scottfarm wrote:
I can ride a sit up bike for about an hour before my back starts killing me. I am much more comfortable for the long haul on my ZX14. I do 500 mile days quite often. Leaning forward streches your vertebrae and sitting up will compress it. I am 61 with a knee replacement, shattered collarbone, and once broke my sternum in a Ultralite aircraft crash. I get 42 mpg running 80 on the interstate.
What you say is true, but not universally so. Not everyone has the same back injuries. Not everyone hurts when sitting upright. It is true for you, which is of course most important to you as it should be.
Those that say they do 500+ miles a day, do you do it every weekend during riding season? Do you mix longer days in with it? Do you do it in minimum time stopping just for fuel and water, and never more than 10-15 minutes at a time? Do you do it OFF the superslab?
For example, when we ride to Rhode Island from Maryland, we arrive in mid-afternoon. That is only 450 miles, but because we stay off superslab, and are going through Smokey the Bear territory, it is 6 hours and change. A lot of sportbike people don't understand that it takes time to transit through towns and such, all they ever do is zoom around on slab, maybe scenic, but still slab. If you ride the distance in the mountains, its going to take longer.
I'm not picking on the superbike folks, the touring bike folks are guilty too. I know quite a few, and ride with them, who have overblown estimations of their prowess as motorcyclists because they bang out long trips mostly on superslab. But, and I shudder to use this example because I really liked this guy, when one of them gets all big headed and goes down to the Dragon (we rode straight through, they crowed), what did he do? Panic, freeze, grab four fingers of front brake, run through a guardrail, never will ride again unless he buys a trike.
20 years ago I could ride a lot more, a lot longer..... maybe. Because I'm getting it done today, still.
scottfarm, I envy you your knee replacement. Those make the pain go away. I am still two years away from having mine done, I'm guessing. I could speed it up, but I'm not in any hurry to get cut on. Though the pain pills and antimflamatory drugs are doing only ok.
Living the Gypsy Life