I need a new seat...! help...!!!

[nud1e]

Some lateral thinking

Well 400 miles today on the bike and my rear end is killing me...! The Melvin Hunter seat is not doing enough for me and the Sargent seat is still not available...feck...!!!!

I need something more comfy and don't know what to do...it seems the melvinised seat is more suited to lighter riders; reading though the posts on the board, so my 17 stone isn't going to help...any heavier riders using the corbin?

Some recommendations would be good...

Take a trip to your nearest bicycle shop and invest in some padded cycle shorts or underwear. Give you some extra support by spreading the load. Cheaper than a new seat and good for preventing "monkey butt" problems.
Recommended for the older rider.

 

[birdseye]

Hehehe... love it!!! might order one on this basis..

God bless America

Sounds like an intelligent perceptive and thoughtful person, doesnt he?

 

[Pukmeister]

Has anyone tried using 'memory foam' as a seat pad ?

I suffer from a back condition and now use a memory foam bed and pillow, the stuff slowly moulds to your body under pressure and provides support where needed. I doubt a sheet of it would be cheap, but it would still be cheaper than a new seat.

I did find on my recent tour of Ireland that the more miles I did, the less my lower back and backside troubled me, maybe it isn't so much a case of the seat breaking in as my body becoming 'bike fit'. I suspect a memory foam pad would have improved comfort over the stock seat.

 

[paddysgirl]

Airhawks

We used airhawk cushions last year to do the Motochallenge Round the World, my hubby rode 30,000 miles in three months and I joined him for 2 months of this and rode for 18,000 miles on the pillion. Some days we rode 700 miles with only petrol stops and the cushions were great, no sore b*ms at all. You can adjust the air to suit your weight. Highly recommend them.

 

[Emperor Norton]

As I wasn't happy with the stock seat, I had one custom made at Corbin's in Hollister, CA. After a break in of 1000 mls (that's what they recommend) long rides went much better. The driver's seat is much broader and more comfortable, you sit like on a chair. Unfortunately my wife didn't like the pillion seat. So we asked a local upholsterer to do something about the stock saddle. He upholstered it according to our requirements and fitted the material Porsche are using for their 911s. Wonderful!

The Corbin saddle is now up for sale ($600, leather). Anyone interested?

 

[GSmonkey]

I use the original seat + have no problems. Have done 600miles in a day with no ill effects. 1000x comfier than my last sportsbike. I think you're all just a bunch of big girls blouses......or you have a bad case of farmers!!!

 

[Schtum]

The Corbin saddle is now up for sale ($600, leather). Anyone interested?

Naughty, naughty...... Besides which, the Corbin is fine if you're long of leg. I went into the Hollister factory while on holiday in California last month to try out a Corbin seat as I have one on my VFR and find it very comfortable. However, the Corbin for the R1200GS is much too wide enough to get your feet down easily, especially if, like me, you use the low seat.

 

[Arthurwg]

I have a Corbin on my R12; true, it's very wide in the front, which makes it difficult to get your feet down. (I'm 6'1", 210 lbs.) Still, I've become used to that. It also makes it more difficult to stand up off road, so I would rule it out if you do a lot of dirt. But it is MUCH more comfortable on the road for me than the stock seat. I've also added a sheepskin pad on top, which makes it close to perfect. The only real pain in the arse was getting it to fit and work with the key release.

 

[ianboydsnr]

The answer, is not in a change of seat, its in a change of riding , every ten miles, squeeze the tank with your knees, and lift your butt off the seat a few inches, do this for about thirty seconds, this gives the seat and your but chance to recover, before it gets sore, alternate this with stretching your legs.


learned this from reading Iron butt rallies and it does work.

 

[IanC]

Nadeem, I've had real trouble with the stock seat on long runs. I did maanage a 600-mile run from Berlin to Calais in a day, but I was not comfortable towards the end!

Melvin Hunter did mine, but it didn't really improve it, although I have to say he did a nice job of covering it. I have also used an Airhawk. Both of these options seemed better to start with, but anything different tends to feel good to start with, just because it is different. I also tried a Corbin, which Battistinis let me try, but again it felt excellent to start with, but after a while was worse than standard.

Although I haven't tried a really long trip yet, my latest seat is by far the best yet - it is a standard base and re-modelled by Bum Wraps:
http://www.webvert.co.uk/bumwraps/
I travelled up (to Bognor Regis) for a "personal fitting", which I think must be essential. How can someone modify a seat to suit you without seeing you on the bike? They altered the rear edge of the standard base which has some nasty square corrugations, and built up and widened the front somewhat.

Although as I say I haven't given it a long test yet, the chap there did seem to know very much what he was talking about - I would highly recommend them. Oh, and they only charged £70 or £80! They also had the vinyl to match the pillion, which Melvin Hunter had done previously.

BTW I wouldn't bother with "gel pads" - Bum Wraps are of the same opinion.

 

[nadeem]

Thanks Ian - that sounds good - how long did they take to alter the seat - I take it you had to leave it with them and were they able to give you a seat to use in the meantime...?

 

[IanC]

It was about 10 days. Fortunately I obtained a slightly torn stock seat from my dealer for £20, which I had intended experimenting with myself.

I suppose you could agree what work was needed, and then post the seat to them when you got home?

Let me know what you think (if you use them).

 

[nadeem]

will do Ian - thanks again all...

 

[nadeem]

I had a long chat with a lady at Bumwraps today and I think she understands the problem that I'm having with the seat - just need to get a standard seat for them to work on now...will be in at Prestige tomorrow and hopefully pick up one they have kickin' around...

Will book in a date with them and pop over & see them...

 

[~Stef~]

Has anyone tried using 'memory foam' as a seat pad ?.

Does it keep the compressed shape or slowly return to its original form, only asking cuase I wonder of problems making a cover.

 

[~Stef~]

Take a trip to your nearest bicycle shop and invest in some padded cycle shorts or underwear. Give you some extra support by spreading the load. Cheaper than a new seat and good for preventing "monkey butt" problems.
Recommended for the older rider.

Isnt that incontinence pants

 

[IanC]

nadeem, with all due respect to the lady at Bumwraps (Mrs Craft), who you would have spoken to, the chap there (Mr Craft?) was the one who impressed me with his understanding of what needed doing - I didn't get to speak to him until I visited. If you're visiting, I wouldn't worry too much about whether she understood the problem or not.

 

[nadeem]

Ian

I will be visiting...

cheers

 

[~Stef~]

I travelled up (to Bognor Regis) for a "personal fitting", .

How can you travel "UP" to Bognor Regis ?

 

[SpyInTheCamp]

I haven't yet made my mind up about the seat. I have done 5k miles on it now.

On motorways and other 'boring' roads, the seat becomes very uncomfortable. There's no doubt about that. Especially when wearing textile trousers (HG Master) without their liner. Leathers are much better.

However, a few hundred miles on a variety of interesting and twisty A and B roads is no problem at all.

So I think that for any long trips, I'll look at the airhawk. Cheaper than a whole new seat which I don't appear to need. That said, I'll reserve judgement over the next 5k miles!

Kai