comfort

Before you buy | Comfort | Other Factors
Classification | 4 Stroke Two-wheelers

Comfort

The next important thing to think of next to safety is comfort. The four most important factors contributing to comfort are:

• Seat - shape, width and cushioning
• Suspension - hard or soft
• Seating geometry - handlebar width, handlebar to seat distance
• Seat to footrest distance

In these respects, a motorcycle designer is faced with conflicting demands. If the seat is too wide, your feet will not reach the ground, which makes it unsafe while if it is too narrow, it is uncomfortable. If the cushioning is too much, it will raise the seat height due to which the center of gravity of the bike will rise and make it unsafe. If the handlebar is too wide, you will have to sit in a crouched posture, which may cause pain in the spine, while if it is too narrow, handling will suffer. If the handlebar is too far from the seat, you will have to lean again causing pain in the neck and back; if it is too near it will foul with your knee while making sharp turns. If the footrest is too near, you will have to sit crouched; if it is too far, it may touch the ground on curves, causing an accident.

The conclusion therefore is that as far as safety and comfort are concerned, you make your choice based on the physical dimension of your own body such as height, weight, eyesight, hearing and reflexes.

Gender also matters apart from body dimensions. Dresses like saris and lungis make it impossible for wearers to sit cross-legged on a two-wheeler. For such kind of attire, a scooter or a moped/motorcycle with a step-through frame is necessary. The step-through gap in a scooter is also useful for carrying luggage, especially in scooters which don’t have a foot brake but whose both brakes are operated by hand like in a bicycle. This leaves the entire floor space between the seat and the handlebar empty for carrying any kind of luggage you wish to.

Before you buy | Comfort | Other Factors
Classification | 4 Stroke Two-wheelers