Supermoto Health

[spamrot]

Just wanted to start a topic to discuss health topics of supermoto riders.

For me, my tail bone gets severe pains after a full trackday. Does anyone else have similar problems and know how to take care of it?

[Sweeney]

not a clue on the tail bone.

both my wrists are f'd up so after a long day of riding (anything with handlebars) my wrists are in some serious pain. my right one has a pin in it and the left is on the way out. so if it goes this year im going to be pissed and riding with a broken wrist till the end of the season

also being 6'4 and being way tall since i was a lil kid, iv had some back problems that riding doesnt help in the least. iv always had to bend way over to reach the bars to my bikes and quads and that has put serious strain on my back. so while riding iv worn a back brace/belt and that has helped immensly but doesnt "cure" it.

im not even 20 yet and im falling apart

[spamrot]

haha dang sweeny I thought you were 40+ until you mentioned you were 20 haha jk!

The only thing I can think of for your wrists is to lighten up on your grip. That made a HUGE difference when I first started riding sportbikes years ago.

As far as your back, I really don't know man. I have heard a lot of guys talk about back problems from riding SM. Damnit, I just wish it wasnt so much damn fun haha!

[Sweeney]

haha i know i get that alot...

iv always had back problems even as a kid so thats no surprise. i had scoliosis(sp?) but that corrected its self or something i dunno, back just hurts from a long day of riding.

i did the wrists in from snowboarding. when i was learning how to board i kept falling with my palms down and was always spraining them and the like. plus trying to hold onto my 600lb+ sled at 75 mph over whoops on the trails for hours on end doesnt help either

[smrscott]

Getting Monkey Butt?

A suggestion Jeff Ward uses is running two pair of thin bike sorts, the bike sorts move and don't rub the bum raw.

Standards undies are hell on the bub

Try bike shorts with padding for the taint and the tailbone

[tallboy350]

The only health tip i can offer:

Do you know what do you if you're ever on fire?
Stop drop and roll dummy

...for your health!

[Utah Taz]

I'm 48 & really F/U from BMX, to Rugby, Soccer, not to mention I've been riding/racing & crashing M/C's for 42 years
So Here you go, from what I've learned in those experiances & from Instructors @ Racing Schools

1. GET OFF YOUR ASS !
As in racing off road, road racing, Sport-Touring, Dual-Sport riding, ect, ect.
Explanation: seats are a temporary rest point (Casual riding) & most often a pivot point.
Whether Road Racing or Riding 1600 miles in a day, YOU NEED TO SUPPORT YOUR UPPER BODY WITH YOUR LEGS !

By using your legs, (the strongest muscles in your body) you relieve pressure on your back ,& hands/wrists are better because your not using your arms to hold you up .

2 biggest complaints about M/C riding/racing Wrists & Backs

You learn to ride on the balls of your feet & use your legs & 95% of your fatige problems will disapear.

Ya, I know it sucks to ride with bad wrists & a bad back (I have arthritus in my wrists & ankles, & I was born with 2 virtabre out of place in my back, as well as have one removed (Crushed) from a accident.

Thats why I can still ride/race @ my age, because I use my legs

[BJ6171]

I must use my legs alot on race days as I have trouble walking for the next week.
May be fitness though!.
I do believe stretching (properly) daily is nearly always over looked as a means of not only preventing but also relieving pain in certain injuries.
I suffered from chronic back pain, but have managed to keep it under control and stay racing at 42yo through light resistance training and stretching my back and Ham-string muscles.
Not saying that it will fix everything for everyone but it has helped me.

[scott982]

Getting Monkey Butt?

A suggestion Jeff Ward uses is running two pair of thin bike sorts, the bike sorts move and don't rub the bum raw.

Standards undies are hell on the bub

Try bike shorts with padding for the taint and the tailbone

Those work great. I bought some bike shorts at REI that are mesh boxers with padding in them. Now I can go on some long rides and stay much more comfortable.

