Riding position

[jhelm]

ok, dumb question from a newbie and proud owner of a recently purchased Rockster.

As a former Harley owner, I'm glad I switched and moved to the Rockster. I love the bike. The question comes from considering some longer distance riding, rather than just the dialy 50 mile (total) commute to work.

As someone of 6 foot, I'm trying to find the best riding position. Since I come from the "laid" back "flying-squaral" crowd, I'm new to the forward pitch. Do you guys (and gals) find your self pitched far forward?

I've found that Abs seem to do most of the work, not much from legs or knees, but a lot of pressure on the arms and grips. How far forward are you pitched and how much bend in your arms?

Sorry for the bizzaar question, just looking for some sugestions so I can increase my endurance for some upcoming long rides.

Thanks for the help, (and flames)

J

[jon pierce]

In real terms you sit almost fully upright on the Rockster. Yes I know that it might not feel like it at the moment. The Harley of course was is one extreme in riding positions with a sports bike being the other extreme.

As with everything it is all relative and for a while you will feel as though you are on a sports bike (try sitting on a sports bike............how about the new Triumph 675, I tried recently and I don't understand how it is possible to look forward - seems to me that it is almost impossible to move my head back that far). You will get used to it.

My last bike was a BMW GS and on that you sit 'bolt upright'..............at first the rockster felt very much leant forward but if you see a picture of yourself on the bike you will notice that you are sat just slightly forward and with your body weight evenly distributed between your rear and your feet with a tiny, tiny bit on your hands.

Here's a question for you.............? When on a Harley it looks to me as though all your weight is on your rear - surely this must 'jar' you when going over bumps, also the steering looks to be vague with all the weight seeminlgy at the back of the bike.

With the Rockster you also get the choice to move around a bit, back and forth on the seat and you can adjust your posture to lean a little more forward or more upright.

You will have no problem going as far as you want - though you might find th eseat a bit uncomfortable, a lot of folk do including me!

[dragonmojo]

The problem I have with the Rockster is the saddle (I will look into a replacement). I'm guessing that it is not firm enough for my bony ass. Otherwise, you should eventually get used to the (more ideal) riding position... time will heal the Homo Milwaukus evolution.

[Brownw3]

Why sit sporty at all. I replaced my bars with regular R1150R bars and I'm 6'2. I have a perfectly neutral seating position. Nice

[jon pierce]

Why sit sporty at all. I replaced my bars with regular R1150R bars and I'm 6'2. I have a perfectly neutral seating position. Nice

I have seen a couple of rocksters with roadster bars - but then it is not a rockster anymore.......in my opinion. The slightly leant forward stance is all part of the more 'cheeky' bike. My previous bike was a GS, which is fully upright and at first the Rockster felt leant forward, but that passed after the first few hundred miles.

[fnfalman]

I'm 5ft6, fat and out of shape. I can do 1000-miles day on The Rock without any major physical discomfort. My back doesn't hurt, nor do my arms and wrists. Sure I get tired but whomever tells you that they don't get tired doing 1000-miles day ride is either a superman or a liar.

Ride The Rock often enough and your abdominal muscle will learn to hold your body up. I squeeze my legs against the seat/tank for support as well.

There's a reason why BMW puts the slightly lowered and wider handlebar on the Rockster as oppose to the more comfortable and swept back handle bar of the Roadster. That way you can flick the bike much easier into a corner or flick it from side to side when you run through the switchbacks.

I find the Rockster handlebar gives the almost perfect proportion between comfort and sportive handling. Not to mention that when you start riding into the wind, the slightly body forward position helps keep fight against the blast instead of you relying on your shoulders and arms to keep your body from getting blown backward.

[jon pierce]

There's a reason why BMW puts the slightly lowered and wider handlebar on the Rockster as oppose to the more comfortable and swept back handle bar of the Roadster. That way you can flick the bike much easier into a corner or flick it from side to side when you run through the switchbacks.

