positioning.

I've always been very picky on the width of handlebars for each type of bicycle (track, road, cross, x-country mountain, downhill mountain) as one of the main elements of proper form. 

Bar width as well as bar reach are necessary adjustments that most people don't seem to make on motorcycles.  All of my bicycles have specific reach/width bars that also very by riding type and I have boxes of old bars/stems along with untold cut-offs of handlebars from making those changes.

Maybe riders should start having their motorcycles fitted.

[Lannis]

Maybe riders should start having their motorcycles fitted.

I've always thought that would be a great idea .... that a company could sell a motorcycle that did not come standard with bars, pegs, or seat, and that those could be fitted to the customer based on his/her physiognomy.

But it's effectively what we do anyway.   The vast majority of riders don't ride enough for the riding position to matter, and for those of us who DO ride enough for it to matter, the first thing we do is change the handlebars, seat, and peg mounts to make the bike fit us the way we know it needs to fit.

So it works out OK in the end.   The manufacturers wouldn't want to fool with all that customizing anyway - too may variables and not enough customers who care.

Lannis

[sturgeon]

I've always thought that would be a great idea .... that a company could sell a motorcycle that did not come standard with bars, pegs, or seat, and that those could be fitted to the customer based on his/her physiognomy.

Do you need a wider bar when you grit your teeth vs when you smile?  :D

[Lannis]

Do you need a wider bar when you grit your teeth vs when you smile?  :D

Good call ... but about down at definition (2) or (3) depending on the dictionary, it can mean "general appearance of" a person, place, or thing, and not just an assessment of character based on facial characteristics.

I could have used a better word, I'll admit....  :D

Apparently, apehangers put a "Bad" look on one's face, clip-ons a determined, aggressive look, but 1000SP bars are the ones for the friendly grin ....

Lannis

[Petrus Rocks]

Gotta throw in my double coppers.  At 55 years old I have a neck fusion and have had lower back surgery for stenosis.  I currently own a Buell Uly, MG semi-cafe, Triumph scrambler (Meridan),and a BMW R 90.  I used to race dirt bikes off road as well. 
-The straight up sit down ride on any dirt bike didn't feel good.  Standing, supporting my weight on my legs and leaning forward much better.  Hurt my neck tho.
-Triumph- feet forward, high bars slightly leaned forward.  To be comfortable I would put my feet on the back pegs, get my legs under me to cushion some of the bumps, lean forward a little.  Good for 100 miles or so.  Changing the seat height and footpegs.
-BMW- SLight lean forward on S bars feet back a little.  Good posititon, seat sucks.  I cry after 100 miles or so
-MG-modified Cal II- lean forward to low bars, pegs are below my ass.  Feels pretty good except for my ass itself gets numb.  Just made a new seat and raised the bars a little so I'm hopeful I've got it right.
-Buell- sportbike pegs, could be lower.  Leaning forward is good.  Seat isn't quite there stock or Corbin.  200-300 miles is it.
My personal conclusion
-Pegs under your butt allows you to support your body- forward pegs leave your back to be pounded according your suspension.
-Leaning forward  helps- too much, like my old Aprilia and my wrists are in agony.
-Being able to move around helps a lot.  Newer bikes tend to make you sit in one position.
-A back support as mentioned stretches your back and creates space between your vertebrae.  Great off road for support and I wear one on longer road trips now.  Sometimes the difference between a good ride and one from hell that leaves you unable to stand up.

I'm not a doctor but I play a deranged phlebotomist on TV so I have cred...

[Kev m]

I have.  IMHO not even in the same league as a Cali 1400.  As for riding in the Midwest, I'm glad I don't have ride on those frost-heaved roads anymore.

Maybe its because I have short arms but I modestly lean forward on my Cali, so not exactly a 'sport bike' riding position, but not the laid back cruiser position either.  I can't ride a sport bike very far because my neck doesn't flex like it used to.  However, I do find the forward lean on many of my bikes a very comfortable riding position.  I don't especially care for the forward controls on many cruisers as I like to stand up on the pegs during a long ride.

Hey I'm a fan of the Cali, but the current FLH series has an awesome suspension. Comfort should be no better on the Cali.