[Deadend]

just remember to go commando in them shits. The sheep skin buffer is pointless unless you drop ball on that shit

[Sweeney]

I'm 48 & really F/U from BMX, to Rugby, Soccer, not to mention I've been riding/racing & crashing M/C's for 42 years
So Here you go, from what I've learned in those experiances & from Instructors @ Racing Schools

1. GET OFF YOUR ASS !
As in racing off road, road racing, Sport-Touring, Dual-Sport riding, ect, ect.
Explanation: seats are a temporary rest point (Casual riding) & most often a pivot point.
Whether Road Racing or Riding 1600 miles in a day, YOU NEED TO SUPPORT YOUR UPPER BODY WITH YOUR LEGS !


Thats why I can still ride/race @ my age, because I use my legs

what do you mean by supporting with your legs..?how do you roadrace/sumo standing? when i took supermoto classes i was taught to sit on the seat basically on the tank and not to stand like motox?

my back isnt screwy from sitting, mines from standing. i need to hunch over crazy amounts to reach the bars

[dudesonsfan]

what do you mean by supporting with your legs..?how do you roadrace/sumo standing? when i took supermoto classes i was taught to sit on the seat basically on the tank and not to stand like motox?

my back isnt screwy from sitting, mines from standing. i need to hunch over crazy amounts to reach the bars

Have you tried taller bars I had the same problem then I got mini bike bars and problem soved.

[Sweeney]

Have you tried taller bars I had the same problem then I got mini bike bars and problem soved.

not for the ape? wouldnt that screw with steering and whatnot

for the quads i eventually made custom risers and im working on getting 8" risers for my sled

[laohu69]

what do you mean by supporting with your legs..?how do you roadrace/sumo standing? when i took supermoto classes i was taught to sit on the seat basically on the tank and not to stand like motox?

my back isnt screwy from sitting, mines from standing. i need to hunch over crazy amounts to reach the bars

I don't think he actually means standing. Supporting with your legs can be done without actually standing, which would be hard to do at speed with clip ons & rear sets to begin with. I've read some interviews with King Kenny Roberts about riding the TZ750 @ Daytona and he stated that he had to lift his butt out of the seat and put his weight on the pegs coming out onto the banking or the bike would go into a tank slapper, at 150 MPH+.
In roadracing you're not just sitting on the bike, you are constantly moving around on it and shifting your weight from side to side and front to rear. You are weighting inside & outside pegs depending on what you are trying to accomplish. You also use your thighs along with stomp grip on the tank for additional support. You actually spend very little time sitting in the seat.
At American Supercamp we did a lot of the same thing. Weighting the pegs, shifting the motorcycle "crack to crack" under you, etc.
I've seen people who just sit on the bike and roadrace, they're usually at the back of the pack trying to figure out how everyone else is going so fast. It never ceases to amaze me at how hard of work it is to actually race a motorcycle (any type of racing). I never notice it while I'm racing but when I come into the pits I almost fall over because I'm exhausted.
But damn, it sure is fun.

[Sweeney]

I don't think he actually means standing. Supporting with your legs can be done without actually standing, which would be hard to do at speed with clip ons & rear sets to begin with. I've read some interviews with King Kenny Roberts about riding the TZ750 @ Daytona and he stated that he had to lift his butt out of the seat and put his weight on the pegs coming out onto the banking or the bike would go into a tank slapper, at 150 MPH+.
In roadracing you're not just sitting on the bike, you are constantly moving around on it and shifting your weight from side to side and front to rear. You are weighting inside & outside pegs depending on what you are trying to accomplish. You also use your thighs along with stomp grip on the tank for additional support. You actually spend very little time sitting in the seat.
At American Supercamp we did a lot of the same thing. Weighting the pegs, shifting the motorcycle "crack to crack" under you, etc.
I've seen people who just sit on the bike and roadrace, they're usually at the back of the pack trying to figure out how everyone else is going so fast. It never ceases to amaze me at how hard of work it is to actually race a motorcycle (any type of racing). I never notice it while I'm racing but when I come into the pits I almost fall over because I'm exhausted.
But damn, it sure is fun.

ok i gotcha i guess i was just confused on the wording

i guess iv always considered myself sitting since im not standing upright

[qball]

remember it's "sport"biking (which includes supermoto). You gotta stay in shape. Desk job and tv all week and riding hard on the weekend is setting up for pain. I recommend yoga for stretching and pilates for core and small muscle strength.