Not to mention that when you start riding into the wind, the slightly body forward position helps keep fight against the blast instead of you relying on your shoulders and arms to keep your body from getting blown backward.

The reason for the bar is more one of style........in Europe it is considered a bit more moody, a bit more cool, a bit more aggresive to have the slightly wide, flat bar. The bars on the roadster would be considered a bit 'girly', no offence meant anyone. The bars and the resulting riding position is what the bike is all about. Here in the US riders tend to like to sit up more straight than they do in Europe and you must remember that the US is one of the smaller customers of BMW so you get the 'Euro' style. It wasn't always like that though............years ago most bikes sent to the US had high bars whereas Europe got the low bar. This was the case with all the Brit bikes and BMW and of course the Jap bikes from the 1970s.

I think one of the main reasons behind this is the different riding styles - in Europe the bike is used more as every day transport and typically at higher speeds than here in the US .

[single650]

Idealy weight should be distributed between bum and hands, too much weight on the bum (sitting upright) will cause back problems. Bikes with upright/laid back riding positions should have soft seats and soft supension to compensate and as such not so good handling.

Leaning slightly forward say 30% on hands is good, on the move the wind takes the load but your back/bum is still taking less weight.

wide bars are good for slow manouevring but at speed it make little difference.

[chris]

The bars on the roadster would be considered a bit 'girly', no offence meant anyone.

Did you say that with a Seth Efrican eccent? None taken.....

[Lion_Lady]

ok, dumb question from a newbie and proud owner of a recently purchased Rockster...

...As someone of 6 foot, I'm trying to find the best riding position. Since I come from the "laid" back "flying-squaral" crowd, I'm new to the forward pitch. Do you guys (and gals) find your self pitched far forward?

I've found that Abs seem to do most of the work, not much from legs or knees, but a lot of pressure on the arms and grips. How far forward are you pitched and how much bend in your arms?...

J

A lot depends on how long your torso is compared to your arm length. If you're longer of torso and short in the arms, then you're gonna have to lean farther forward, cause your shoulders are higher up.

You also my just need to work some more on general muscle strength in your back/abs.

For the best long distance comfort (in addition to the seat), you want your back to be just forward of vertical. I'm 5'8" but my porportions are short body, long arms/legs. I LOVE the riding position I have... I am just BARELY leaned onto my hands. I can easily hold my shoulders up to take all weight off them.

Just got back from a 1500 mile trip to GA and back with my daughter on the back of my Rockster... amazing ride.

Pam

[jhelm]

Thanks for the info. I was orginally trying to sit too upright, or stiff armed. Thanks to your help I'm much more relaxed, forward, and bent elbowed. The ride is really nice. Coming from a chopper background, I can really see how my back is going to love this riding position.

Thanks again for the help!

[jon pierce]

The bars on the roadster would be considered a bit 'girly', no offence meant anyone.

Did you say that with a Seth Efrican eccent? None taken.....

I said it with a UK / Australia / German / US accent.........(boy am I confused!)

[drevil]

barbacks can help alter the riding position slightly if you feel you are leaned to far forward. i got a really nice set from moto-techniques for like 40$. keeps the same look of the bar, but brings them up and back about 1.5 inches or so...

[madbinkster]

Being a back patient (had a blown-out L-5 disc laser-vaporized in '83) I'm acutely aware of riding position comfort and discomfort. If I ride a Harley (or any bike with a vertical or leaned-back riding position) long enough to hit a couple of average bumps, I'm ready to get off and do something else. The R's SLIGHTLY forward position allows one's spine to flex somewhat and absorb a great deal of the shock without vertical transferrance directly up the spine. The thoroughbred racing saddle peg placement also allows me to stand on the pegs slightly if I notice a particularly nasty bump or RR track coming up. Also, at speed, there is a neutral buoyancy provided by just enough air pressure to counteract the weight on the wrists. All in all, I find that I suffer absolutely no back pain after hours on the R. Butt pain....now that's a different story for the aftermarket seat threads...

