My, oh my...it's dilemma time!

[troyw]

Hey Fine FZ6 folks,

Less than 2 months ago, I was a newbie to this bike, and forum. Having traded a gigantic, but very cool, but waaaay too heavy VTX 1800, I thought I was doing the right thing by going to this naked bike called the FZ6. It's not so far hunched forward, all weight on the grips like a true sportbike, and it's not a 300 pound, overweight, bit slow elephant cruiser either. I'm kidding about slow, for after tuning, my VTX was not slow.
Anyway, after about a month and a half, I'm thinking I've made another mistake. I just can't seem to get comfortable on this bike, though I love it in the mountains, and how lightweight it is and powerful.
This is the deal. My hands hurt, in between my shoulder blades hurts, and last week I got a hip cramp doing some fast riding that just about had me stopping the bike to stretch the leg out. I know I'm pushing 40, but I'm in great shape, I keep to working out every other day, I'm a lightweight at 130 lbs and only 5'6" tall. Why is this not working? I want to love this bike, but my pain is growing worse, not better. I think part of it is the bars, but when my hip cramped up, my first thought was, 'wow, I should stick to cruisers or something'.
I'm looking for help boys n' girls. I just ordered up some gel grips to see if that would help. If it doesn't, I may just bite the bullet and go for a new Roadstar Warrior and admire these great sportbikes from afar. I've read the thread on the FZ1 bars, but so far I've not seen any conclusive reporting on whether or not it really helped. So, I'm torn. Help me out brothers & sisters. I'm back on the fence, and I'm worried I may not get my money back, or at least most of it, if I try to sell or trade. Bike doesn't even have 1200 miles on it, and I've already blown money on the cat elim pipe, PC3, K&N filter, front fork springs & oil.

AAAARGH!

- Troy:spank:

 

[wrightme43]

man that sucks.

Have you tried the bar risers that also bring the bars back one inch? Those will help your shoulders alot, and wrists. The hip thing I dont know man. I would hate for you to spend a bunch of money on it and not like it, but they really do help alot.

 

[oldfast007]

So, the pain you describe in your back I have had before, honestly it was a simple matter of posture for me, you are in shape so may I recommend using your core(stomach area muscles) to keep your back straight and help transfer some loading away from your hands/arms that will intern help remove some stress from your blades.

Also have you tried rotating the bars back towards you just a little?, another small but sometimes helpful change, then, as mentioned before, bar rises if needed.

The leg issue has me a little buffaloed. Through on some sliders and try the occasional cruiser posture: through your legs up on em!

Good luck, but ultimately do what makes you most comfortable...different ride and all.

 

[troyw]

That's possible, I guess. Sometimes I need to come up on one hand and kinda sit straight up, and I feel like I'm just in the wind 10 feet in the air over this bike. It's a strange feeling. Grips and new shaped bars might do it, but I don't know. I'll find out soon enough. I'm not going to ride it until the grips come in. That hip cramp really freaked me. It hurt really bad, and I remember that happening on the 2001 YZF600r I had back in that year. My hips kept cramping up, and my wrists hurt really bad. I didn't think I'd have such a problem with this bike, but they all surfaced, and after it was too late. I didn't get a test drive on the brand new bike. Geez, it's like I'm a grampa or something.
Yeah, it does suck, because I really want to love this thing.

I use my legs and stomach muscles a LOT on this bike. My posture is as good as it's going to get.
Where the frame sliders go, I don't think I'd be too keen on throwing anything up that way with short legs...LOL! That might be comically disastrous. I may just not be made to ride these amazing bikes. That would really suck too. This "little" 600 has more horsepower and acceleration that cruisers with engines THREE TIMES its size. Oh, and yes, I've rotated the bars forward and back as far as I can without hitting the tank, or anything else up front. I've tried sitting closer to the tank, and sliding back, bending my elbows and keeping them straight. I recognize the bar is shaped all wrong for where my hands want to go. That much I can identify.

 

[Jim Karam]

man that sucks.

Have you tried the bar risers that also bring the bars back one inch? Those will help your shoulders alot, and wrists. The hip thing I dont know man. I would hate for you to spend a bunch of money on it and not like it, but they really do help alot.

+1 on the bar backs/risers, as well as rotating the bars a bit so that your wrists are straight. I've also had a hip cramp occur once in a blue moon, but I just stand up on the pegs for a few seconds, and luckily it has always gone away for me.

