Seat comfort | GTAMotorcycle.com

Seat comfort

Chris-CJ

Chris-CJ

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It is either the seat or my lack of "personal padding" or both, but more than two hours on the bike and my nether regions start hurting!
Leaving out the purchase of an after-market seat, my options are to either re-upholster or to strap on a seat pad.
I tried the "upholster" option with Potzy's [at Guelph] and that was a wasted experiment as the increase in the comfort quotient was nil.
And, it was not cheap!
My next choice of option is a seat pad.
Any suggestions?
A web search consistently brings up the "Air Hawk" product, do they work or is it just hype?
[The seat dimensions are 13" length and 11" width and the bike is a standard bike, not a Cruiser or SS or ADV ]

Thanks for your feedback.

Reference:

www.carbibles.com

The Best Motorcycle Seat Pads (Review) in 2022

We've listed the best motorcycle seat pads on the market today to find one that’s the perfect fit for your butt. You’ll be cruising comfortably in no time!
www.carbibles.com www.carbibles.com
 
In my experience, airflow is vital. That's why beads work.Airhawk provides some airflow, maybe that's why it works.
 
I’ve got a couple of sheepskins i use, they do work but you’re still needing to move around and reposition
 
In my experience aftermarket seats (Corbin etc) work well. I’ve also heard very good things about beads but no personal experience.


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How is the Corbin customer experience these days? Last I heard it wasn't great, but it's been a while
 
I don't know that upholsterer but I had my Ducati seat done by a reputable upholstery guy and it is much better and for $40 was an excellent deal. Could be a job done poorly or maybe they just didn't listen to what you wanted.
 
I just got an air hawk from Amazon and was looking for a slightly smaller one and there are now airhawk copies for 1/3 the price! The only thing missing is the cover for them otherwise they are much the same. Try one..$39 vs 130 for a name brand one.

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black), Seat Covers - Amazon Canada

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black) in Seat Covers.
www.amazon.ca

that’s one, there’s a few others too.
 
jc100 said:
I just got an air hawk from Amazon and was looking for a slightly smaller one and there are now airhawk copies for 1/3 the price! The only thing missing is the cover for them otherwise they are much the same. Try one..$39 vs 130 for a name brand one.

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black), Seat Covers - Amazon Canada

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black) in Seat Covers.
www.amazon.ca

that’s one, there’s a few others too.
Click to expand...
How much do they raise your seat height?
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
I don't know that upholsterer but I had my Ducati seat done by a reputable upholstery guy and it is much better and for $40 was an excellent deal. Could be a job done poorly or maybe they just didn't listen to what you wanted.
Click to expand...
Please share the upholstery guy's contact information - thanks!
 
jc100 said:
I just got an air hawk from Amazon and was looking for a slightly smaller one and there are now airhawk copies for 1/3 the price! The only thing missing is the cover for them otherwise they are much the same. Try one..$39 vs 130 for a name brand one.

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black), Seat Covers - Amazon Canada

Motorcycle Seat Cushion Pressure Relief Ride Seat Pad Large for Cruiser Touring Saddles, Air & Water Inflatable (Black) in Seat Covers.
www.amazon.ca

that’s one, there’s a few others too.
Click to expand...
I personally believe in the comfort level of the air hawk and perhaps that of the ersatz copies but have heard of issues with straps breaking and instability while taking corners. Hopefully these are just rumors and am looking to get actual user feedback.
jc100, please can you share your experience?
As for adding seat height, the literature states that less air is better and I estimate an additional inch at the most.
 
Chris-CJ said:
I personally believe in the comfort level of the air hawk and perhaps that of the ersatz copies but have heard of issues with straps breaking and instability while taking corners. Hopefully these are just rumors and am looking to get actual user feedback.
jc100, please can you share your experience?
As for adding seat height, the literature states that less air is better and I estimate an additional inch at the most.
Click to expand...

I haven’t tried the cheaper version. It looks identical to the airhawk. I had an older airhawk on my old bike and it worked great on long rides.

If you overinflated these you’ll feel disconnected to the bike. You only just want to inflate it. It’s way less than you actually think. The idea is that there’s a very small air cushion.
 
Chris-CJ said:
Please share the upholstery guy's contact information - thanks!
Click to expand...
The guy I used is located in Peterborough area. If still interested pm me and I'll send you his phone number.
 
Chris-CJ said:
I personally believe in the comfort level of the air hawk and perhaps that of the ersatz copies but have heard of issues with straps breaking and instability while taking corners. Hopefully these are just rumors and am looking to get actual user feedback.
jc100, please can you share your experience?
As for adding seat height, the literature states that less air is better and I estimate an additional inch at the most.
Click to expand...

you are never going to be super secure on an airhawk due to the nature of it (air cushion able to move around), i only used one rarely but my buddy swearss by it. We both only use it for the longer hauls, have it just attached at the front or back and then flip it up and away when doing twisty stuff.
 
killvino said:
you are never going to be super secure on an airhawk due to the nature of it (air cushion able to move around), i only used one rarely but my buddy swearss by it. We both only use it for the longer hauls, have it just attached at the front or back and then flip it up and away when doing twisty stuff.
Click to expand...

That's the best way to use it. Moving around on the seat for nice curves it definitely does interfere a little. It’s doable though. I intend to use mine for the slog home or for a slog to somewhere.
 
Everyone is different in terms of what works for them - for me, it's Corbin all the way. They can be pricey, but it's well worth it for long hauls. New they sell for around $500, but I've always bought them new/used for $300.

I've tried using OEM gel seats, sheepskin seat covers, C.Tire $10 gel seatpads, and they all helped to some varying degree, but I was still done after 4 hours or so. A good quality aftermarket seat can take you into the 12hr days back to back with zero discomfort.
 
seat comfort?!?! What is this magical thing you speak of?
I ride a KTM RC8r... well known to, literally, have a plank for a seat. There is 3mm of padding. Luckily, it's narrow at the front and wide at the back. The If I'm doing twisties (i.e. dragon, track etc) I have no problems riding it all day long. It's the long highways drones here in Onterrible that make the butt burn.
I've purchased some cycling shorts, and they help quite a bit.

Had a Saddlemen gel channel seat on my old Daytona 675. Bestest thing ever.
 
I've actually used beadrider on sportbikes (cbr600rr and ninja300) and they definitely help. For my current bike, I was able to get a rarely used Corbin seat, which also is way better than stock.

I haven't tried beadrider on top of Corbin. Kinda worried if I'll damage leather if I do that though.

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