The ergonomic experiment

[Paul Sutton]

A few months ago I made the following statement:

Ergonomics and a better riding experience: A month or so ago I bought a Schuberth helmet and Auritech ear plugs They have been excellent and I have enjoyed riding with them. This evening after sunset I decided to go for a ride to see what the headlight is like on the Virago - any excuse for a ride. I wore the Auritech ear plugs and my old open face helmet with visor...

...What a difference! Compared to the Schuberth I cannot see how I ever coped with the old helmet. It will be going in a cardboard box to be filed away in a deep dark cornor i.e. Set 1 to being dumped.

Over the last couple of months I have been comparing my old helmet and the Schuberth with earplugs:

• Schuberth: I used both plan ordinary foam earplugs and the Auritech ear plugs. With the ordinary plugs things were OK, but with the Auritech plugs I was struggling to hear the engine running. For me this helmet was also uncomfortable with glasses and the collar irritated my old neck injury slightly.
• Old Duchinni open-face: This was poor with ordinary plugs but very relaxing with the Auritech plugs. I could hear all the sounds around me without feeling like I was totally deaf. This helmet is very comfortable for wearing glasses and did not annoy my neck.

The outcome after several rides is I have a substantially more relaxing ride with the old helmet and the Auritech earplugs so have now sold the Schuberth. The Schuberth was a good helmet but just did not workout well for wearing glasses and of course the issue with the collar on my neck. I will miss the Schuberth's infinitely adjustable sun visor which was fantastic. The Duchinni's was either on or off.

Live and learn...

 

[Mailman]

I used both plan ordinary foam earplugs and the Auritech ear plugs.

I have always been interested in ear plugs , since I already have hearing loss. I have always used foam earplugs with the highest decibel reduction available. I have considered custom fitted earplugs, at one time I was even looking at a kit to make your own, I didn’t remember where I saw it now, but it came with a two part putty, you were supposed to put some cotton in your ears and then take an equal amount of the two parts and knead them together until fully blended and then form them into your ear ( not inside your ear ) more like a cap that exactly fits the opening of your ear canal. I never did it, but it sounded promising. I’ll have to look into those Auritech ear plugs.
It’s funny, when I had my old BMW boxer, that bike was so smooth and quiet, that when I had earplugs in the riding experience just felt like I was flying, I couldn’t hear it, I just felt the wind.

 

[Rasputin]

Strange thing, a few years ago I had some custom earplugs made, cost a fortune. Couldn’t get on with them, really uncomfortable after an hour or so.
Then went onto the cheap foam ones which were really good but eventually it got so that using them made the bike sound louder. Back to not using them now.
Just as an aside, my mother used to say “don’t put anything in your ears smaller than your thumb”.

 

[madmax-im]

I'm deaf in both ears but still have some residual hearing with the use of a hearing aid. When it comes to riding and soundproofing..I'm already there..I do have the habit of wearing my hearing aid in the right ear...turned off it is as effective as any form of noise reduction...My left ear I leave open..It takes a minimum of 100dB to hear normally so that is quite a high threshold..Life begins at 100....dBs that is... Funny thing is..as deaf as I am..I can flip open the face shield to my Shoei and if i angle my face into the wind I can hear the wind whistling through it..it is rather annyoung to say the least... Glad I have some say in the matter..

 

[member28833]

With every of your posts of the pretty 77 You get to adventure out into Arizona open roads on, I see those 77 mufflers and wish we all could hear those. That sound of the Standards (77-79) original exhaust is the most alluring feature of a stock XS. Those long chrome music makers are all but gone, yet yours look to be in fine shape. Barely swollen out at the rear even.
There are never any to hear locally. Haven't heard my own for a couple years.
Maybe, just maybe you could share via video that iconic 77 of Mailmans purring down a desert road. ?
-R

 

[Mailman]

Maybe, just maybe you could share via video that iconic 77 of Mailmans purring down a desert road. ?

I would love to get a GoPro video camera, I have often thought of that. It would be fun.

 

[Jan_P]

Hearing Protection
When riding a Sports bike at high speeds .. ( Ill avoid post speed here )
I tried a lot of different Earplugs .And different Helmets
And by chance found plugs that works for me
Cold be something to try

https://www.moldex-europe.com/en/products/earplugs-reusable/rockets/

 

[member28833]

I would love to get a GoPro video camera, I have often thought of that. It would be fun.

GoPro, na that's childs play.
You need a "follow me drone" video Mailman
-R

 

[Mailman]

GoPro, na that's childs play.
You need a "follow me drone" video Mailman
-R

One kick....show off!

 

[Mailman]

Round and round she goes, where the the wheel stops, nobody knows..........

Am I fickle, or just bored and restless.........yes.

Last summer I had pulled off my windshield, put low handlebars, bar end mirrors, and a little fly screen on my bike,

I also removed the 31 tooth rear sprocket and replaced it with a 33 tooth sprocket. That was all fun for around town riding over the summer, but my recent day ride to the Indian ruins made a couple things clear to me.
1. I missed my windshield on long rides
2. My seat is hard ( no revelation there )
3. I just don’t like how hard the bike was working at highway speed.

