Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Bad back = different bike?

I'm the proud owner of a 07 Speedmaster I bought last spring. Unfortunately I'm the also the owner of a bad back I injured in the Army. The problem is that when I sit with my legs forward for a long time, like on the Speedy, it bugs the crap out of my back. I'm wondering if a standard Bonneville would be a better choice for my back. I often put my legs on the passenger pegs when I go on any sort of long ride but that's difficult to do with a passenger. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience doing some longer rides on a Bonneville, or if anyone has experience with lower back pain and can offer some advice. Thanks a lot!!

http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.as...neville%2Fstart Try asking these guys.

you can get a set of mid-mount pegs.

I don't have the back problem yet, but I sure understand it. The cruiser style just isn't all that comfortable for a lot of folks, myself included. I really prefer the old school method of leaving the controls and pegs under the rider, and adding highway pegs. That provides the ability to change positions on a long ride, and to lift yourself off the seat once in a while. My ideal bike is probably a raked, stretched and lowered Bonneville (not BA) with a custom touring seat. And highway pegs. Anyway, I think back problems (especially lower back problems) might be alleviated with the addition of mid-mount pegs. Fast Eddy sells the Rivcos here:

http://www.fasteddysports.com/?page_id=3&product_id=374

Part of the problem could be the handlebars. You might want to consider some risers or some bars that come back closer to you so you're sitting more upright. Foot boards help too.
There's just too many variables to give you a good answer, but as an older rider friend once told me, you sit anywhere for long enough and something's gonna hurt...

Have you thought about trying America style handlebars? I've had a crushed verta.. verti.... one of those backbone bits for years and I have no problems riding my America.

i have periodic back problems - sometimes quite bad. I've adapted the tba with risers and backrest and found a set of exercises/stretches that keep me out of trouble.

HD bars from a Heritage helps me sit up straighter, but I'd love to have my feet back under me more. The "sit-up and beg" riding position on the Bonneville (or as on many older bikes) is the most comfortable way to ride, imo.

Those are all good suggestions (handlebar/riser/backrest/peg relocation) posted by others here. A backrest fitted Corbin seat made my longer rides very comfortable.

I am guessing from your ND location, you bought from Bob at Ma's Cycles. I've stopped in there a number of times as they are along my regular travel path. They might have some additional retrofit ideas, or more to your original question, a demo Bonneville sitting on the floor

jh

I found floor boards and a harder (Corbin) seat make a world of difference. Combined with a change in the handlebar location to adjust height or pullback and you've got a new ride with less discomfort.

Quote:

---

There's just too many variables to give you a good answer, but as an older rider friend once told me, you sit anywhere for long enough and something's gonna hurt...

---

So true, so true...

Thanks for all the advice fellas! I've thought about trying risers but I think my feet out front is the problem. The question is, do I keep sticking money into the Speedmaster to make it comfortable, or do I just swap bikes. But isn't that always the question, to buy a different bike or not? Thanks again for the advice!

I've also got a bad back. Spending the money for a really good seat(Corbin) with a back rest, risers and floor boards cured my problem. I dithered a long time(from 2006 when I got the America new) and put off spending the money but once I did, I wish I had done it sooner) I'm more comfortable on the America now than in the car with it's multi-way adjustable seat.

Having had both the America and a standard Bonnie I don't think you'll find much relief when it comes to your back problem, you'd find a much bigger difference between the America/Speedmaster and a Tiger, Sprint or Triple. All you have to do is sit on one and your back will tell you. So, you can experiment with around a grand to retro-fit your bike or ten times that for a new ride...

FWIW I had an '07 Speedmaster and switched to a Tiger for much this same reason. I find the Tiger much more comfortable, but other than a custom seat I didn't make many changes to the Speedmaster. Good luck.

