SuzukiSavage.com - mods for longer rides?

pittmancharles Ex Member	mods for longer rides? 10/28/06 at 19:20:38 folks and friends live 400 miles away, what mods do you suggest to make the ride more comfortable/ doable?
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KenGLong Senior Member Alliance Member Offline 2002 Savage Posts: 297 Albuquerque, NM Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #1 - 10/28/06 at 19:39:40 On longer rides, I like to straighten my back to make myself more comfortable. I think a drivers backrest would be the one improvement that would make the biggest difference in long ride comfort. The second would be a better seat. Ken in Albuquerque
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HeresPaco

Ex Member

Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #2 - 10/28/06 at 20:18:07

Install some type of "cruise control" to reduce fatigue of your arm, wrist, hand on the long ride.

On my big displacement touring bikes I almost always installed a universal fit automotive electronic cruise control to save my arm, wrist & hand from fatigue. The Savage probably would not produce enough intake vacuum to operate one of those and mounting the servo would be unsightly I think.

HOWEVER! A throttle lock type cruise control can be a real fatigue saver. Also a palm rest throttle rocker placed on the grip helps with that same fatigue thing.

The throttle lock cruise controls are around $30 and the palm rocker thingy about $7.

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georgekathe Ex Member	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #3 - 10/28/06 at 20:25:07 many have used a seat mod by putting some thick rubber bushings of some kind under the front of seat where the seat holder is behind tank. raises seat about 1".there are instructions on how to do it on the site, I think. works with Savage 2 piece seat - not sure with newer model single seats.
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Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #4 - 10/28/06 at 20:36:59 I'm planning on taking Thumper to the GEEIA reunion next September -- in OKC, 2750 miles round trip. Only comfort mods I'm planning is a larger windscreen and a cushy saddle -- either a sprung sportster's solo or maybe a Bill Mayer Saddle. Sometime next spring I'll take a day off and ride over to their factory and talk to them.
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azjay Serious Thumper Offline aridzona... its a dry heat Posts: 816 Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #5 - 10/29/06 at 05:52:27 first and foremost the sportster seat, then a windshield of some sort, crashbar/hiway pegs, then a backrest, which can be a backpack full of clothes etc strapped to the sissybar on pass seat. you need to be able to wiggle around on the bike while riding.
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mickthelimey

Ex Member

Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #6 - 10/29/06 at 09:49:04

Many moons ago I raced bycycles,the seat on it was no wider than 4 inches at the back 1 inch at the front, this I could ride a hundred miles a day,at first your a$$ hurts like hell,but after a while it gets more and more comfortable,that being said, you don't need mods,all you need is to ride more,at least a few miles a day,
"ride more,Ride Often" and your butt will soften

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Science and Logic fly you to the moon,
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28890 L.A. California Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #7 - 10/29/06 at 10:05:54 I too raced bicycles and after experiencing numb nuts firsthand and reading about Armstrongs testicular cancer, I say go for comfort. Do the seat mod, checkout the sportster seat mod and get it right for you. Monkey butt is not a look I want to adopt.
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babbalou Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 814 Lewisville, Texas Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #8 - 10/29/06 at 11:46:36 Interesting about those bicycle seats. Not long ago I'd spend 2-3 hours a day on one of those 4" wide seats before I had to get off. Now, about an hour on my 12" wide LS650 seat & I'm ready to get off. Maybe because the bicycle had me leaning on my wrists. Or I'm just out of shape, or both. Time for me to hit the pedals again.
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pittmancharles Ex Member	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #9 - 10/29/06 at 21:14:45 got a short shield, highway pegs, will get a throttle lock. do i need to raise the front of the seat if i put a sportster seat on it?
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Jack_650

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Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #10 - 10/29/06 at 21:59:09

The best thing I've done for long rides is to put a V-Star seat on my LS. Easy mod and it sure is nice having a nice wide saddle under your tush. Did 4,200 miles on it this summer down to Miami and back and it was the best money I've ever spent. That and the 4 gallon tour tank. And the full windshiel. Am looking into getting a 5 gallon Harley tank put on there this winter. I hate to stop once I get rolling.

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Rockin_John

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Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #11 - 10/29/06 at 23:21:19

pittmancharles wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:

got a short shield, highway pegs, will get a throttle lock. do i need to raise the front of the seat if i put a sportster seat on it?

I intend to raise the front on the Sportster seat I have when I install it. The ones I've seen raised 1" to 1-1/2" look about right compared to my experiments with stuffing rags under the front to see what angle feels most natural to me.

What angle to mount the seat at for you is just a matter of personal preference.

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Rockin_John

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Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #12 - 10/29/06 at 23:33:29

Jack_650 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:10:

The best thing I've done for long rides is to put a V-Star seat on my LS. Easy mod and it sure is nice having a nice wide saddle under your tush. Did 4,200 miles on it this summer down to Miami and back and it was the best money I've ever spent. That and the 4 gallon tour tank. And the full windshiel. Am looking into getting a 5 gallon Harley tank put on there this winter. I hate to stop once I get rolling.

Got any pictures or details you can share on fitting a V-Star seat? I've got a Sportster seat in queue, but I'm always up for a better idea.

While I'm not interested in putting an auxiliary tank anywhere on my bike, I have also been looking for large capacity (Harley? Or custom) tank possibility. If anyone has already figured that issue out, I'd be eternally grateful for insight. Not so much that I like to ride more than 100 miles at once, I just get tired of the frequent trips to filling stations. A range of at least 300 miles would be great.

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Salad_Shaker

Ex Member

Re: mods for longer rides?
Reply #13 - 10/30/06 at 04:55:47

With the stock seat, the small tank is a blessing in disguise, making breaks every hour or so a necesity.

I too come from a bike reacing background. The key difference is not the shape of the seat but the part of your anatomy resting on it. For those longer of leg the stocker is really a literal pain in the ane, as it has no cushioning for the coxyx. However it is true that the more I ride the more I can ride, 250km days are now easy whereas at first my tail was begging for mercy after half an hour.

To prevent sliding forward I've done the simple seat mod with a slight variation - springs at the front, spacers at the back. A hugger or sportster seat is in the pipeline for a future fitment.

Keeping the pilion seat free allows me to slide back up on to the rear pad for a change of posture.

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azjay Serious Thumper Offline aridzona... its a dry heat Posts: 816 Gender:	Re: mods for longer rides? Reply #14 - 10/30/06 at 05:04:12 the sportster seat is raised in the front as designed, no adjustments to mounting nessesary. also, the saddle section allows you to sit further back on the bike, creating more leg room. win win!
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