 

[Soap]

The pain in your hips could be due to the width of the seat, I've experianced it before, maybe get it trimmed down if that is possible? Or it could be displaced from your back if your experiancing pain there. Hopefully if you change your bars and trim your seat in a little bit then that should do it, but by no means am I an expert.

If the bars are raised slightly that should bring you more upright and take some strain off your wrists and shoulders thus relieving pain. And I think the seat may relieve the pain in your hips.

Hope this helped.

Edit: Also I think if you are on your tip toes when putting your feet down you could be straining your hip there and that pain doesn't go quickly, I know that from when I've struggled to keep the bike upright and the pain has gone straight to my hip.

 

[troyw]

Could be the seat, sure. Perhaps a good seat like Top Saddlery or Corbin with some height and width taken out would rectify that. Tough to say. I'm getting a little hesitant about spending a lot of money on things that may or may not work. That, and I don't have anyone I can trust to do the seat right around here, and I'm not doing it myself. That's one area I'm not doing again...I've done seats before, and gave them to upholstery shops to finish, and 4 out of 5 times they've messed them up badly, and I ended up wasting money and buying a Corbin anyway.:rockon:

 

[sfcali86]

i lowered my handle bars helped me alot feels like my weight is more distributed then all in my back

 

[SovietRobot]

It's weird, I'm the complete opposite.

My body can hurt in every single joint/muscle, but when I'm on the FZ6, I have no pain at all. Except in my groin after riding for 2+ hours. But a better seat would help with that.

As soon as I get off the bike I hurt again.

 

[doc_simple]

Hers the deal, its the bike. And your not used to riding like this yet. I am 39, 5' 10", 175. The position your sitting in will take some getting used to. Your not stretched out on a barca lounger of a bike. Its a commuter, but its a sport commuter. Aggressive styling and aggressive stance. Have you sat on an R1? I love to look at them but 5 minutes would kill me.

I also get leg cramps. If your on a straightaway hang your legs down and lean over the tank so you can flex your legs a bit. Its not a question of being in shape, but it may be a need to do some stretching. Lets face it, were getting up there.

Also you might consider new rearsets that lower and move back the pegs. Let your legs stretch back a bit more. I think Oso2k makes some reasonably priced adaptors that have been favorably reviewed.

I am 2 years on this bike and still get the cramps, so trust me on the stretching.

Good luck

 

[Stumbles06]

I used to get a similar pain across my shoulders, (left shoulder-blade to be more precise), and I worked out it was my posture. I didn't realise at first, but was locking my arms straight, and after a few mins, the pain would start. I just changed my seating position, moved a bit closer to the tank, lean forward a bit and bend the elbows (grab tank with knees), balls of my feet on the pegs (rather then the middle of my foot) and it got much better.

Never had the leg cramps, so I can't help you there... I'm 6' tall, about 200 pounds.

 

[Drinky]

I'm 6feet tall, and weigh about 170 pounds, had the leg cramps as well, usually shake it off and it doesn't come back. I'm only 22 and in OK shape

 

[Steph]

I used to get a similar pain across my shoulders, (left shoulder-blade to be more precise), and I worked out it was my posture. I didn't realise at first, but was locking my arms straight, and after a few mins, the pain would start. I just changed my seating position, moved a bit closer to the tank, lean forward a bit and bend the elbows (grab tank with knees), balls of my feet on the pegs (rather then the middle of my foot) and it got much better.

Never had the leg cramps, so I can't help you there... I'm 6' tall, about 200 pounds.

That is EXACTLY what I had...left shoulder, felt like a freakin burning coal inside my jacket. As with you, it was my posture, I relaxed my grip and bent my arms. Took away the BURN!

