► Seats (too high, too hard, pillion...) and suspension

[Greggers]

Hi Martin..

I've used both, and they each have their virtues...

I used a 'skin on my 950 'S' seat for the Morocco tour a couple of years ago - it made the difference between agony and useability for me.. Problems can be getting it to stay in one place, keeping it dry etc.. my skin is in fact a child's push-chair liner, and the wool is incredibly thick, and I think it is this which makes it work - some fleeces are thin and do nothing, don't even bother looking at a synthetic cos they're just shite...

The Airhawk is an oddity - it takes a bit of jiggling and air 'in-and-outing' to get it right. I used one on the seat of my TRX - a Yamaha Sports(ish) bike - and I could never quite be happy with the squishy feeling of separation from the seat... It worked a treat though and was very comfortable..

No doubt about it though - an ADV bike with a skin looks the business while the Airhark belongs under some fat arse on a Harley...

Greg

 

[Ash]

i use both
Airhawk-
yes it feels a wee bit with your botty moving about, but that's why they are so good, designed for NASA for astronauts.
mine has done 15k miles and i would not ride without it.
Sheepskin-
means you do not sit on sticky/sweaty plastic.
hides the Airhawk from prying eye's and stops it getting wet.

 

[Ogmios]

Airhawk;
good for long runs on smooth UNchallenging roads.
i dont like the squidgy / are-my-tyres-going-flat? feeling on rougher roads where i like the "feedback" through the saddle / backside.

Sheepskin;
dunno - since it became a rug on the livingroom floor - one of our cats took possesion of it - cant get the fecker off of it to try it!

 

[Wookie]

+1 Sheepskin.

Just added them for our trip to scotland and back and it made a huge difference. The missus added some elastic straps which go under the seat and keep it in place. Cheap and easy to replace in any country!!

Wookie

 

[MickDB1]

I have not used an Airhawk
But
I have had two sheepys
The one I have now fits all me bikes, I made two loops to go under and around the seat top of the loop is covered with hook velcro
the sheepy has two strips of fluffy velcro sewn on underside
The sheepy comes off to be used as a pillow when camping, or if it gets wet I take it off and shake it dry and replace
Its great in hot cold wet conditions - and cheap got mine for nowt 2 quid for the velcro

its been on 1150 my airhead and my XT600
fits quite well on all of um I recon they look cool some folk dont
My missis says its comfy - I know it is
HTHY

 

[thauma]

SWMBO has a bad back which affects her legs, hips, and the nerves in her tailbone / bum (coxyx or however you spell it), which means that she can't spend too long in the saddle.

A sheepskin with some elastic & velcro to hold it in place made a big difference to the adventure seat (offcut cost about £10 from a country fair).

Borrowed an air-hawk - and that also made a difference - but you have to play around to get just the right amount of air in it (not too much and not too little).

Also tried the two together and that was even better, allowed 350-400 mile days in the saddle. Still needs to stretch her legs, visit loo etc, but far less discomfort than without either. Makes her comfortable, and so improves my riding day.

Now the airhawk can be expensive, so we nipped down to our local camping store (millets, blacks etc) and purchased an inflatable travel cushion (for planes, cars etc) for about £10. This does the same job as the airhawk for a fraction of the price, and the sheepskin keeps it in place.

I've used this arrangement for the past 4 years and it is a fantastic solution.

But the best you can do is to try the options and see what suits your comfort, aesthetics and budget.

Cheers

Dave#...

 

[everywherevirtually]

I have the basic non neoprene airhawk and I swear by it. I rode the back roads from Vidin in Bulgaria to Linz in Austria in one hit. 22 hours and 800 miles. After that stint my derriere was just peachy. Other bits of me starting failing so I reckon that's a big thumbs up for the Airhawk. I've tried the sheepskin but it gets wet and having a hairy sheep on the F800GS kind of makes it look a bit weird. On a Harley maybe but not the 800.

 

[franco]

.

+1 for sheepskin. Used this Alaska buttpad for a day ride back from the Picos to Nice, some 1500kms in 14 hours. The fact I was able to sit down when I got home speaks wonders for them. Keeps you cool in hot weather, and warm in the cold

Recommended..../Rob

 

[Trippy]

I just got a bargain, I went over to a tannery about 20 miles away.
Christ the place looks like something out of Victorian times and when I was chatting to the old guy (nearly all the staff are over 60) he showed me machines that they still use everyday that are 120 years old.

They have over 50 different skins and apparently when buying one for a bike you want North American and the back skin should be coloured light blue, as the white back skin isn't so good when it gets wet.

