M1000 Crippling me.

[Nasher]

I’ve been skirting around this for probably 2 years now, and it’s getting worse not better.

I’m finding it really hard to ride my M1000, so much so that it’s not getting used much.

I like to think I’m above average fit, healthy and strong for my age, late 50s.
I go to the gym(possibly too much) and do Cardio(Cross Trainer), plus weights etc. I walk, hike, and am always on the go doing something.
But I do carry some old sports and accident injuries, which is probably the route cause.
Waterskiing and playing Rugby leave their mark.

A couple of weeks ago I did @100miles in a morning on my 999, obviously a proper sports bike that should not be comfy, but it’s physically so much bigger than the monster that I’m just not as cramped up on it.
Obviously I knew I’d done some miles on it afterwards, but it was OK after a couple of minutes.

I did @30 Miles on my Monster the other day and could hardly walk afterwards.

The problem on the Monster is my legs and hips.
I’ve tried some dodgy brackets to drop the pegs an inch to see how it was, and I’ve sat on an inch thick sheet of high density foam to see if raising the seat would help.
I’ve also tried some higher bars without improvement.
It appears to be all about the relationship between the saddle and the footpegs, plus probably the width of the bike.
After only a very short time on the bike I start to get cramps in my Thighs, and my hips feel like they are dislocating.
If I stop at a junction and have to put a foot down, about 30% of the time when I lift the foot back onto the peg I’m instantly in a huge amount of pain with cramp in that Thigh and Hip which is really difficult to shift on the go, so I often have to stop at the side of the road.
This simply does not happen on my 999.

I was also recently lucky enough to test ride a 1200 Multistrada for about an hour.
I had no problems at all with cramps etc.
I can drive to Cornwall from Hampshire in my Landie with no issues, and have spent a lot of time on planes in the last year with no issues.
But if I sit still for too long with my knees too bent, like on my office chair, my legs seize up, can go numb, and I get really painful cramps in my thighs.

After the ride on my M1000 the other day my hips were so stiff and uncomfortable I was struggling to walk and had to do some stretching exercises to get the movement back.
Thinking my Cross trainer and weights routine at the Gym, plus walking etc might be causing me to be too stiff I’ve tried Yoga, 3 sessions, but found it so dull and tedious I got frustrated and thought it wasn’t for me.
The Gym physio and one from my Bupa suggested stretching exercises, which help afterwards.

And this is why I’m putting my M1000 up for sale.

[Dukedesmo]

As another of advancing years, I sympathise with you.

With regards to sport bikes, oddly I find my 916 to be my most comfortable bike, as long as not too much town/slow riding as it needs some speed to get the weight off the wrists (well that's my excuse anyway ). All reports on the 999 is that it is a more comfortable ride than the older 916 so I can understand how it works better for you.

The Monster, on paper should be more comfortable and seems comfortable at first due to less weight on the wrists and less of a knee bend but actually it forces more weight onto my arse, giving me a lower backache over a long ride. I'd like to get the footpegs a little further back but am constrained by the down (up?) pipes for the hi-level exhausts.

As for the Guzzi, the combination of low seat, high pegs means my legs are bent just about as far as possible so taking much of my weight through the legs, leading to cramp in the knees but that gives me less weight on the arse than the Monster and, despite the long reach to the bars, less weight on the wrists than the 916 but it's hardly a relaxing tourer.

In short all of them have their plus and minus points but, if I had a 500 mile journey to do in one hit, I'd take the 916, not least because I'd get there sooner...