Re: [ST] first ride, need to work on comfort

["Scott Inman" <scott__inman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Brian.

>Hey all.  Took my first real ride on the ST tonight.  In short: I'm very
>impressed, but will definitely have to make some minor modifications.

The more you ride this bike, the more you will love it!  I had a 01' Yamaha 
R1, and at first I was VERY happy.  After a few weeks of riding however, the 
riding position KILLED my arms and hands. (I suffer from Carpel Tunnel 
Syndrome).

After some coaxing (and brainwashing?), I demoed a few Triumhs -- I switched 
almost immedately!  I then talked to the group, asked about the ST, took a 
demo ride, and here I am with a '01 ST!

>I think the largest issue is most likely my riding position.  I rode
>about 80 miles this evening, probably 60 of it on highways.  After this,
>my right wrist hurt pretty bad and both my hands were numb and tingly
>from vibration.

You think the ST has vibration?  Wow, I feel as though there isn't any, but 
I did come off of a '96 Katana 600 and '01 Yamaha R1.  The R1 vibrates 
through the bars VIOLENTLY.  I had pins and needles in my hands WITH gel 
gloves after about 45 minutes.

>The wrist thing I'm almost sure is from me not leaning forward enough
>and/or putting too much weight on the handlebars.  It seems like I am
>leaning forward, but that's compared to coming off my Nighthawk with its
>standard upright position.  I read in the archives about people putting
>bar risers on, but I doubt that I should need them as I'm pretty tall
>and have long arms.

After a week or two, you'll strengthen the muscles in your arms you didn't 
know you had! :)  You'll be fine... I rode my ST for 12 hours straight... NO 
PAIN! :)

>I think I will definitely look into getting larger grips.  My hands are
>big enough that I don't have any trouble with the span of the clutch
>lever, which a salesman told me some people had trouble with.  I usually
>cover the front brake and clutch with one or two fingers, but I still
>find that my hands are too clenched with the current grips.
>I do think that some of the numbness in my hands is just from vibration
>of the bike.  I suppose foam grips or gel gloves (or both) would
>help in that regard.  There is some mirror vibration, but I haven't
>narrowed down at what speeds or rpms.  I find it strange that there's
>enough vibration to make my hands go numb, when the engine is so
>smooth--smoother than my honda, and I never had a numbness problem on
>it, though it does have oversized foam grips.

Gel Gloves help me, and when in traffic, stretch your hands and wiggle them 
a bit to get the blood circulating.  I'm constantly doing this to relieve 
the pins and needles affect from CTS.

>The only shortcoming I see that I guess I'll just have to get used to is
>the engine heat coming off the left side.  It was only in the 80's today
>and my left leg was toasty.

Get used to it.  I've already got accustomed to putting on Coppertone 30 on 
my legs. ;)  Ride in 96 degrees, it gets better!

>But I don't want to come off as totally negative, this bike is a dream.
>I can see me doing long days on this bike easily, once i get used to it.
>The engine is smooth and powerful.  Haven't done any twisties, yet, but
>it seems plenty responsive.  I definitely made the right choice.

Glad you like the bike!  Welcome to the ST my friend!

Scott

P.S.  ST stands for 'Scott's Toy' ;)
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