Brian

Wendy has arthritis in her lower back so I am familiar with the problem. I want to do a gel insert in her seat just haven't gotten the materials yet. I did do floorboards and pull back risers and they both helper her a great deal by changing her seating position. She isn't reaching forward for the bars now and the floor boards let her move her feet back but allow her to move them back forward to change where the pressure on her back is.

the 2nd shot is the best I have showing the floorboards to give you an idea the range of foot position.

Backrest and risers will help some, but with chronic pain, you may also want to investigate mid-mount pegs, because the forward controls are going to put pressure on your lower spine no matter what. If you want to get all extreme, you could try a different bike.

Yep! Ryan's is RIGHT!!! Unless you also have knee problems which would facilitate you towards a feet forward riding position, then otherwise, sittin' on your tailbone with your little footies out front which means you can NOT use your legs in support of your back, IS likely to give you back problems!!!(this is real simple stuff here folks)

And sooooooo, HERE'S what I'm gonna suggest....

A few weeks ago at the behest of Zdenko[Zmilin here at BA.com] I contacted a fellow named Chris at a metal fabrication facility named "Superbrace", located in Huntington Beach CA.....

http://superbrace.com/

...and Chris asked me to ride over there so they could take messurements off my un-shrouded and now gaitered BA's forks so they could manufacture a run of fork braces for the BAs, which as I understand it as of now are not being made by any other shops out there.

AND,(and the reason I brought this up) while they were taking those messurements, I offered to them the mid-pegs brackets, which I designed and built a few years back, that bolt right into the holes in the bottom of the BA frame where the center stand was designed to go and which lay right on top of the frame rail so they're extra strong.

Now, there are no controls attached to them, however they are positioned in such a manner as to be about at the same location down below as are the footpeg on a standard Bonneville, and so you can stand up on your bike at speed if you'd like to stretch your legs, and they also allow you a more standard riding position.

Now, I've just talked to Chris a few minutes ago to ask him if they are indeed planning to make these units, and he said they were, but they probably won't start producing them for at least another month from now or so. BUT, if I were you, I'd check this possibilty out before trading in your BA and going with the standard Bonnie.

And BTW, I'm receiving no compensation in any manner for this other than the satisfaction of knowing I'm helping other BA.com members out there from possibly suffering from lower back problems.

Cheers,
Dwight

(and BTW, here a pic of these pegs....)

i had lower back ache w/ the speedy bars and put stock t100 bars on and it helped a lot.
caT

Dwight those look like just the ticket for long distance riding. ****** nice design, fit, finish, etc. Outstanding!

i suffer with bad back with my america so i have changed my seat for a speedmaster seat which i find more comfy and intend to get some boards which hopefully will sort me out but Dwight love the idea of the pegs you have on yours so i had a look at site but no mention of them on there yet sadly but you have given me the answer to main problem which was where to mount so i shall start fiddling. just a thought could you pos take a pic from underneath so w can see what you done ?

cheers
tone

Funny that I just happened to pop by. I loved my SM, but it killed my back. I've got two bulging discs and a cracked vertebra. I went through several bars and seats, but didn't try the floorboards. I should have. I went with another bike- a Suzuki Bandit which I absolutely love- but it would have been nice to keep the speedy. I do miss it!

Get some bars that feel good, and try the floorboards.

Hey Ian, what kind of risers are those?

BTW replacing shocks should also make a difference, right?

That's on my to-do-list.

I don't remember I got them dirt cheap off Ebay but they are actually very expensive from a bike shop.

Have you tried a kidney belt or other back support?
The ones made for dirt bikes are very supportive and light weight.

A little bit of advice from the resident chiropractor...based on back position you would do a lot better if you could move your feet under you (floorboards or mid mount pegs), have a back rest and of course more cushion on the seat. You want to take the pressure off your tailbone and keep your low back with a normal forward curve-not slouched. There are lots of exercises you can do to help too. Ab crunches and hip tilts for starters. As everybody else just said who has been riding a lot longer than me...but I do know backs

My back lower back is goo. All I needed was a backrest. I like the Corbin solo it's attached to, and the floorboards help (although it's debatable how much they help my back).