Motorcycle Explorer October 2014 Issue 2 | Page 64

LMG's World
F
or anyone that has done long distance riding we all know that
getting to that magical place can sometimes be a right pain in the
arse – literally! So we had LMG (picture left) have a look around at
what’s out there. LMG may well look like he runs guns out the
former USSR but that’s never been proven. What we are certain
about is that he has done some serious distance on all types of
bikes, riding with the Iron Butt Association he’s in a position to
advise how to look after your arse out there. At 6’5” and weighing
in at 20 stone this is a rider that knows about pressure doing over
1000 miles in day.
W
hen I was a lad, I rode
bicycles much like every other
kid did. When I progressed to
a racing style ( often called
“drop handle bars” remember
those?), the thing which
stands out in my memory is
the seat. It was like a razor
blade. Now, sitting upon a
razor blade when you’re a
young lad wasn’t too bad. You
were light, plus you weren’t
packing much “down there”,
but as the years went on and
you edged in to the teenage
years, suddenly you started
getting heavier and you had to
suffer the pains of having your
meat-n-2veg balanced upon
such a seat. I remember
checking out the girls bike
seats – nice and wide – and
thinking I wish I could have
that seat, but of course that
would be embarrassing as
your friends would rip the piss
out of you mercilessly.
Winding the clock on several
decades, age gives you the
blessing of usually being able
to put your pride behind logic.
If I had the common sense of
now back then, I would have
put the widest comfiest seat
on my racer, and I would have
enjoyed my rides so much
more.
M
oving to motorcycles, the
same issue with seats remains
present. The number of OE
(Original Equipment) seats
supplied on new bikes all seem
to have the same issue of not
supporting the rider in the
correct way – or at least after
an hour of so riding, that’s what
it feels like to me. In my view,
the correct way to support a
rider is to support the weight of
the rider on buttocks rather
that on coxic area. If you can
remember the bench seats of
the late 70s and 80s – they
were wide and supportive, but
the trend nowadays is to have a
contoured seat. Although
aesthetically pleasing, it is
readily apparent to me that
they don’t support the rider any
near as good as the old seats.
The supportive area of the seat
is just too narrow.
" Iron Butt
Association rides of
1000 miles in 24
hours, so I am used to
riding for extended
periods of time "