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Comfort

Motorcycle Back Pain for Older Riders: After 50, 60 and 70

Why motorcycle back pain in older riders becomes more common after 45, what changes in the spine and muscles, and how riders adjust with their doctor.

By Hexrider Team

Motorcycle back pain in older riders can have age-related roots. Back pain becomes more common with age, particularly after 45. The discs, joints and muscles that hold you upright change over the years (MedlinePlus). A seat and a ride length that suited you at 40 can feel different at 60 or 70. Pain is not something you have to accept. The National Institute on Aging says to see a doctor about a new pain. Below you will find what changes with age, what research says about riding, and adjustments older riders discuss with their doctors. Whether to keep riding is your decision, made with someone who knows your health.

Key Takeaways

  • Back pain becomes more common with age, particularly after 45, as the discs, joints and muscles that support your spine change.
  • A review of scan studies estimated disc degeneration in 80% of 50-year-olds and 93% of 70-year-olds with no back pain. Wear on a scan does not prove what hurts.
  • A Cochrane review found moderate-certainty evidence that exercise lowers chronic low back pain more than usual care does. Its volunteers averaged 43.7 years old, so ask a clinician what suits you.
  • No source we read sets an age limit for riding. The decision is yours and your doctor's.

This is general information, not medical advice. Get emergency care if back pain comes with any of these, as the NHS advises: pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around the genitals or anus, bladder or bowel changes, changes in sexual feeling or function, or chest pain. Get it too if the pain started after a serious accident. On a ride, pull over safely, stop riding and call 911 in the US. The NHS says not to drive yourself to hospital, so do not ride there either. If back pain does not improve after a few weeks or follows a fall or injury, NIAMS says to see a doctor. It says the same for numbness or tingling, fever, trouble urinating, leg weakness or weight loss you did not intend.

Motorcycle back pain in older riders: what changes in the spine and muscles

Age changes the spine in several ways at once. MedlinePlus says the discs between your vertebrae slowly lose fluid and get thinner. The vertebrae lose some mineral content, and the joints get stiffer and less flexible. NIAMS calls the age-related breakdown of discs degenerative disc disease. It links this to arthritis and to spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal.

Muscles change too. MedlinePlus says lean body mass falls, partly from lost muscle tissue. Muscle changes often begin in the 20s for men and the 40s for women, and weak muscles add to fatigue. NIAMS adds that weak back and stomach muscles may not support the spine well.

None of this waits for retirement. AAOS OrthoInfo says spine changes can start in your 30s or even earlier and can make you prone to back pain, especially if you overdo your activity.

Scans show how common the changes are. A systematic review pooled 33 studies of 3,110 adults with no history of back pain. Most of the older groups showed disc and joint wear:

Age Disc degeneration Disc bulge Lost disc height Facet joint degeneration
20 37% 30% 24% 4%
50 80% 60% 56% 32%
60 88% 69% 67% 50%
70 93% 77% 76% 69%

Estimated share of adults with no back pain whose scans showed each finding (Table 2, Brinjikji and colleagues, 2015). Facet joints are the small joints between the vertebrae, AAOS OrthoInfo explains.

The authors say many of these findings are probably part of normal aging and are not linked to pain, so scan results need to be read alongside how the patient feels. A report that lists wear does not, by itself, explain your pain.

The same bike and ride can feel different at 65

A ride can feel harder at 65 even when the bike and the road have not changed. MedlinePlus links muscle loss to tiredness and lower activity tolerance, so a long day in the saddle may take more out of you. No source we read measures that in riders.

Time off the bike matters too. NIAMS lists exercising too hard after a stretch of inactivity as a risk factor for back pain, and the NIA says to work back up gradually after a break in your routine. Riding is not a workout, so read that as a parallel, not a rule.

Long hours seated, and vibration, are the third piece. For motorcycles, the evidence is thin and mixed:

  • Britain's workplace safety regulator, HSE, says large shocks and jolts may cause health risks, including back pain, for people who drive work vehicles over rough ground. It says further study is needed and does not mention motorcycles.
  • A small 2022 study of 95 commercial motorcycle drivers in Indonesia found no statistical link between chronic low back pain and vibration above a set level, or sitting longer than four hours. One study of that size settles nothing.

So the research neither shows nor rules out seat time or road surface as a cause of your pain. Notice when your pain starts, and tell your doctor or therapist.

Shorter days and planned stops

Shorter days and regular stops are an easy change to try, though no trial in the sources we read tests them in older riders. Three pieces of guidance are worth knowing:

  • The Iron Butt Association's tips page, which cites its own older surveys, says daily mileage falls after the first two days of a trip. By day seven, it says, a typical long-distance rider comfortably covers about 65% of a two-day trip's daily mileage. That is about trip length, not age or back pain.
  • The same page says time spent milling about gas stations is better spent resting or walking to stretch tired, sore muscles.
  • The NHS tells people with back pain to stay active and not stay in bed for long periods, and to stop any exercise or stretch that makes the pain worse and see a doctor.

Put together, these suggest options to discuss with your doctor, not medical advice. Plan the later days of a trip shorter than the first two. Walk at every stop. Count a change in your pain as a reason to stop for the day. For more on planning long days, see the Hexrider long-distance riding blog.

