Anyone riding with lumbar issues?

[Orson]

First post but to sum up I've decided to travel at lot more this year and after a lot of reading have slimmed the whole affair down to an AT, Trannie or a Weestrom.
The two area's I'm looking at travelling to are both 3K from the UK, so a 6K round trip as the crow flies. I consider most of my homework done having slimmed the bike choice down to 3 but the final choice is on others experience of travelling having had or suffering from lumbar pain.
For reference I've had a double discectomy which which was extremely successful and am currently in a programme of lumbar nerve denervation. I have no disability and could lift any fallen bike the next man could, its the hours in the saddle that give me concern.

I almost dropped mentioning the weestrom as a choice because its not as upright as the two Honda's, but I wanted to hear opinions first to either confirm or dispel my fears. The AT I obviously hear nothing but praise for but the Trannie reads as having the edge for 'chuckability', which to me translates into 'flexibility' and possibly a positive thing for myself.

Thank you for reading this and to anyone taking the time to reply.

Happy xmas.

Orson.

[tramp]

hi Orson,
first welcome , second happy christmas

Have a test ride on either should show up their differences as we all have different views .
I like the Ta over the At really a style thing and age of bike etc. Also slightly lighter but not much, cost similar prices and expect similar comfort -nowt a good seat conversion cant fix.

you can always fiddle with the suspension for your own ride comfort and both good for long distance etc , they both have pros and cons as mentioned on the vast search data on here.

I personaly like the 650 but a little more power is always welcome, where in hampshire do you live? and where in Europe you traveling?

[StumpyFingers]

I suffer from a bad back, but I find I have no problems riding the 650 TA for long periods.

[moon]

I suffer from lumbar pain on a regular basis (need the two lowest vertebrae fusing) & ride a TA 600. My saddle has over 100,000 km on it & is wel fubar'd so a*sr pain is more of a problem, I do however use a prescribed lumbar support belt on longer journey's ( & an air cushion on the seat) then it's my knees that cause problems long before my back does (rheumatism)... I avoid doing more than 4 or 500k in a day too.

[Orson]

Tramp that's a good point on suspension set up. I'll take some of this holiday time up reading about this and peoples thoughts and idea's. BTW I live on the Island. I'm not local blood so I have no brother called Billy Bob and nor can I play the banjo, but I have considered a trailer hence why I need to get away this year.

Stumpy I have to admit that the Ta was top of my list of 3 (2) when I started this thread but I'm going to have to check out the weights again comparing both the At & Ta. I had it in my mind that it was a bigger difference than Tramp makes it sound and if closer it'll be a hard one to call. I must give them both a go like has been mentioned.

Moon your back sounds identical to how mine was. S1 (sacrum/coccyx) to L5 to L4. Do be careful with what advice you get with that. I was told that two 18 inch titanium rods and an assortment of self tappers was the only way out of pain at 37 years old. I wouldn't accept this and travelled to a Neuro surgeon for a second opinion. 8 Months later that neuro surgeon gave me a disctectomy S1 to L5 & L5 to L4 which has given me 5 years of life back with no sciatica whatsoever. I've numbness if in the same position for any length of time but I should have retrained as the surgeon suggested after the discectomy and not pushed on with my trade.
I hope that wasn't considered off on a tangent moon. I've seen people suffer badly after a fusion and would recommend anyone to get a second opinion and even a third. Its now NHS policy that you can choose any surgeon in the country by a letter of request from your doctor. Please do consider it and if I can be of any help do feel free to get in touch.
Lumbar support belt I never thought of. Something else I'll have to try out

[moon]

Thanks for back info Orson, if & when I get as faor as an operation I may well take you up on your offer of info. I actually live in france & would be operated on here. The lumbar support belt I use was prescribed by the docteur & bought in a pharmacie. My Doc says not to buy a cheap one (with a prescription it was reimbursed to me by the system here...) cos if not properly fitted it may, over time, do more damage than good. He also said to not wear it too much, as this can weaken the back muscles, so I only use it for longer trips (more than an hour or so.)

good luck with it.

Moon

[Orson]

Good info on the back belt moon thank you. If ever teh time comes let me know.

I'd forgotten to answer the trip details. One is down to Gambia as I know the country well and have some contacts there. Although its a trip well documented I thought it'd be a good introduction to a sand having a lot of tarmac to choose from.
The other is a first leg to the Rodolpi mountains in southern Bulgaria where I also have contacts. I'd leave the bike there after looking at some land and then return with a plan to take the bike into Libya and down to the Acacus Mountains. The following year or late 2010 I'd like to cross the states at a slow pace and leave my bike with a friend in Oregon, returning later with thoughts of crossing Alaska and across Asia.

I've been promising myself that I'd return to travelling since my 20's and with the right woman I can now finally go ahead and do it.

[Warthog]

I've had a bad back for a while. The worst was 7 months off work due to severe sciatic compression, eventually treated with an L4/L5 microdiscectomy.

This translates as "I'm paranoid about my back"!!

8 months after the operation I travelled for 3 months on a R1150GS with my other half, around Argentina and Chile. My back was fine on the whole.

All that to say that I've had problems but they are not a restriction with the right bike!

My GS got written off and I bought a Honda XR400R before moving to Estonia. On the XR I had to firstly ride it to Estonia from the UK, which meant a long haul over a short period. I also rode it around Sweden for a 10 day bike tour. The latter was very few miles, coupled with a lumbar spasm that left me in a lot of pain.

All that to say that I've had problems and they can be agonising on the wrong bike!

I since sold the XR and bought a TA600, again from the UK. This time my route back to Tallinn was a little longer and meant doing 600 miles in one day: not a single groan from my back!!

You get the picture: the TA gets my vote the way the GS did: a very comfortable bike to ride.

However, it is not that simple. It depends on your height, your build, the length of your arms and legs etc. As you said: you want a bike that will keep you up right.

The analogy that works for me is if I stand feet shoulder width apart, and squat down, so my legs are relatively bent at hip and knee, that is the postion I want to re-create on the bike. If the bike position is one that would have you tipping forward if you adopted the same pose off the bike, then you might find it uncomfortable. Arms should not be too bent, ditto with the legs, feet pretty much in line with your spine.

This the TA does for me and I get on in full confidence. If you can say the same, I think you're onto a winner!

Good luck!

[StumpyFingers]

AS Warthog says, it depends on you build. I found the seating position on the 650 to be Ideal for me and have no problem with long stints in the saddle.

[cookingfat]

After years of serious disability I had a discectomy in 2002 on T12 L1, plus loads of other spinal shight.

For too many years I could hardly walk never mind ride. Posture is the key, I found the Transalp 600 to be a very good bike for this, also have a Tiger 955i which is even more comfortable.

There are many ways of tuning a bike to fit, handle bar risers work for me, the time you spend in the saddle also makes a big difference. Stopping for a break before you get sore also works. Like many I have some good pain relieve drugs, however, I believe pain is natures way of telling you to stop, therefore when my body says it has had enough I listen and act accordingly.

Many of my mates are of a simular age and ride sports bikes, after a hour or so in the saddle they are sore and stiff, it really is all about posture and being relaxed.

I'm 60 next year and hope to be riding for as long as possible.

UP THE WORKERS!