Do you need good shoulder strength for going off road?

[Grendel]

The reason I ask is that I plan to take my 600 Transalp across Salisbury plane at some point but my right shoulder is still fairly weak and unstable since the bike accident in June and it cant take a lot a weight or pulling through it but its ok for everyday commute to work on the road.
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Past bike: 2004 Hyosung Comet
Current bike: 1993 Honda Transalp
Transalp Page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=11418462079

[G]

There's plenty of 'easy' riding around Salisbury; so you should be fine and can always take it a bit slower if it starts to get bumpy.

You definitely do need some shoulder strength; however try and stay relaxed and you shouldn't put too much pressure through them.

A bike like the Transalp will naturally put a lot more stress through your body than a decent off-road bike riding at the same pace. However, of course you're going to be less tempted to ride as fast, for a start .

[Matthie]

When off roading my monkey bike, after about half an hour at a very fast pace in the woods my arms are burning from working hard. I think if you kept the pace reasonable then it shouldn't be too bad but you will find that all the bumps will give you a work out.
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***Previous: GPR50, FZ750 *** Current: Monkey bike, yella SV 650 ***

Tutton says: I hate random hardons, they are so weird...

[.....]

Like G says, stay relaxed and you should be OK.

Tense up and get the 'grip of death' and you'll get the burning in your arms that Matthie mentions.

I find my legs take most of the punishment when offroading but picking up a Transalp out of a deep muddy rut with no grip for your feet isn't going to be easy with a dodgy shoulder.

[Matthie]

I tend to find myself tensing up alot while banging though the woods, probally because my head is inches away from trees most of the time while the back is out.

If your on open tracks at a sensible pace then you can just relax and it shouldn't be too bad.
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***Previous: GPR50, FZ750 *** Current: Monkey bike, yella SV 650 ***

Tutton says: I hate random hardons, they are so weird...

[.....]

I still find myself gripping the bars far too hard as I'm going to crush them. It's one of those things that I have to consciously stop myself from doing which seems unnatural as the bike is snaking beneath me.

[Matthie]

Yeah, same. I try think to myself 'ride the bike instead of controlling the bike' sort of going with the flow of the bike. I find I get used to it after a while, normally towards the end of a off roading session. Next time we go out though I am trying to crush the grips again.
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***Previous: GPR50, FZ750 *** Current: Monkey bike, yella SV 650 ***

Tutton says: I hate random hardons, they are so weird...