He found a full black N. American skin with a slight mark on the edge and sold it to me for £10

 

[SamD]

Just bought one of these pretty cheap so not sure how good it will be, but has to be worth a try. At the moment, 2 hours is about my limit without a break. I will report back once it arrives and I get a few decent journeys done with it.

 

[Trippy]

Fitted double thickness for £10, will have to see what its like going to Lands End on thursday.

 

[D6]

sheepskin,
500 mile days in cold/heat wet/dry,
tryed with an without,
the sheepskin made a difference, held on wi a bungy ,
airhawk? sat on one, felt wierd, seemed like seat was movin about

 

[twisticles]

On the 800, there is a tendancy to want to forwards sit with your nuts on the tank. I find if I slide my bum back just a little, it makes a world of difference to the length of time I can spend in the saddle, including all-day tours.

I dunno, these rufty tufty adventurin' GS riders with sheepskin cushions for their piles...doesn't it just get muddy and make it harder to clean at the end of a day adventurin'?!

 

[m0ng00se]

Just bought one of these pretty cheap so not sure how good it will be, but has to be worth a try. At the moment, 2 hours is about my limit without a break. I will report back once it arrives and I get a few decent journeys done with it.

I got exactly the same one (in black) and I was worried how do I make it stay on the bike. I tried it last night, by taking off the seat, folding the ends of the sheepskin underneath the seat and "click" the seat back in place and it feels pretty secure and a nice fit. Don't yet know if it will make any difference, but cheap and cheerful

 

[everywherevirtually]

On the 800, there is a tendancy to want to forwards sit with your nuts on the tank. I find if I slide my bum back just a little, it makes a world of difference to the length of time I can spend in the saddle, including all-day tours.

I dunno, these rufty tufty adventurin' GS riders with sheepskin cushions for their piles...doesn't it just get muddy and make it harder to clean at the end of a day adventurin'?!

My thoughts too... at least with an airhawk you don't get the "sheep wool matted with turd look"

 

[Ogmios]

i still have a load of elasticated webbing as used on chair/sofa repairs - approx 2" wide and as long as you like,
if anyone needs it for holding their sheepy to the saddle - just p.m. me.

yours for a little donation to a GS related charity.

 

[SamD]

I got exactly the same one (in black) and I was worried how do I make it stay on the bike. I tried it last night, by taking off the seat, folding the ends of the sheepskin underneath the seat and "click" the seat back in place and it feels pretty secure and a nice fit. Don't yet know if it will make any difference, but cheap and cheerful

Just done exactly the same thing, and it works a treat

I kinda figure if it either doesn't make much difference or ends up looking like sh1t I'll bin it and replace it with an airhawk, but for £10 it has to be worth a try first

 

[Aretsukusu]

I got exactly the same one (in black) and I was worried how do I make it stay on the bike. I tried it last night, by taking off the seat, folding the ends of the sheepskin underneath the seat and "click" the seat back in place and it feels pretty secure and a nice fit. Don't yet know if it will make any difference, but cheap and cheerful

I just got some 4mm bungy cord from the Chandlers, punched two holes either side of the sheepskin and threaded the bungy cord through in a loop, slid the cord under the seat and it holds the sheepskin on loverly!

 

[Mr. Pete]

800 GS seat "fix"?

Finally got to take my 800 GS out for a nice 275 mile ride last weekend. I thought I was going to die!! Prior to this all I had done was to bring my bike home, last fall, just prior to our first big snowfall in New York. It sat in my garage, getting all of its farkles done, so finally I was able to take it out for a ride. After about forty minutes of riding my "skin-over-bone" behind was killing me. I got home after riding through Vermont and then back to my home in New York. My butt was.....sore!! I had never ridden a bike with a worse seat.
Since I did not want to loose any leg length I decided to take it to a shop and have it fixed. The guys who do this sort of work told me that they recommended replacing the top inch or so of the original seat with memory foam. The stuff that is used by people in wheel chairs.
These people also rehabed my '08 KLR seat but that one they put in a gel pad. They recommended not doing it with this seat.
When I get it back, next week, and take it for a 100+ mile ride I will let you know how it works out. I
I told them that I slid forward and my "aging" reproduction organs were not doing well under these conditions. He said that with the memory foam I will "settle" in to the seat and that should take care of that situation.
I will let you know how this all works out in a week or so.

 

[santrix]

before you spend any hard earned, get a pair of cycling shorts, the type with padding and try that under whatever you wear, you will be suprised...