Bike fit and seat condition: questions to ask before you buy anything

Bike set-up is worth checking, but no source we read tests it for back pain in older riders. Use these as questions for your mechanic or dealer, not proven answers:

  • How old is the seat foam, and has it gone flat or hard?
  • Are the fork and rear shock in good order and set for my weight?
  • Can the bars or controls move closer or higher to suit my reach?
  • Can I put my feet down the way I need to at a stop?

HSE's guidance for work vehicles includes keeping seats and suspension well maintained to cut shocks and jolts. It is not motorcycle research, but it prompts the first two questions.

Ask about posture, too. AAOS OrthoInfo says a therapist can teach you how to stand, sit and lift safely. More comfort reading is on the Hexrider comfort blog.

Strength and movement work: get a clinician's view first

Exercise has more research behind it than anything else in this article. Its trials mostly involved younger adults, so get a clinician's view first. A Cochrane review pooled 249 trials in adults with chronic low back pain, meaning pain that lasts more than 12 weeks with no specific cause. It found moderate-certainty evidence that exercise worked better than no treatment, usual care or a placebo for pain at the earliest follow-up. The participants averaged 43.7 years old, so the evidence is less direct for older riders.

The NIA says older adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and two days of muscle-strengthening each week, built up gradually. It says older adults with no injury or chronic condition who build up gradually generally do not need to talk with a doctor first. Doctors and exercise professionals can still advise. MedlinePlus says to talk to your health care provider before starting a new exercise program. With back pain already in the picture, asking first is the safer reading.

AAOS OrthoInfo suggests pairing aerobic exercise, such as walking or swimming, with exercises that keep the muscles in your back and abdomen strong and flexible. Ask a doctor or physical therapist which moves suit your back and how many to do.

Deciding whether to keep riding

No source we read sets an age at which riding should stop. The decision rests on your own health and your doctor's view. A better question than whether you are too old is what your body can do safely today. A doctor can help you check two things:

  • Bone strength. NIAMS says osteoporosis, a condition of weak bones, usually has no symptoms until a bone breaks. Fractures can follow a minor fall from standing height, and men are still at risk, especially after age 70. AAOS OrthoInfo adds that spine fractures from minor trauma, such as a ground-level fall, are a common cause of back pain in older people.
  • Medicines. The NIA says older adults are at risk of more side effects from medicines, and that opioid pain medicine can raise the risk of falls and dizziness. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether anything you take could affect balance or alertness on a bike.

The options run from shorter rides to a different bike to stepping away from riding. That choice belongs to you and your doctor.

Quick reference: adjustments and who to ask

Adjustment What backs it Who to ask
Build back up after time off NIA and NIAMS exercise advice, by analogy Your doctor
Plan shorter days later in a trip Iron Butt Association survey (not about age or pain) You
Strength and movement work Cochrane review (average trial age 43.7) Doctor or physical therapist
Bone and medicine checks NIAMS and NIA Doctor or pharmacist
Seat and suspension condition HSE (work vehicles only) Mechanic or dealer

One option some older riders try: a strap-on seat pad

Hexrider sells the Hexcushion, so read this section with that in mind. The Hexrider product page describes a strap-on pad with hexagonal cells and an open center channel. The page lists about a quarter inch of added height for a 200 lb rider. Some reviewers report half an inch to over an inch, and some could no longer put both feet flat. The seat comparison page advises checking your reach to the ground.

Pad fitted on a touring motorcycle seat Photo from a Hexcushion customer review, October 2026. Seats and results vary.

One rider writes:

"Extremely Comfortable for my long rides. At 71 years old I needed help! Hexrider made my trips longer and much more enjoyable."

— a Hexcushion customer review, May 2026

Another rider reports a limit:

"Improved the comfort of the stock seat on my 2005 Harley, to a point. For the first couple hours it's much more comfortable than just the stock seat. After a couple hours straight riding, my butt still hurts."

— a Hexcushion customer review, August 2024

Frequently asked questions

Is 70 too old to ride a motorcycle?

No health source we read sets an age limit for riding, so the answer depends on the rider, not the birthday. The IIHS, citing the Motorcycle Industry Council, says owners have gotten older: the typical owner was 50 in 2018, up from 27 in 1980. Ask your doctor about your bones, strength, balance and medicines, and decide together.

Can a 70 year old ride a motorcycle?

The health sources we read describe things to check, not a cutoff age. A doctor can review bone health (NIAMS says men are still at risk of osteoporosis, especially after age 70), muscle strength and balance (MedlinePlus), medicines (NIA) and the warning signs for back pain. Check your own state's license rules with its motor vehicle agency.

Why does back pain get more common with age?

The parts that support the spine wear and change over time. MedlinePlus says discs lose fluid and thin, vertebrae lose mineral content, joints stiffen, and muscle mass and strength fall. NIAMS says back pain becomes more common with age, particularly after 45. Scans of adults with no back pain show similar wear in most older people (Brinjikji and colleagues).

About this article

The Hexrider team wrote this article from pages we opened and read on 2026-11-09, favoring government health agencies, a medical society's patient page, peer-reviewed reviews and official guidance. No doctor wrote or reviewed it; it is general information, not medical advice, and it was last updated on 2026-11-09. To ask a question or report a mistake, contact the Hexrider team.

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