[dumby]

JHelm - Humans are not an accessory of the bike - it needs to fit us, not the other way around. Having said that, I rode my Rock for about a year to see if I'd adapt or if it needed to be adapted to me. Finally, last Christmas I had all I could stand so I took my seat apart and trimmed the back of it down about an inch. When I was done I sat level instead of tilted forward and it made all the difference! Suddenly the bike fit ME.

(Check out postings from last December on how I did it for under $20)
The mod was CHEAP and easy. To put it into perspective, all you're risking is the price of a seat; but it still wisest to get used to the bike as much as you can first so you know in advance how much change you want to introduce.

[kp]

I'm 5ft6, fat and out of shape. I can do 1000-miles day on The Rock without any major physical discomfort. My back doesn't hurt, nor do my arms and wrists. Sure I get tired but whomever tells you that they don't get tired doing 1000-miles day ride is either a superman or a liar.

what the... do you have insanely long legs? or the short seat?

i'm about 5'10" and can't flat foot with the stock seat, so i bought the bmw low seat. it feels so weird compared to the stock one where my body geometry was great, but i just still couldn't get my feet to the ground enough to safely back out of my driveway without some scary tips, heh.

tell me more!

ty in advance

[dragonmojo]

Extreme spring compression.

[Brownw3]

Jon:

I agree, my bike is the farthest thing from a Rockster, but I didn't want one! The bike was on mega-sale (brand new, with touring cases, tank bag, ABS) for $9500. Another $500 for bars and a touring windscreen and BAM...

Black and Orange bike with RT Comfort and luggage, Rockster attitude, GS headlights, and naked R price. Nice.

[fnfalman]

what the... do you have insanely long legs? or the short seat?

i'm about 5'10" and can't flat foot with the stock seat, so i bought the bmw low seat. it feels so weird compared to the stock one where my body geometry was great, but i just still couldn't get my feet to the ground enough to safely back out of my driveway without some scary tips, heh.

tell me more!

ty in advance

I not only am short but I have short legs for my frame. I rode on the low seat for a while but it's only good for maybe 400-miles. After that my butt feels cramped so I went with the Sargent which is almost as high as the standard Rockster seat (which is pretty darn high). So I rode it with one foot. With the low seat I can have the ball of both feet on the ground. I don't get to flatfoot anything other than a cruiser.

I truly don't understand the obsession with being able to flatfoot a motorcycle. It's nice but not necessary. I walk my bike in and out of parking slots. I walk my bike in and out of the driveway. There's no doctrine that says the only way to maneuver a bike is to sit on it and paddle it around.

When you're short and you want to ride a decent bike, you gotta make do.

[kp]

what the... do you have insanely long legs? or the short seat?

i'm about 5'10" and can't flat foot with the stock seat, so i bought the bmw low seat. it feels so weird compared to the stock one where my body geometry was great, but i just still couldn't get my feet to the ground enough to safely back out of my driveway without some scary tips, heh.

tell me more!

ty in advance

I not only am short but I have short legs for my frame. I rode on the low seat for a while but it's only good for maybe 400-miles. After that my butt feels cramped so I went with the Sargent which is almost as high as the standard Rockster seat (which is pretty darn high). So I rode it with one foot. With the low seat I can have the ball of both feet on the ground. I don't get to flatfoot anything other than a cruiser.

I truly don't understand the obsession with being able to flatfoot a motorcycle. It's nice but not necessary. I walk my bike in and out of parking slots. I walk my bike in and out of the driveway. There's no doctrine that says the only way to maneuver a bike is to sit on it and paddle it around.

When you're short and you want to ride a decent bike, you gotta make do.

shrug, it's not an obsession, and i didn't mean to poke fun or anything, it's just i have a ton of trouble moving the bike around with the high seat. with the low seat it's a lot easier. but i definitely agree with the ass pain of the low seat. rode about 300 miles yesterday and it was a little difficult. it seems like it mangles the geometry of the bike too much when you're moving, for the sacrifice of being able to move it easier at sub-gyroscopic speeds.