Long Distance on FZ6

[ohiostate1ncaa]

Is there anything I should do to my bike in order to make it more comfortable and capable for a cross country roadtrip? I know it isn't the most ideal motorcycle for a road trip but I really am not looking to get rid of it for that reason...

I have an 05 FZ6

 

[Erci]

Some things that comes to mind:

1. Many people find stock seat uncomfortable. Two popular options are Spencer seat mod (inexpensive) or Top Celery (pricey).

2. Bar vibration: get grip puppies or replace stock grips with your choice of dual density ones. Add heavier bar ends (HVMP rocks!). Use any sort of throttle lock (I like Go-cruise.. 20 bucks and works well) as well as cramp buster.

3. For long highway rides, you may want to consider a touring screen. They deflect almost all of the air off your body, but it now goes to the helmet, making wind that much louder, so ear plugs are a must.

4. Highway pegs: this one is tough, because the only setup I've seen on FZ6 is the combination of pegs mounted to engine guard (good to have, but not cheap).

 

[shannim]

I'm going to also throw in there handlebar risers. I took a 2500 mile round trip earlier this year from upstate NY to Savannah, GA using the stock handlebar position and my left wrist was killing me after doing anywhere between 300-500 miles per day. After getting home from that trip, I ordered a set of ROX Speed FX pivoting risers. This gives you basically infinite adjustability of rise and pull back compared to risers that have a fixed rise/pull back (and they were cheaper to boot!). It also gives you a more upright seating position. After I installed the risers and a few months later, I went on a 1700 mile round trip to Indy for the MotoGP race and had no wrist issues at all.

With regards to the uncomfortable seat, I initially found my seat to be very uncomfortable. Then I got used to it. Part of it, however, has to do with what type of pants you are wearing. If you have pants or jeans or even underwear that have seams on your buttocks, then overtime that will cause pain. I've found that wearing stuff without seams on the buttocks makes the stock seat much more comfortable.

 

[lytehouse]

I would suggest a Crampbuster or Throttle Rocker, it will help with wrist fatigue

Original Motorcycle Cruise Control - Crampbuster

and if you can't get a custom seat by the time your trip comes around, just a sheepskin on it will help
but here's what Erci is referring to :

http://www.topsellerie.com/en-us/se...gs-leg-handgrip-covers-motorbike-scooter.html

Hope you have a safe trip & post pics when you're back

And :welcome:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Some things that comes to mind:

1. Many people find stock seat uncomfortable. Two popular options are Spencer seat mod (inexpensive) or Top Celery (pricey).

2. Bar vibration: get grip puppies or replace stock grips with your choice of dual density ones. Add heavier bar ends (HVMP rocks!). Use any sort of throttle lock (I like Go-cruise.. 20 bucks and works well) as well as cramp buster.

3. For long highway rides, you may want to consider a touring screen. They deflect almost all of the air off your body, but it now goes to the helmet, making wind that much louder, so ear plugs are a must.

4. Highway pegs: this one is tough, because the only setup I've seen on FZ6 is the combination of pegs mounted to engine guard (good to have, but not cheap).

1. I have a Yamaha Comfort Seat, yes stock is a bit uncomfortable but if you're tall enough, you can add some cushioning with your own imagination.

2. Throttle Lock or Throttle Meister is a must!

3. Windscreen depends on the rider's height. For me, not an issue.

4. I use my frame sliders as an extension so I can rest my legs stretched out in the forward position. For the opposite, I also use the passengers pegs to stretch out while riding.

 

[PosterFZ6]

1. Grip Puppies

2. Cramp buster or throttle lock

3. Proper riding gear.

4. Sena speakers. Or at the very least some earbuds for listening to music. Trust me, it's gonna get very boring eating up miles on the highway sections of your trip.

5. Noise ear protection.

I easily put 400 to 500 miles in a day on the FZ6. I can't say that the stock seat was particularly comfortable but I usually put upto 150 miles (highway) on it before I had to take a break.

Look, aftermarket seats are probably more comfortable but eitherway you are gonna have to stop for gas, pee, or to take a picture every once in a while. Seat is only one component, your legs need stretching too.

Wear proper motorcycle boots and you will be more comfortable than in regular boots.

