Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech butt pain

100 miles and my a@@ is killing me! Im not used to forward controls it seems the bottom of my top and the top of my bottom are aching where they intersect. I cant really change positions but arching my back takes some strain off.Are there aftermarket options I love the bike but cant see extend riding with that discomfort after all i am 55YO thanks for your advice bill

are you a "bigger" dude?

I am and my issue was that my tailbone was pressing through the seat creating pressure. I had a seat done for me by Richs.
You can see pictures in Members Rides, search for zmilin.

Nah 5-11 180 lbs but that is the exact issue I just got the bike and love it but cant see going distance with that issue

Well hello! It appears we have yet another rider here lookin' for options to alleviate that bothersome "I can't sit on my friggin' tailbone like this for very long!!!"

(the following among the many more complaints over the years around here that I could probably find usin' the "Search" function....)

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...rt=all&vc=1

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...rt=all&vc=1

And here's ONE possible solution for ya, Bill....

http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...rt=all&vc=1

I just wish somebody, ANYBODY out there would start makin' my mid-mount pegs in mass(go ahead somebody/anybody, make 'em...I wouldn't even ask for any royalties at all...just MAKE 'EM so people can put their legs underneath them whenever their tailbone and/or back starts achin' 'em on longer rides), so the next time somebody such as yourself(and trust me here Bill, there WILL be another somebody comin' down the pike very soon again with their tailbone achin' like yours and startin' up another thread like this), all I'd have to do is direct 'em to the manufacturer!!!

(btw...good luck, and I hope you ultimately find the answer to your problem which will suit you best!)

http://corbin.com/triumph/bonnevillesp.shtml

a new seat with back support will do wonders

You're riding an America or Speedmaster I assume? As far as having that pain in the butt you spoke of... I know what you mean. Until I changed my seat, I could only go for an hour max before I had to get off and give my tailbone a break. I'm about your age at 58, am shorter than you are... 5'7" but weigh about the same. I should think my height (or lack thereof) made things even worse.

Anyway... I now ride with a Corbin seat and I can go all day. Of course I still have to get off for stretches and the like but my butt ain't complaining like it used to. Oh, I also should mention I have a backrest... pure luxury!!

get an airhawk seat cushion. It can roll up small enough to tuck in your bags, but will increase your ride distance. Then you will know if you really need to have your seat changed. There are some really good people out there that will do a great job if you go that route.

When I first got my America, there was a seam under my right leg that was bothering me...a few months with a gel pad on the seat, and my seat is now more broken in and comfortable enough to ride a couple hundred miles without pain.

Thanks great advice I am riding an america and when i hit a bump it really hurts. Theres no way to take the wieght off when hitting the bump.My other bike is a 1976 honda cb 550 4 which in some ways is a more comfy ride,glad i found you guys and (girls) keep the advice coming

where do i find an airhawk seat cushion

Just rode to Fl from PA over this summer, no pain here.

your a lucky dog!

I think it may have something to do with past riding history. My SM is like a luxury yacht compared to my past rides. I used to do the long rides on a hard tail with a springer front end. Even rode that bike straight through to Cody Wyoming from Eastern PA, 36 hrs. This is the bike.

On a side note you can see the back end of one of my pitbulls snoozing on the carpet behind my bike loose.

pull back risers also help by changing your seating position

The thought never entered my head!

The riding conditions kinda sucked but my butt was OK.

The Corbin and backrest helped a lot, but relocating my passenger pegs down and forward with some brackets from Newspeedmaster.com (FastEddysports.com has something similar) helped me even more. When I'm on the highway I can put my feet below me to relieve the pressure and even stand up to air everything out.

The relevance is I don't understand the whole pain thing. Stock seat is fine even on rides over 1,000 miles IMO. Don't see the right smiley...just poking back.

True, true and true....

Well, true, true and true to some extent, Keith. However, not everyone's lower back may be as stout as moe's apparently is.

You see, after 5000 miles of riding through Europe last year on Thanassis' R1100RT, I too can attest to moe's above premise that one's hindquarters can get toughened up after a few days of constant riding. However, tell that to Gina over there across the Pond, Lonzo down in Florida, who ultimately I believe sold his BA because of lower back issues, and one of our very own moderators here at BA.com, Shari[mert] in Connecticut, who as far as I know is pretty much only riding her Street Triple R because of this very reason, and these among the many others I could probably find, if as I said earlier, I would take the time to find them using the Search function.

