Too old for a Sportsbike

[Renn Sport]

It takes a while to re-aclimatise to a sport bike. Its a lot to do with core body streagth and keep weight off your wrists.

Grip lightly, grip with you knees and keep your arms bent.

Anyway maybe a sport tourer is more suitable... Like a Kawasaki SX or K1300S?

[keebz91]

clarkey said:

keebz91 said:

Just get an XR

Yep, I test rode one at the weekend, very impressive. Comfy, really fast, handles superbly.

A genuine do it all bike IMO. Take the luggage off and put it in dynamic and it's up there with the sports bikes. Put the luggage on and set it for two up touring and it feels at home there too.

[Renn Sport]

I would like to buy a XR or a MTS1200 as my next road bike. They make more sense.

I would just keep my sports bike for Track days.

[LoonR1]

Esceptico said:

So is the lack of weight on your wrists because of core strength or are you just belly surfing the fuel tank?

If only. I'm never still long enough to get away with it and I think I'd be going over the bars if my belly was on the tank when braking.

[EvoBarry]

Renn Sport said:

It takes a while to re-aclimatise to a sport bike. Its a lot to do with core body streagth and keep weight off your wrists.

Grip lightly, grip with you knees and keep your arms bent.

To save me writing the same as everyone else, /\ this.

I have stomp grips on my GSXR, and spent time in the gym to improve my core strength and keep me loose on the bike. Makes all the difference. Instead of sitting there like a sack of spuds you are involved with the machine, and it works better for it, so not only will you feel more comfortable you'll in turn feel more confident with the bike moving around and you'll ride better for it. Win win.

I took my GSXR to France/Italy last summer, no issues whatsoever (other than a telling off with plod but that's another story).

ps: I'm 42, hardly old but old enough that you have to make an effort to stay limber.

[dannyintenerife]

Too old for a sportsbike?

[mikal83]

dannyintenerife said:

Too old for a sportsbike?

No helmet, riding on the pavement, ban 'em.

[Fleegle]

I might be too old

[roboR]

Interesting topic. I got my first bike (2012 CBR600F) around December/January. From the start I had no problems (it's not a hugely aggressive riding position) with my wrists... until now? Six months later you'd think it would be easier but I find it getting worse and worse. Am I just getting lazier with my body position or something?

[Renn Sport]

Probably...

The more you ride the stronger you should become as your muscle streagth grows.

Just make sure your gripping with your knees and that your lower core is holding you up and on. No weight on your wrists and don't grip to tightly.

CBR600F is a pretty comfortable bike, having tried sitting on one.

[robbocop33]

There's a wee baldy guy rides a k5 gsxr1000 round my way,total shock to me when i first saw him take his helmet off,must be at least late 60,s 70,good on 'um i say!!

[bogie]

Everything is relative to what you are used to, your fitness, and any ailments you picked up along the years

I ride with guys in their 70s that are more agile than myself and im 25 years younger, but carrying a lot of extra metalwork and arthritis. Sure i can ride high on opiates to take the pain off, but I prefer to be in my natural state of mind

So I can manage 30-60 mins on a sportsbike, which actually could be a tank of fuel on many of them ...not bad you say, you can cope fine if you want to ...but do you want to? does it make you feel like going out and riding all day for fun when you are in pain? ..nope

Then when I analyse how ive ridden over that hour, perhaps ive experienced a few seconds of more intense full throttle acceleration, the odd power wheelie, the occasional corner at 45deg+ lean ...otherwise, i could have been riding any big bike these days; cruiser, tourer, naked, adventure etc and the real world pace would be similar, but in comfort, enjoying the ride.

Its just about choice, and the sales figures show that our ageing motorcycling population prefers adventure bikes and nakeds as they get older

So if you are lucky and make it to 70 as fit as a fiddle, then celebrate the fact, do as per Agostini and ride a sportsbike every day, because you can

[roboR]

Renn Sport said:

Probably...

