numb arse?

[mudcow007]

Yesterday i went on my longest ever trips on my bike, I reckon it must have been about 250 miles plus

Have I caught the ghey, or is it normal to end up with a numb arse??

I had to stop in the end to get the feeling back into my legs.

went from Liverpool to Langollen (Penderosa), up to betws y coed back up to blaenau ffestiniog, couldnt find fuel there so ended up near porthmadog, then up through to Barmouth eventually getting to Bala an home

[stinkwheel]

Yes. Normal.

A sheepskin helps.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[BTTD]

Depends on the seat. My Triumph induces numbness at around one hour of riding. It feels soft enough, but it seems to be more about how it distributes the pressure that matters.

[P.]

[RhynoCZ]

Maybe you should talk to your mate about that.
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[mudcow007]

[doggone]

Basically you're in the early stages of bed sores.
Make sure trousers aren't bundling up and affecting blood supply, or something might drop off.
You can ease things by sitting more on one cheek then the other, even a minute or two break and walk about works wonders.

[Shinigami]

2hrs max on the fz6 before severe but trauma occurs.

Could do 4hrs+ on my old 125 though
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[bamt]

Numbness does mean that you aren't being supported properly. Bizarrely a comfortable squishy seat can be worse than a hard one for that as it pushes up into soft tissue that wasn't designed to be load bearing. Some seats are far better than others in that respect; my Pan's standard seat is short term more comfortable than my much harder Corbin, but the latter remains the same all day where the stages one starts to induce numbness once I go much over 300 miles in a day.

Moving around a bit, taking some weight off by putting weight onto the pegs etc can work. Just riding more can help, or wearing cycling shorts that also help wick moisture away.

For what it's worth, last week I did a couple of >350 mile days, one of those I didn't put my feet down for over 200 miles let alone get off. Didn't feel in the least bit uncomfortable (other than being ready for the loo).

[Speedy2007]

An Air Hawk on my S1000XR quadruples the time I can spend in the saddle.

A seat from Tony Archer in Huddersfield, with gel inserts, meant that I could ride back from the south of France non-stop (apart from fuel) in 14 hours on my Blackbird.

There's lots you can do to improve numb bum but unfortunately it tends to cost.

[stinkwheel]

I did Amsterdam to Leipzig in a day on my Enfield, motorways all the way. It has a sprung dalle which also has a sprung frame covered with horsehair matting and leather with a sheepskin over the top of that, hardly a soft seat but definately supportive. Sore but not crippled. It does also force you onto your legs a fair bit more than any of my other bikes so weight is better distributed.

A mate of mine swears by wheelchair gel pads. He buys a cheapo seat unit off ebay with a torn cover, cuts a lump out of the foam, inserts the gel pad then recovers it. Keeps the standard seat for when he sells the bike.

Another useful tip is having a variation in foot position. I have highway pegs on the enfield, moving your feet changes which muscles are taking your weight.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[raesewell]

Cycling shorts will help.
____________________
Yamaha FJR 1300 Normanton West Yorkshire

[chickenstrip]

The seat on my Fazer doesn't seem too bad to me, although a lot of folk find them uncomfortable. Most I've done in one hit was just short of 1000 miles. The way I coped was to have plenty of short stops for coffee etc, and a longer break for lunch, maybe 30 mins about half way through, which is what I usually do on long trips. No major discomfort experienced doing that. The Street Triple was worse, although the Triumph comfort seat I fitted helped a little.
But also, I find the more longer trips you do, the more you get used to it.
Oh, also, try merino wool boxer shorts. I find them much more comfortable than cotton or synthetics for long trips, especially in warmer weather.
I did get very saddle sore in Spain though, coping with up to 40deg c heat for several days in a row. Not much I could do about that.
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Stevie GooGs]

I've had that, a slightly tighter pair of boxers helps.
____________________
Current: 2019 Yamaha T7 -> 2015 KTM Superduke R | 2000 Yamaha R1 Past -> 2009 KTM 990 SM -> 2005 kawasaki ZX10r -> 2000 Honda CBR 600 FY -> 2002 Honda XLV 125 Varadero
Bike Pics! -> My Photography Website

[andym]

Isn't a part of riding your frame of mind at the time.... you don't expect a long journey and it's pain after the first hour or so?

My trusty ol' VFR (in bits) is a bike I could happily ride for 12 hours without anything more than fuel and smoke breaks.... as I found out when I decided to do a road trip for my 40th, I got from Chepstow to Oxford, got rained on for the last few miles and thought f**k that I'm just heading to Glasgow.... it rained all the way to just outside Glasgow, (by that point over 11 hours).... I stayed in Glasgow for 6 weeks then decided to head home.... and it rained all the way from Carlisle to Chepstow.

When I moved from Chepstow to Glasgow it was mid January.... oh how I missed those days where I was soaked to the skin when 30 minutes in to the journey my eyes would have watered.... if they weren't icing up instantly. My first stop (at around 80 miles), I thought I was going to have to be peeled from the seat.... on the plus side... I knew I had 300 miles left to go and no chance of turning back.... ah the good ol' days, I can laugh about them now

[Courier265]

Very normal to get a numb bum after a long ride, back in the long distance courier work in the early 90's I would ride about 50 miles, stop for a fag break and have a walk around. Then carry on for another 50 miles. Mind you some days I was racking up over 2000 miles a week.

[biker7]

I have ridden a variety of bikes. Generally I have found upright models give me more pressure underneath than sports bikes with clip-ons.
____________________
Swansea area
Fat Bob (2019)

[Polarbear]

My Trophy seat is fine for about 300 miles then it starts to hurt.

My 1200 Goldwing with king and queen seats and a proper backrest was superb. I'm sure some of that was due to footboards which allow you to move around a bit.

Other than the touring bikes I think most of mine have felt like boards after a few hours although as someone said, sheepskins are brilliant for improving the comfort.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Tracey Suntan-King]

Pop a banana in your pants before you set off. That's what cyclists do.

Edit: apparently, not a banana, a banana skin.
____________________
Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're probably right

[Courier265]

Guys who ride those BMW 1200's must get a sore arse, I often see them
belting down the road whilst they stand up on the footpegs.. Saw one
this afternoon, stood up for about half a mile...

[johnsmith222]

[Hawkeye1250FA]

I did Cheshire to Cornwall on the bandit once, It did properly go numb after an hour, but managed to resolve it by moving my feet around on various different parts of the bike.

Lost a pair of boots that journey to the exhaust.

Oh well, they were cheap aldi ones.
____________________
1993 RF400R - 2002 Bandit 1200 - 2012 1250 FA

[Cbs2]

My 125 intruder killed my butt after an hour on it.
Gutted as I always fancied a cruiser when I'd passed my test.
All my lessons were on a bandit, could happily sit on that 2-3 hours without a prob.
Bought a gsx 650 instead of a cruiser & can stay on it for hours & still walk after it