This is probably going to come off as a taboo thread but I really would appreciate any honest and helpful feedback. I usually wear an Icon brand compression short when I ride to help improve my comfort around the tank. The situation can be hit or miss (literally) because the shorts really don't offer consistent support every ride and I've had experiences on the street in which I had to pull over after taking a thrashing from a pot hole in the road to recuperate. My last track day at TGPR was kind of maddening when all of a sudden I was getting a ton of pain in the crotch area for no obvious reason. What makes things more frustrating is when you're already strapped down with your suit, and back and chest protector just the way you like it and now you're finding out that you've got to strip it all down because of something as minor as a misaligned pair of shorts. I've been researching on cups/jock straps/comp. shorts and I can't find any quality information for bikers and I was wondering what you guys thought could help me out. What's even more maddening is every company seems to have a different idea of sizing and I run on the smaller side (most cases a 30" waist is too large and a size 40 suit or jacket swallows me whole) and the idea of a misaligned cup and crashing into the tank would probably net a trip to the E.R. I know body positioning plays a role, but I'm just crossing my fingers for a miracle product. \unlikely Any input would be greatly appreciated from me and my future offspring! ~Jordan~
First, get a suit that's a little large & have it tailored to fit. Barnacle Bill is in your region and does excellent work. give him a call. 859.336.7375 second. no cup, for the reasons you've described. Thirdly, after the fit of your gear, this is all about body positioning. Where are your feet in relation to the pegs? are you using stock or aftermarket rearsets? pegs that are positioned further back and raised slightly from stock will help keep your but in the rear of the seat. finally, riding a motorcycle on the racetrack is different from going for a sunday ride- as you've no doubt experienced. you really shouldn't be sitting on your seat in the same way as you do when you go for a ride in the mountains. track riding is a much more dynamic activity, your body is or should be constantly moving. think of your legs as an extension of your bikes suspension- they should be sprung and your butt shouldn't rest fully on the seat. Judging from your avatar, it maybe should be a little further back, although giving critique from a 100x100 pixel image is perhaps more than a little hit or miss. you should definitely have more weight on your pegs than your ass. are you using tank grips? they can be a great aid in keeping you from sliding around unnecessarily and in doing so, protect your junk, too. On your next track day, grab a coach & tell him you'd like to work on your body positioning and ask for his/her input. Good luck!
I've always ridden as close to the gas tank as possible and it may be one of the reasons why my body position looks off. It also may explain why the Stomp Grips I've got on my tank never made much of a difference because my legs were wedged so far apart from the tank. Judging by the seat-of-my-pants feeling I do try and and get at least one cheek off the seat when positioning for a turn, but would the effect be hindered due in part to being too close to the tank? FWIW, I've got factory rear sets equipped on my bike. I'll keep your advice in mind at Barber's on the 14th and apply it with my time spent with an instructor. I guess the pain I was experiencing was just an indicator that I needed to re-evaluate my approach!
I'll go on the just a suggestion side too - I use underarmour pants under the suit (or thermal underwear...) in neither case should the ouchie bits ever make contact with the tank especially with stomp grip installed. Try this in your garage on it some time, get in your suit and sit on the bike on a rear stand (side stand works too but be careful) and sit where you normally do when braking, now side your rump back untill it hits the back stop - if you have a video cam put it dead on sideways and watch what happens to your body profile between the 2 positions - the rump back position allows more room and will flatten out your profile - thus keeping the chest low and forward and less likely to get crossed up hanging off for the corners, and in my experience makes braking HARD sooo much easier as your rump helps keep the back end in contact with the asphalt (grin) - also keeps oes junk from getting in a bind hehe other thing to peek at are the insides of your knees on your suit - that's pretty much the first part that wears out on them in my experience (where the knees squeeze the tank under braking...) anywho just my meager 2 cents