[Fonix]

I've got a really bad back as well, but I definately notice a lot more pain after I've been off the bike for a month or more. It somehow seems to help my back.

Wrists however... I have bad arthritis in them, and sometimes if I bring a wheelie down the wrong way, I can fuck them up for weeks. Not hard for me to really hurt my wrists.

Also the tailbone... after a day on the SuMo, I get back on the next day, and it literally feels bruised. It actually hurts to sit down.

And +1 on using the balls of your feet to absorb some of your weight. Just like you use your back and thighs to hold you on a sportbike, instead of letting the weight all fall on your wrists. All about distribution

[spamrot]

I have no ass. I'm like Skelator back there. Last time I rode a full track day was in August and my tailbone still hurts. I learned from MX racing that sitting down hurts more than it helps, but with SM your sitting a lot more often. I lean far forwards so I am not upright, but still after a session I am in pain. I truly think that padding for some is essential along with proper technique.

[Utah Taz]

ok i gotcha i guess i was just confused on the wording

i guess iv always considered myself sitting since im not standing upright

he's got it, I never mentioned standing, even though you do do that Desert & most MX riding.
Yes use your legs to make your ass light & take stress off your Back & arms/wrists.

& as he & others mentioned & I left out, stretching is a must for racing & casual riding.
Legs, stomach, & back muscles need to be relaxed by streching, B-4, during breaks, & after riding to help cut down sorness.

I can't exercise (Run/Jog) any more because of my knees, so I wear 10 Lbs on each leg in wts, 25 Lb wt vest, & 2.5 Lbs on each wrist Mon - Fri from 0700 am to 10 pm to build strengh, giving myself weekends off.

Be amazed how easily it is to throw a M/C around after a couple of months doing that (I'm going on 2 years doing the wts).

Should of seen the look on a kids face @ work when (even though I shouldn't of with my knees) he bet me he could beat me in a 50 yard dash, when after I beat him I took off the 50 Lbs in wt afterwords

So stay off your ass by using your legs, & some stretching & some wt training will help out your riding stamina

If I can do it, I know you youngers can

[okemos]

+1 on weight training.

Plus you could pull your seat cover off and drill holes in your foam cushion, then re-install your cover. The seat will be a more cushy for your tushy.

[dirt track 915]

few years ago i hurt the tail bone,after the pain got out of hand had to see the dr.. what happens is it swells inside the tiny bones and cannot heal.this can go on forever so get some anti inflam meds and a doughnut. get off you butt !! as for the rest of me....rehab lots of rehab all winter,strechin the correct way helps avoid new injurys and heal old ones. sucks gettin old.!!!:(

[Gino]

My wallet hurts the most....

In all seriousness, my hands and wrists hurt after track days......more so the palms of my hands from braking hard and pushing against the bars to keep my upper body from going over......

[jsm610]

Spent 4 months for 7 to 8 hours a day couriering around London (centre and home counties) on an SM610. My back got terrible from wearing a rucksack and hanging on all day, as for my ass, my tailbone hurt a hell of a lot at first until i learnt that thrusting into a standing position whenever caught up in bad traffic (10-15mph) usually helped get some good bloodflow down there. I still stand up on the bike to this day when i feel even a slight ache but only when going slowly at traffic lights. I'd rather look a dick than walk like a dick whenever i get where i'm going. Otherwise i have problems with a twitchy right wrist whenever im on the bike and changing up into 2nd or 3rd gear that usually results in a wheelie, the doctor couldn't explain why though

______

SM 610 08'

[Big Duke 6]

The only time my back doesn't hurt is when I'm riding sm at the track (try explaining that to the wife). With three degenerated disks and a loose SI joint I have to be careful but on the bike for 15-20 minutes at a time, sm doesn't hurt at all even with double jumps. Lucky me. Can't ride for long on the street though.

+1 for staying on the balls of your feet and using your legs. But what about the inside of your leg/groin? After a day at the track I can barely swing my legs into the truck.