NC750x Seat comfort - Vibration

[charkmandler]

Like many riders of NC750x's I've tried a few different seats and still suffer on any rides over an hour. The latest seat is a copy of one on another bike that I know is comfortable. With this new seat I can ride for quite a long time at low speeds where there is not hard acceleration but once above 50mph I'm suffering. This got me thinking that the numb / bruised bum could be due to the type of vibration of the bike.
I do about 20,000 miles a year and a lot of rides are just sitting on motorways at 70mph to look after fuel. I noticed that on the occasions I have some fun and ride harder I do not suffer so much - this could be the fun factor and changed riding style for fast / harder riding. I also noticed when riding in speed restricted areas at 60mph in 6th at the seat becomes more uncomfortable.
On 'commuting' rides I tend to change in to 5th at just over 40mph and 6th at just over 60mph. Based on that I upped the mph by 10, so 5th at 50mph and 6 at 70mph but sitting at 80mph on the motorway. With the changed vibration I find that while the seat problems are not cured they are better. Sitting at 80mph on the motorway defiantly seems to help.
I'm coming to the conclusion that its the inbuilt 'v' twin vibration built in by Honda engineers that is the problem more than seat design.
It would be interesting if other riders could experiment with the revs they sit on motorways at and let me know if they help.

 

[Rabbit]

I don’t really notice the vibrations at any speed. However, one thing I noticed is that wearing protective clothing such as Kevlar jeans or motorcycle overpants helps quite a bit. If I’m in regular jeans my limit is 30-40 minutes. Overpants I’ve ridden about 2 hours and that was limited more by gas and my body position.

 

[670cc]

Mine is a 700, not a 750. While the NC isn’t the smoothest running bike I own, vibration does not cause any discomfort at all.

Another factor in seat comfort is handlebar position. The whole rider triangle is important. I found 3.2 inches of bar rise actually increased the seat comfort.

 

[charkmandler]

Vibration was not something that I noticed until I started analysing it. Tried different types of clothing.
I don't suffer on other bikes. A ride that I frequently used to do was 300 miles - work - and then ride back in the same day. I could not do that on the NC.
Experimented with bar position.
As many riders have found the seat so uncomfortable and some ended up changing bikes I'm looking further than just the seat. Vibration does come through the seat.

 

[Gixus]

Mine is a 700, not a 750. While the NC isn’t the smoothest running bike I own, vibration does not cause any discomfort at all.

Another factor in seat comfort is handlebar position. The whole rider triangle is important. I found 3.2 inches of bar rise actually increased the seat comfort.

I guess it’s all subjective. At 6’2” I find the bars too high for comfort. I’ve purchased a bar that’s a good two inches lower. Hopefully I’ll find it more comfortable..

 

[charkmandler]

Update. I think its a back tightness problem I didn't realise I had. Doing some Pififormis specific exercises and this is reducing the numb bum effect. Anyone suffering with numb bum I suggest going on YouTube and looking up Piriformis exercises - not just stretches but strengthening.

 

[NovaGeeze]

That is interesting. The piriformis can do a lot of painful things to a body when it is weak or in spasm. I irritated mine very badly one time when I ran too many marathons on a torn calf muscle and it took me months to fix that problem.

I only have about 600 mi on my new NC but I noticed right away that when I wear my mesh riding pants which fit me tighter around the knee my butt gets numb more quickly than if I am wearing my looser riding jeans. I tend to get off the motorcycle every hour or so no matter what and I only last an hour and a half to two hours in any car before I need to get out and move.

I ride recumbent bicycles and some common problems on those are a numb butt from sitting on your glutes while simultaneously using them to power the bike, and numb toes ,and they can have lots of widely varied solutions some of which are really counterintuitive. On my recumbent tricycle which has a loose and very comfortable sling mesh seat my toes used to go numb and one day I tried loosening the last seat strap that pressed against my thighs thinking maybe it was inhibiting blood flow to my feet and that solved the numb foot problem.

