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am writing for my riding buddy who has a bit of lower back pain due to excess strain/injury. She is 5'2 with short legs, and just purchased the V Star custom because it is fairly light weight and low to the ground, recommended by many female and short riders.

My questions : is there anything she can do to relieve pressure on her lower back.. change handebars, a particular seat ...

the bike vibrates and leaves a buzzy feeling in her hands, is this common for Yamaha? Her Virago did the same. would different handlebar grips help? anything?

I really need suggestions to improve the comfort of this ride and especially from those who may have back issues. Please help, i don't want to ride solo.

Okay I have a V-star Custom as well, so obvious, isnt' it . Yup the V-star is very good for beginner, female and short rider. (what am I? )

I am not sure about pressure on her lower back maybe that can be improve with new seat like Mustang one piece which seem to have better lower back support than stock.

About vibration, yup it is always there. I have a friend recommended me for Carb Syncing when I was complaning about vibrated. I went to the shop and the machanic said my carb is like at sport no need for adjusting. So I went out and replaced stock grip with ISO Grip (Isolate Grip which claim to reduce vibration). It help only little the vibration is still there. I recommend Kuryakyn ISO grip with Throttle boss, thou.

From what I understand V-star will have the most vibrate at 60-65mph, so don't travel at that speed. I always ride with group, a lot of time we have to ride at speed 50-60mph and only just after 20 mins my right hand will get numb fortunately I have throttle boss with help me relax my palm a little bit.

Hope this help.

As someone who suffers (past tense now, hopefully) from a bad lower back, I can address some of your questions. But please keep in mind that lower back issues are very much dependent on exactly where the pain is coming from and what the cause is. Bulging discs, muscle spasms, shifted vertebrae, etc. will determine what her optimum riding position may be. If she needs back support then the bike will need to be fitted appropriately, whether that be a new seat and/or handlebars. Corbin and Mustang are two popular seat makers, but there are several others, too. I know this is common sense, but if she's having any back discomfort at all then she needs to stay off the bike until she's healed enough, you do not want her back going out while riding. It almost happened to me, it's a very scary feeling.

As for the vibration, I don't know about the specific bike but I have seen some gel or padded type handgrips advertised in a bike mag that absorb vibration. Something like that might help. They may have been simple sleeves that fit over the existing grips, I don't recall exactly.

To help dampen the bars from vibrating try filling them up with either lead shot or BB's. I've also heard that sand works as well. Good luck.

Here is a little tip a buddy told me about, I had a '81 Silverwing great bike but at 70mph it was winding 7000rpm, so he said to buy a can of GREAT STUFF it is a spray foam insulation used to seal cracks etc. on your house and is available almost everywhere. Take the handgrips off and insert the nozzle on the can into the handle bars and fill them about 1/2 full of GREAT STUFF because it will expand and fill the other half. It will dry pretty quick and will really reduce the vibration. It is a good idea to cover the rest of the bike with a plastic tarp or similar because as the GREAT STUFF dries it will push out of the ends of the bars as it expands. Which can make you say several dirty words while removing the GREAT BIG MESSY STUFF off your bike. Hope this helps. Also if you can get a pillion pad and rig up some type of a back rest for the driver they are an unbelievable amount of help for back trouble. I have one on my bike and would not think of riding without it.

The cruiser seating style kind of puts a lot of pressure on the lower back, too - weight on the tailbone. Maybe a seat countoured toward a more up-right position coupled with some swept-back bars? I would say a standard bike is the best bet, unless your friend is stuck on the V-Star.

I think a standard bike is an alternative alsoo but aren't really most of them for tall people, that is the seat heights prevail over 29"? I am thinking of the Nighthawk 750 as one example. Even with my 30" inseam i am barely flat footed on a level floor.

I am considering all these suggestions though so thank you those who have replied and anyone else who wants to contribute!

Standard bikes, especially the newer models, can indeed be intimidating for riders with shorter inseams. However, there are ways to lower the seat height somewhat, involving suspension modifications, custom saddles and so on. Of course, with any modification there are drawbacks, in this case including reduced cornering clearances. Do you think a drop in seat height of maybe 1 - 2", possibly even a bit more, would be enough for her on a standard bike? If so, this might be something she'd consider.

dropping 1-2 inches is possible but what bikes are you thinking of? i can;t think of a load of standard bikes, except for much older ones.

One suggestion for a newer standard is the Suzuki SV 650. It is a very reliable bike and well-reviewed by all the magazines. Everyone who has one seems to love them.