 

[SweaterDude]

Throttle meister makes the best cruise control thingy IMO

the touring screen is nice

I'd opt for the spencer mod first (he has good turnaround times as well)

FZ1 bar on risers or the FZ6R bar will help with the wrist angle/numb fingers on the highway. i notice my hands before my butt/legs/feet

a good quiet helmet will increase comfort as much as anything you do to the bike if you dont already have one. Arai, Shoei (the new RF1200 is out!!!!), Bell RS1, or any other nice helmet with a plush liner that fits your head nice and snug.

some comfortable, pre-curled padded gloves are nice too.

ive put 1500ish miles in a weekend on the stock seat/Yami Touring screen (only mod so far) with no terrible discomfort, but i will still be doing the spencer mod in the near future.

 

[Botch]

...your legs need stretching too.

This is the final, and for me insurmountable, problem with Fizzer as a tourer; I have a 37" inseam and size 13 feet, and I'm getting on in years, just can't fold my legs up that much for very long. A good seat, grip puppies, ThrottleMeister and earplugs take care of everything else.
Last weekend I rode my new (to me) BMW R1200gs for seven hours, stopping only for fuel, and was fresh as a daisy (well, not quite) at the end. It will do me for now, until I need to shift to a trike of some sort...

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Oh yeah. I don't like to stop so I always carry a camelpack with me so I can stay hydrated while i'm rolling.

 

[red06]

topsellerie seat and the job is done

 

[blastoff]

Oh yeah. I don't like to stop so I always carry a camelpack with me so I can stay hydrated while i'm rolling.

Hi! I hope you're still hanging around here.

Question about the CamelBak - what bite valve do you use? I am having FF helmet / bite valve compatibility issues, and would appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks!

 

[nthdegreeburns]

I cannot recommend the Arai for a quiet helmet. I'm wearing a 2012 Arai Signet-Q with ear plugs, and I'd be deaf if I ever forgot the plugs (3M foam ones from Home Depot). In fact, I pulled off today after about 35 miles when I forgot to put them back in after a stop.

A few caveats -- I'm a new rider and this May be normal wind noise, I have a stock screen unless I bought the bike with a mod that I didn't realize, and I'm 5'8".

I also tried the CrampBuster (I have two), and I'm not sold on it. As a new rider, I find it a little scary if I get into a throttle managment situation and can't get the CrampBuster out of the way fast enough. I'm giving it a few more months before I try it regularly.

The other tips in this thread are excellent. I'm working to figure out my wrist position as a new rider and NOT leaning on the bars / gripping them too much and inducing pain. I did better today on a 75+ mile ride. Still might try a bar riser and/or FZ1 bars.

nthdegreeburns

 

[CNY Fizzer]

Padded bicycle underwear. You can buy real cheap on line, less than $20. Only downfall is no fly.

 

[tejkowskit]

Hi! I hope you're still hanging around here.

Question about the CamelBak - what bite valve do you use? I am having FF helmet / bite valve compatibility issues, and would appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks!

I won't do trips without a camelbak. Here's a picture of mine. I wear a full face helmet and have no problems with the bite valve. My helmet doesn't have a chin skirt.

 

[blastoff]

Ok, I see you're using the standard bite valve.

Maybe I just need to be more clever, but I'm having some trouble with this. The chinbar on my Icon Airmada "wraps under" a little bit (but no skirt) and there just isn't room for *anything* to snake under there. Maybe I'll try going in from topside... but the shield on this helmet is well nigh unto impossible to open with one hand.

Or maybe I'll drill a hole...

 

[Xlrrp]

17 tooth front sprocket. Lowers RPM's at freeway speed (actually, at all speeds).

I tried the Yamaha touring (tall) windscreen and hated it. Only used it for one day and at 5'7", the wind was right in my face.

Earplugs. I've recently become a believer and will not ride without them.

Throttle rocker is okay, but I think I will switch back to a Go Cruise throttle lock as I liked it better.

 

[bdevries]

I cannot recommend the Arai for a quiet helmet. I'm wearing a 2012 Arai Signet-Q with ear plugs, and I'd be deaf if I ever forgot the plugs (3M foam ones from Home Depot). In fact, I pulled off today after about 35 miles when I forgot to put them back in after a stop.