So after my last trip ( that included almost 20 miles of gritty dirt road ) I spent a couple days cleaning dirt, sand and grit out of everywhere!
I pulled my chain off and gave it a deep clean in a kerosene bath and then a good coat chain lube.
I pulled the rear wheel off and changed the rear sprocket back to a 31 tooth.
I reinstalled the factory handlebars and regular mirrors.
Put my Givi windshield back on.

Then I turned my attention to the motor. I decided to try a different spark plug , Autolite AP63, there’s a few guys here that run them, they are a copper core, platinum tipped plug that is very affordable. They are a resistor plug so I also installed new non resistor NGK plug caps. I bought all this stuff a long time ago, I just never got around to installing them. I was running NGK Iridium. I also adjusted the valves and cam chain and balanced the carbs.

Regarding my seat, I have been waffling about what to do about that. More than an hour in the saddle and it starts becoming painful, I thought about pulling the seat apart and sectioning out the foam in the center and putting in some softer foam, or maybe gel. Maybe even contouring the seat a little. All of those options would be pretty serious alterations so I decided to do the lowest impact option first....a seat cushion. @gggGary always says how much he likes his water bottle he sits on ,so I thought I’d try an Airhawk knock off air cushion. I bought it on Amazon for $31.

So with all these fresh changes, let’s go for a little ride! I headed out for what I had intended to be about 85-90 miles, but the wind really came up once I got outside of town, it was pushing me around ( I hate getting pushed sideways at 60-65 mph! ) so I only got about 40 miles in, I ducked into an outlying community.

And back home again,

Observations? The windshield and gearing really are the way to go on longer high speed rides. The handlebars.....I guess there is no magic bullet, lower bars feel good on my lower back but my neck and shoulders bother me, higher handlebars feel better for my neck and shoulders, but are harder on my lower back. I think the real cure is to crawl in a time machine and go back to being 20 years old again!
My knock off Air Hawk? Not a long enough ride to be conclusive yet, I think I see potential there, it’s definitely softer than my seat, you have to find the sweet spot to sit on. Too far forward and all you do is flatten the front and the rear balloons up, you have to get right in the middle, and not too much air either, just enough to get you off of the seat. I will probably do a performance review after getting some more miles on it.
Stay tuned,
-Bob

 

[arcticXS]

As for seat comfort, my personal experience is that the stock footpeg position on bikes like the XS and my RD350A is just too far forward, forcing the rider into a passive, slouched position, putting all your weight on the behind. With the pegs anything from 4 to 8 inches further back, the riding position is more active and balanced, and also more suitable for a lower handlebar.

 

[member28833]

Mix n match it up all you want Mailman. Your XS650 pics and evaluations never get old!
Cool stuff

 

[gggGary]

What 's going on here?
You going for the more changes than Madness award?
Well you better buckle up Mr! cuz you're in for a heck of a ride.

Good to see you out on the road and ENJOYING life.

 

[Mailman]

As for seat comfort, my personal experience is that the stock footpeg position on bikes like the XS and my RD350A is just too far forward, forcing the rider into a passive, slouched position, putting all your weight on the behind. With the pegs anything from 4 to 8 inches further back, the riding position is more active and balanced, and also more suitable for a lower handlebar.

I really did like that super bike handlebar I was running, it made the bike feel a lot sportier. I was looking at your collection of bikes, some very interesting machines there, I’d love to see some photos. Have you posted any photos of your XS650 here? I can’t recall.

Mix n match it up all you want Mailman. Your XS650 pics and evaluations never get old!
Cool stuff

Thanks Randy! It’s all fun, my idea of a good time is being out in the shop with some blues playing and just getting lost in some project.

What 's going on here?
You going for the more changes than Madness award?
Well you better buckle up Mr! cuz you're in for a heck of a ride.

Good to see you out on the road and ENJOYING life.

Thanks Gary, I lost a lot of this years riding season for reasons other than Covid. You know we have been busy taking care of my mother in law and I needed to stay close to home, but I think we’ve finally cleared that hurdle, so here’s to brighter days!

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Round and round she goes, where the the wheel stops, nobody knows..........

Am I fickle, or just bored and restless.........yes.

Last summer I had pulled off my windshield, put low handlebars, bar end mirrors, and a little fly screen on my bike,
View attachment 186161
I also removed the 31 tooth rear sprocket and replaced it with a 33 tooth sprocket. That was all fun for around town riding over the summer, but my recent day ride to the Indian ruins made a couple things clear to me.
1. I missed my windshield on long rides
2. My seat is hard ( no revelation there )
3. I just don’t like how hard the bike was working at highway speed.