(...in other words, because of this issue, there are many out there who will find that without the support of their legs positioned underneath them to help cushion all the jolts they'll encounter while riding, they could eventually find riding with their feet forward too painful to ride in the "cruiser style" for very long)

Of course, breaking in the ol' hindquarters can be part of it, but I agree with you Dwight that feet position has a lot to do with it. Logic alone would dictate that having the feet positioned underneath the torso just makes sense. Being able to use the legs as shock absorbers for nasty bumps is a capability sorely missed by riders (like us) with the feet forward riders position.

I'm still looking to add a set of mid pegs but for now my floorboards plus a 'better' seat make a world of difference in the comfort department. I can actually stand on my boards and I find I have multiple positions for my feet. And I suffer not, from the ol' proverbial 'pain in the butt.'

To much info! Thanks for everyones input. I think ill try the air flow seat as the least expensive option. There were a lot of positive feedback on them.The next would be a mid peg set or floorboards to take the weight off.

Jim's Spacers will get you sitting up straighter for little cost....well worth it to me.

http://www.spacerjim.com/TSpacers.html

thing is even on my 300 to 500 mile rides on my day off I have no comfort issues so the cross country theory doesn't hold water in my case.

Again, the "I have no problem" comments don't do anything to help with the original question (this is not a survey). Are you saying we don't have comfort problems? Are you saying it's a figment of our imaginations because you don't have a problem? Are you saying all human beings are basically built the same so we must be mutants? Are you saying you're just a better physical specimen (no argument there in my case)? Heck, Erle is apparently challenging our masculinity or something. Not exactly sure what's going on there (but does anybody really know what Erle's saying most of the time? ).

(P.S. I'm not wearing my moderator hat here, I'm just asking because I don't understand the thought process behind these kinds of replies. If it was the Lounge I wouldn't care.)

I have no problems, NOW.

I'm 5'5" weigh 180 lbs. and that tells you I have short legs and short arms.

I tailored my Speedy to my physique.

Custom made seat.

Norman Hyde forward controls that brought them back 4 inches.

America bars on Speedmaster risers. that stopped me from stretching forwards.

It has been the perfect solution to my discomfort when riding long distances, although I generally stop for a break every hour to ease any aching muscles.

Although the improvements did come at a cost, they were well worth it to enable me to cruise long distances on my favourite bike.

I just did an 800km ride and found myself wishing I had central pegs for posture relief. I wasn't in pain but the option of changing riding position would help a lot.

So I've decided to make a set using Dwight's design shown here. I'll get them laser cut so if there's any Aussie members who want a set of centre peg brackets just let me know. I haven't priced them yet but it won't be expensive. I will probably make them out of slightly thinner plate. Dwight used 5/8" thick which seems unnecessarily thick - so maybe 3/8" will suffice.

You will still need to...
... source your own pegs and foot peg extensions and bolts.
... paint or chrome the brackets.

Personally I will just paint mine black.

Richard I have PM'd you.

I ordered an airhawk seat cushion today fron amazon. John the fast eddie site had pegs that bolted to the frame but came with a warning not for standing and i could not find a bracket to relocate passenger pegs. Are they still usable by the passenger?I also looked at the risers and they come in a number of different heights. Any reccomendations?

can't really recommend risers since it all depends on what position is best for you. I bought HD risers off Ebay for $40 4 1/2" rise and 1 1/2" pull back. I also put BA bars on my SM with those risers.

#1 on those Flea bay risers, look identical to $169 Rivco s for $40..I did have to use a 1/2" spiral tapered reamer and hog out the upper tree plate, not a problem, plenty of metal there still, but I am now committed to using risers that use the slightly larger 1/2" bolts now.

They sell adapters to adapt the HD riser size to our 10mm size so no need to drill.Simple matter to sleeve the tree back to 10mm if you ever wanted to.

Speaking of risers, a member here who installed adjustable risers speaks very highly of them. Here's his thread.

The cure for me was adding progressive 812 shocks. No more pain. Can ride all day now.

on longer rides i will often hang my heals on the passenger pegs and that in turn causes me to sit more upright thus takin the weight off. if i see a bump in the road that dosnt look pleasant, it even allows me to stand if i want to.

on my sm if i hang my heels over the pegs they drag the ground.

Between the corbin and my mini apes I can ride all day. Before with the drag bars I'd have to lean forward ever so slightly and kll my back after an hour. Now I sit upright or I can lean back. Love it.

I road for 280 round trip. The first 140 I was fine. returning my back and shoulder blades hurt and would not loosen up secondly butt pain was persistant and I have the upgraded seat for 04 Speedmaster. If I had to do 500 miles would shoot the bike or me. What is the FIX?