Could be worse! You could have a Suomy Vandal like me.. haha

 

[Brackson]

A couple of thoughts as I read the comments of others, and some things I wish I had known when I started setting my FZ6 up for touring.

Some people mention using go cruise or cramp buster, I use both together with great success. The issue with go cruise is that it is not a real cruise control, its a throttle lock, so its great for pulling your hand off and cracking knuckles or adjusting straps/zipper on your left arm, but it doesn't work well on anything other than perfectly flat roads (a rarity in much of the east coast). The cramp buster on the other hand should require no adjustment at all, it should mimic the normal movement of your wrist allowing you to relax your grip on the throttle, which greatly reduces my wrist fatigue.

As for seats, I use the stock seat, but with an AirHawk2. It took me a while to get it comfortable, but now that I have its perfect. I rode 6 hours on Friday with 2 stops, one about 15 minutes, one about an hour (visiting my Dad as I passed through his city, it was not this long by necessity). And my butt could have done about 10 hours easily. For those wondering the way I have it adjusted is as far forward as possible, in fact it is part way onto my tank, about 40% full of air, and I put my butt all the way to the back of the driver seat touching the rise to the pillion tier of the seat. Most of the air moves into the crotch and leg areas, leaving a thin cushion under the butt. It is a little odd at first, but extremely comfortable. Occasionally it shifts to one side but that is easily corrected at the next stop. And best of all the AirHawk2 is only about $80.

Ear plugs I think are a must. I have a very quiet helmet (Shoei Qwest) and I still wear ear plugs. I find myself getting worn out much quicker without them. Any rides over 20 minutes I have ear plugs in for. Personally I use Moldex 6800 ear plugs. 32dB noise reduction, comfortable and about $25 for 200 pairs on amazon.

I agree about hydration, but I LOATHE wearing a backpack while riding, even short rides. I hate the reduced range of motion and the reduced airflow to my back. So I found a tank bag that uses a hydration bladder. Mine is the Dowco Fastrax tank bag. Even with the rather basic mouthpiece you see in the picture I can still drink while riding, and I do have a chin skirt in my helmet. The bag also has a strap that folds away so I can carry it on a hike once I am off the bike.

My biggest discomforts now are stretching legs, and clutch hand (in prolonged stop and go traffic or area with red lights).

For the legs I try stretching them on the frame sliders, but I would need massive frame sliders for that to be comfortable for more than 30 seconds. I also have looked at the engine guard and also determined that it is too expensive for my blood.

For the hand, my next step is to try lubing the cable, but I don't think that is really the problem. I remember reading about someone on here fabricating a solution, but they aren't making them anymore, or maybe that was for length of the friction zone. I forget. I don't have an issue with friction zone, I just hate shifting into neutral constantly, and this clutch requires alot more pressure to hold it open than any other bike I have ridden.

Anyways, I am finding the bike quite comfortable right now. In a little over a week I will be living off her for about 6 weeks riding 5000+ miles in that time. I might even do the IBA SoreSaddle1000 at the start of the trip. I think me and my little FZ6 are finally ready for it!

 

[Xlrrp]

Lots of great advice here. I just returned from a weekend 700 mile round trip ride loaded down with camping gear. I think the things Brackson said are spot on. Here's why:

I've had a Go Cruise and currently use a Cramp Buster. On my trip, I could have used both while fiddling with various things (set the throttle to hit my Iphone GPS program, etc...). On long flat straight stretches, the Go Cruise would work well too. But, I also like the Cramp Buster for the hills and twisty stuff (not too twisty, if I hit that I just rotate it out of the way).

I had the stock seat and hated it. 100 miles max and I was hurting. I recently replaced it with the Yamaha gel comfort seat and learned that it isn't! It was a bit better than stock, but after 320 miles my ass was really sore. I had resorted to squirming around on the bike and standing up. I had thrown in my Air Hawk 2 which I didn't want to use because it looks weird. Screw that. I put it on for the trip back and it was awesome. No butt pain and I could have gone many more miles. Glad I didn't sell it on Ebay like I had planned.

Yep, ear plugs are a must. My Shoei RF1000 is very loud and the ear plugs make it bearable and I can still hear music easily on my Sena 10 Bluetooth.