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding how you could be uncomfortable on this bike. I've ridden my Fz6 non-stop for a year now and I feel that it is the easiest bike that I rode. I,ve done 400 miles in a day with no problems. I'm about your size,older at 56, just a little heavier(25LBS) and I have issues with Rheumathoid Arthiritis. You may just have transition problems from changing the style of bike, cruiser to sport. Make what adjustments to the bike, then ride some more. If you find that that the Fz isn't going to work for you, then I'll buy it. For about $2.75 or there about........Kidding. Don't give up the good fight, GRUMPY

 

[LERecords]

hand cramps - dont give the grips the "death grip" and ocasioanlly (when its safe) do the one handed thing.

sholder cramps - once again dont over grip and do the one handed thing when you can.. slidding forward a little will help alot.. bar rises (i have no experience with them) would probably help alot

hip cramps - i hate these. when i get them, oh it sucks to have to work through them.. quick pre-ride stretching helps alot. a bit of squats and leg streches will help out a whole lot.. also where you sit on the seat will also help.. sitting way back on the seat will (at least for me) agrivate your hip, sitting closer will help.

oh and a new seat will help out as well.. good luck to you

 

[Mississippi]

I have gotten the wrist pain, and instead of moving the bars, I rotated the levers down to align them with my arm. I was riding with my fingers on the clutch lever, and all of my weight was on my wrist. After I rotated them to align them with my arm. The pain left.

I have also had the same issue with the shoulders as Steph described, and I pretty much did the same thing. Move positions and relax.

I have gotten the hip cramp once. It was a fluke I think though. I stretched my legs over my sliders and stood up on the pegs to straiten my hip out, and it dulled it. I had to get off of the bike and stretch it out to make it disappear. I think I just tensed up too much, because we were dealing with a lot of side wind on the interstate and I was very uncomfortable. I was riding the bike at a bit of a lean just to go strait.

I am 6'-7", so I have to fold up pretty good to get on any bike, and this has been the best and most comfortable bike that I have sat on. Give it time, and work it out. It will be worth it in the end.

 

[troyw]

Grumpy...loved your post. I'm having trouble understanding it too!
I'm not using any death grip, I'm very relaxed, use my legs and stomach muscles, tried moving the bars up, down, over my head...well, not over my head, but you guys get it. It's not a transitional thing because I had the YZF600 back in 01', and for a solid year I had all the same kinds of pain. It stunk to ride it after a while. Went back to a cruiser. I'm picking up some Pro Grips tomorrow, but I think we made an error. They're model 601, and the Dennis Kirk catalog says "Model 601 Scooter", and their website says sportbike grips. They kind of look a bit like a pistol grip, and I'm not sure that's going to work with how close my fingers are together on the stock grips. They looked like they had a good shape to them, and lots of cushy gel. But, I don't want no scooter grips. Might have to order something else...and BARS. Where can I get a cheaper drag bar than $80-90 Flanders bars, and in black? I have a set left over from the other bike, but their 1 inch bars. My hands feel much more natural on those as far as the angle.

- T.

 

[D-Mac]

I came from a cruiser to the FZ6 last year. I had trouble getting used to the riding position on the FZ6 as well (much easier than other sportbikes, but still a big change).

Don't give up! Try risers/bar-backs. They really helped me - especially since I was suffering from a wrist injury when I got the FZ6. After a few months, you might find that you no longer need the risers once you're used to it.

Another idea. Get a throttle rocker. It takes the pressure off the right wrist. Made a BIG difference for me.

As others have said, keep the hands loose on the grips and let your knees do the gripping.

 

[troyw]

I'm willing to give it a little more time. I don't want to do those risers because I really hate the way they look. Hopefully gel grips will work, maybe bars and anti-vibration bar ends as well. I can't seem to find any 7/8 drag bars that are the same width as the stock ones. Then I'd think about the extra risers if I needed them. Something about the stock bar just isn't working. Could be the whole mess! Swap out the bars, then problem solved...that would be AWESOME. I'd be back in the game and not having to think about which heavy and slower cruiser to buy.

T.

 

[Hellgate]

Hummm...sorry to hear this.

Where in your legs are the cramps? My hip flexors will get tight and I just skim my feet along the ground for a few moments and that helps. My right forearm will burn, and throttle lock solves that problem. Other than that no pains for me on the Fizzer.

Have you rotated your bars lower? That may help too.

I managed a bicycle shop for a number of years and customer who were not comfortable on their bikes almost always wanted to ride more upright instead of balanced between the saddle, handlebars and the pedals. This active position give an even distribution of weight. Whereas an up right position puts all of your weight right on your tailbone sending the shock directly into your spine, not a good mix.

A saddle like a Corbin may help too. It will let you sit a little lower on the bike and it supports you rearend much better than the stock seat. Might help with the leg cramps too.

As a few others have said, don't give up yet, your body is still adjusting.