So after my last trip ( that included almost 20 miles of gritty dirt road ) I spent a couple days cleaning dirt, sand and grit out of everywhere!
I pulled my chain off and gave it a deep clean in a kerosene bath and then a good coat chain lube.
I pulled the rear wheel off and changed the rear sprocket back to a 31 tooth.
I reinstalled the factory handlebars and regular mirrors.
Put my Givi windshield back on.
View attachment 186162

Then I turned my attention to the motor. I decided to try a different spark plug , Autolite AP63, there’s a few guys here that run them, they are a copper core, platinum tipped plug that is very affordable. They are a resistor plug so I also installed new non resistor NGK plug caps. I bought all this stuff a long time ago, I just never got around to installing them. I was running NGK Iridium. I also adjusted the valves and cam chain and balanced the carbs.
View attachment 186163 View attachment 186164

Regarding my seat, I have been waffling about what to do about that. More than an hour in the saddle and it starts becoming painful, I thought about pulling the seat apart and sectioning out the foam in the center and putting in some softer foam, or maybe gel. Maybe even contouring the seat a little. All of those options would be pretty serious alterations so I decided to do the lowest impact option first....a seat cushion. @gggGary always says how much he likes his water bottle he sits on ,so I thought I’d try an Airhawk knock off air cushion. I bought it on Amazon for $31.
View attachment 186176
View attachment 186168 View attachment 186169

So with all these fresh changes, let’s go for a little ride! I headed out for what I had intended to be about 85-90 miles, but the wind really came up once I got outside of town, it was pushing me around ( I hate getting pushed sideways at 60-65 mph! ) so I only got about 40 miles in, I ducked into an outlying community.
View attachment 186167 View attachment 186170 View attachment 186171 View attachment 186172
And back home again,
View attachment 186173

Observations? The windshield and gearing really are the way to go on longer high speed rides. The handlebars.....I guess there is no magic bullet, lower bars feel good on my lower back but my neck and shoulders bother me, higher handlebars feel better for my neck and shoulders, but are harder on my lower back. I think the real cure is to crawl in a time machine and go back to being 20 years old again!
My knock off Air Hawk? Not a long enough ride to be conclusive yet, I think I see potential there, it’s definitely softer than my seat, you have to find the sweet spot to sit on. Too far forward and all you do is flatten the front and the rear balloons up, you have to get right in the middle, and not too much air either, just enough to get you off of the seat. I will probably do a performance review after getting some more miles on it.
Stay tuned,
-Bob

Really nice photos of your bike, Bob! This one is my favorite.
As Gary said so well, its great to see you out enjoying your XS.

I got an Airhawk years ago, and had a similar experience with the air moving around and ballooning. But on very hot days on my 10 hour trips to the Catskills on the FJR1300, it did work wonders once I got the air balanced pretty well.

Other parts to the overall solution to crotch and butt ache has been to do a thorough dusting of the balls and butt with talcum powder (yes, it does make a difference!) and I wear one size too large, relaxed fit, stretchy material blue jeans.

And I made this seat cushion out of 5/8" gel which I cut to size from a square sheet of stock I bought from a medical supply company. It is the material that post-surgical facilities use for patients who will be lying in bed for weeks after traumatic surgery. It helps to prevent bed sores, to put it simply. This is the pad I've been using for about 4 years. I covered it with material from a common black T-shirt. I've since re-shaped it to conform to the XS650 seats.
Pictured here at the "Whipping Post" in the Catskills.

Looking forward to more of your modifications and trip pictures !
Brighter days !!
.
.

 

[Mailman]

Really nice photos of your bike, Bob!

Thanks Jeff!

And I made this seat cushion out of 5/8" gel which I cut to size from a square sheet of stock I bought from a medical supply company. It is the material that post-surgical facilities use for patients who will be lying in bed for weeks after traumatic surgery.

You know I had considered doing something similar, great minds think alike!
Alas poor Jimmy....I knew him well.
A real road dog.

 

[Raymond]

This is a good thread, nice bike, good photos, nice that you try things, change your mind, revert to what you've tried before.

As for seat comfort, my personal experience is that the stock footpeg position on bikes like the XS and my RD350A is just too far forward, forcing the rider into a passive, slouched position, putting all your weight on the behind. With the pegs anything from 4 to 8 inches further back, the riding position is more active and balanced, and also more suitable for a lower handlebar.

I've been thinking about the foot pegs on the XS. Because they are further forward than on, say the Kawasaki W800 and other comparable bikes, the seating position on the Yamaha is a bit like sitting on a chair with your feet on the floor. Would like them a few inches back, but changing the peg position would give problems with the kickstart. So I'll leave them.

I like the gel pad Yamadude has made. Worth thinking about . . .

 

[Paul Sutton]

I friend of mine was wondering if there are any videos available regarding the application of Talcum Powder??

 

[Raymond]

. . . other parts to the overall solution to crotch and butt ache has been to do a thorough dusting of the balls and butt with talcum powder (yes, it does make a difference!) and I wear one size too large, relaxed fit, stretchy material blue jeans . . .

I friend of mine was wondering if there are any videos available regarding the application of Talcum Powder??

Good tip but quite frankly I can do without the video.

 

[jetmechmarty]