I wore a Camelbak on the way to the campground. I was able to snake the hose/valve under my full face helmet and drink just fine. BUT, the straps killed my shoulders. I will never wear one again while riding. On the way back, I put it in my tank bag with the hose sticking out. That worked very well for me.

Stretching my legs was difficult. I tried using the frame sliders but in order to keep my legs up on them, I had to use muscles that made it uncomfortable. Yes, thirty seconds at a time was about it. Not sure what I'm going to do about that other than stop and stretch more often. The guy I rode with would sit on the back seat while riding his ST1300 and that helped him stretch out. I can't do that on my bike because I wouldn't be able to reach the bars.

My FZ-1 handlebar conversion that I did a month or so ago worked well. My hands did not get numb the entire trip and with the stock bars they would on my 30 mile trip to work. Great mod and I like how the bike handles with them.

Oh, and I have to get away from packing so much crap. My bike was really loaded down with a lot of stuff I never even used. If you do load it down, check your chain tension..... You may have to readjust it as it suddenly gets very tight....

I think all the advice in this thread from everyone is very accurate and useful.

Below are a couple photos of my bike from yesterday on my return trip from Lake Chelan, WA.

A couple of thoughts as I read the comments of others, and some things I wish I had known when I started setting my FZ6 up for touring.

Some people mention using go cruise or cramp buster, I use both together with great success. The issue with go cruise is that it is not a real cruise control, its a throttle lock, so its great for pulling your hand off and cracking knuckles or adjusting straps/zipper on your left arm, but it doesn't work well on anything other than perfectly flat roads (a rarity in much of the east coast). The cramp buster on the other hand should require no adjustment at all, it should mimic the normal movement of your wrist allowing you to relax your grip on the throttle, which greatly reduces my wrist fatigue.

As for seats, I use the stock seat, but with an AirHawk2. It took me a while to get it comfortable, but now that I have its perfect. I rode 6 hours on Friday with 2 stops, one about 15 minutes, one about an hour (visiting my Dad as I passed through his city, it was not this long by necessity). And my butt could have done about 10 hours easily. For those wondering the way I have it adjusted is as far forward as possible, in fact it is part way onto my tank, about 40% full of air, and I put my butt all the way to the back of the driver seat touching the rise to the pillion tier of the seat. Most of the air moves into the crotch and leg areas, leaving a thin cushion under the butt. It is a little odd at first, but extremely comfortable. Occasionally it shifts to one side but that is easily corrected at the next stop. And best of all the AirHawk2 is only about $80.

Ear plugs I think are a must. I have a very quiet helmet (Shoei Qwest) and I still wear ear plugs. I find myself getting worn out much quicker without them. Any rides over 20 minutes I have ear plugs in for. Personally I use Moldex 6800 ear plugs. 32dB noise reduction, comfortable and about $25 for 200 pairs on amazon.

I agree about hydration, but I LOATHE wearing a backpack while riding, even short rides. I hate the reduced range of motion and the reduced airflow to my back. So I found a tank bag that uses a hydration bladder. Mine is the Dowco Fastrax tank bag. Even with the rather basic mouthpiece you see in the picture I can still drink while riding, and I do have a chin skirt in my helmet. The bag also has a strap that folds away so I can carry it on a hike once I am off the bike.

My biggest discomforts now are stretching legs, and clutch hand (in prolonged stop and go traffic or area with red lights).

For the legs I try stretching them on the frame sliders, but I would need massive frame sliders for that to be comfortable for more than 30 seconds. I also have looked at the engine guard and also determined that it is too expensive for my blood.

For the hand, my next step is to try lubing the cable, but I don't think that is really the problem. I remember reading about someone on here fabricating a solution, but they aren't making them anymore, or maybe that was for length of the friction zone. I forget. I don't have an issue with friction zone, I just hate shifting into neutral constantly, and this clutch requires alot more pressure to hold it open than any other bike I have ridden.

Anyways, I am finding the bike quite comfortable right now. In a little over a week I will be living off her for about 6 weeks riding 5000+ miles in that time. I might even do the IBA SoreSaddle1000 at the start of the trip. I think me and my little FZ6 are finally ready for it!

 

[2wheelieadv]

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is the "Spencer seat mod" for a stock seat?