The more you ride the stronger you should become as your muscle streagth grows.

Just make sure your gripping with your knees and that your lower core is holding you up and on. No weight on your wrists and don't grip to tightly.

CBR600F is a pretty comfortable bike, having tried sitting on one.

Makes sense. And yeah I'm happy I got this instead of something more aggressive. I've driven my friends 2007 Fireblade a few times and the difference in bar height is huge.

[toxgobbler]

I feel similar after getting off modern sportsbikes (why I ride adventure bikes), but my view is they've been shrinking the bikes for weight etc for some time, the older blades are soo much larger than the current crop, which is fine if you're a 5'6 japanese whippet of a chap, but I'm not.

[bogie]

toxgobbler said:

I feel similar after getting off modern sportsbikes (why I ride adventure bikes), but my view is they've been shrinking the bikes for weight etc for some time, the older blades are soo much larger than the current crop, which is fine if you're a 5'6 japanese whippet of a chap, but I'm not.

Definitely, the modern litre plus bikes are the size of older 750 or 600s...which is fine of course if you fit a smaller bike in the first place ...

[BobSaunders]

I don't suffer with back, wrists, or shoulders. I happily chicken wing dance down the road now.

But, f**k me does my hip hurt with cramp - to many years of playing rugby.

[Jazoli]

BobSaunders said:

I don't suffer with back, wrists, or shoulders. I happily chicken wing dance down the road now.

But, f**k me does my hip hurt with cramp - to many years of playing rugby.

I found that too, if I stick a leg out to let someone pass I get very painful immediate cramp, happened on the last run out when I let Loon past, I'm carrying too many injuries to ride sports bikes anymore and I'm not bothered in the slightest.

[LoonR1]

Jazoli said:

I found that too, if I stick a leg out to let someone pass I get very painful immediate cramp, happened on the last run out when I let Loon past, I'm carrying too many injuries to ride sports bikes anymore and I'm not bothered in the slightest.

Same here. StuB was laughing his head off as I seized up when we got to Sedbergh on the way to DB from Hawes. Mines from my only road crash, where my right hip took a huge hit.

[Mr OCD]

Comfort is a personal thing ... what is comfortable to some, isn't to others. I ride sports bikes and have done pretty much daily for the last few years doing some pretty big mileage and therefore I'm 'bike fit' so I've no issues riding sports bikes.

Yet upright bikes after a few days of riding them leave me in agony with sore neck, shoulders and back pain. I think years of riding sports bikes have strengthened the muscles I need to use them so getting on something vastly different is causing the pain.

This week I rode a 2007 GSXR750 for 100 miles... I was starting to get a few aches towards the end of the day. Obviously the slightly differing riding position to the CBR was the reason, so I obviously adapt when using a bike regularly.

It only takes me not riding a sports bike for a week or so to feel a little achy on the first ride, but that soon disappears but I can understand why people who don't ride regularly experience aches and pains.

It doesn't matter how fit you think you are or what training you do, bike riding uses specific sets of muscles together that are difficult to train in a gym where you would typically train specific muscle sets. So there is no replacement for actual riding to make you bike fit ... look at John McG for a perfect example!

[PTF]

toxgobbler said:

I feel similar after getting off modern sportsbikes (why I ride adventure bikes), but my view is they've been shrinking the bikes for weight etc for some time, the older blades are soo much larger than the current crop, which is fine if you're a 5'6 japanese whippet of a chap, but I'm not.

I'm 6ft and not exactly small. My blade (2014 model) feels tiny, and bars seem too low and pegs too high when i get on it having not ridden it for a week or so.

However, i love how agile and light it feels. When making progress on an A/B road it's totally absorbing and feels like i'm wired to it.

I'm sure i look like a circus elephant on a tricycle, but i don't care.

Through villages and towns though, it really gets uncomfortable for me after a while. Not aching, but just excess pressure on my wrists. It's worth it when the NSL signs appear again though...