 

[ST13Fred]

Day-Long saddle https://day-long.com/ on my ST1300 in the 90s' had spring loaded 'elephant ears' giving extended thigh support.
I could run 300+ miles in one stint with ease. I would see several used other brand saddles for sale, but never a Day Long.
The modified seat is scalloped in front to clear the thigh supports in getting feet to the ground at stops.

 

[750dct]

The seat on my new Nc750 has me sliding forward but I thought they fixed that, and it seems like the seat is too small even for my little butt. It's not as comfortable as all the comments claim it is. Not to me anyway.

 

[INTHEWIND]

The seat on my new Nc750 has me sliding forward but I thought they fixed that, and it seems like the seat is too small even for my little butt. It's not as comfortable as all the comments claim it is. Not to me anyway.

Installing handlebar risers keeps the boys off the tank. Sits me back on the seat farther.

 

[johnakay]

vibration? lol you haven't ridden a British. if you have false teefs they wouldn't last long.

as for the NC seat it always has been a problem. numb bum will set in regardless if you suffer regularly.
I used to get it even driving a car over a long distance. we just have to suck it up butter cups

 

[INTHEWIND]

vibration? lol you haven't ridden a British. if you have false teefs they wouldn't last long.

as for the NC seat it always has been a problem. numb bum will set in regardless if you suffer regularly.
I used to get it even driving a car over a long distance. we just have to suck it up butter cups

You are right, a lazyboy recliner is not a motorcycle seat.

 

[750dct]

I never had these problems with my Harleys......but I was younger then too.

 

[charkmandler]

vibration? lol you haven't ridden a British. if you have false teefs they wouldn't last long.

as for the NC seat it always has been a problem. numb bum will set in regardless if you suffer regularly.
I used to get it even driving a car over a long distance. we just have to suck it up butter cups

Ridden thousands of miles on all sorts of British bikes and never suffered as I 'did' on the NC. Never found a need for anything other than the standard seat on both the ST1100 and 1300. I did 200,000 miles on the ST1100 running about 40,000 miles a year.
To solve the problem I sold the NC in May and bought a Tiger 800 and no more numb bum using the std seat.

 

[750dct]

Ridden thousands of miles on all sorts of British bikes and never suffered as I 'did' on the NC. Never found a need for anything other than the standard seat on both the ST1100 and 1300. I did 200,000 miles on the ST1100 running about 40,000 miles a year.
To solve the problem I sold the NC in May and bought a Tiger 800 and no more numb bum using the std seat.

Funny how some people swear by the stock seat, and some swear at it.

 

[NovaGeeze]

What's odd to me is expectations. It's like expecting everyone to like the same type, brand, model, and size of shoe. Never gonna happen.

 

[750dct]

What's odd to me is expectations. It's like expecting everyone to like the same type, brand, model, and size of shoe. Never gonna happen.

But this is mostly about comfort. I think much has to do with the person here.

 

[NovaGeeze]

I think it absolutely does. Otherwise you wouldn't have most people saying "it's fine" and others saying "it's unbearable." Or some people finding xxx-brand aftermarket seat to be amazing, while others find it horrible. I spend a lot of time making and tweaking custom recumbent-bicycle seats, and it's the same thing there. You'd think putting everyone on a reclining lawn chair would mean everyone's comfortable, but it just isn't true. (Heck, I find almost all airplane seats unbearable, but most people find them OK.) I'm not saying it's all in someone's head. I'm saying we're all built differently. My butt is skinny and my legs are long, so I get pressure points in a certain spot on the seat that a shorter rider with adipose tissue padding won't notice. I think a seat could be made that would be more comfortable for a greater number of people, but apparently not at a price point that Honda is willing to bear for this bike. There's enough complaining about the NC seat that anyone who's done a little searching should know enough to know that it might not be great for their butt -- but that there are many ways to improve it.