motorcycle aftermarket seats?
Posted by admin | Under Motorcycle Aftermarket Thursday Feb 25, 2010I’ve got an older sport/touring motorcycle that I love riding to work and for short trips to the mountains but for long trips the stock seat is a bit hard and unforgiving, ok it sucks. Anyone out there able to recommend a good aftermarket seat, or even if you have any tricks they can share with me for making those once a year long hauls more comfortable and less numbing on the goods? Yeah yeah buy a crusier…maybe next year!
I’ve got an older sport/touring motorcycle that I love riding to work and for short trips to the mountains but for long trips the stock seat is a bit hard and unforgiving, ok it sucks. Anyone out there able to recommend a good aftermarket seat, or even if you have any tricks they can share with me for making those once a year long hauls more comfortable and less numbing on the goods? Yeah yeah buy a crusier…maybe next year!
Thanks Mollie, Mike and Buster. All great ideas. Much appreciated.
Corbin is one of the big names in aftermarket seats. They make them to fit a variety of bikes, and make multiple models for some bikes. Their seats are firm, usually wider than stock, and well-shaped. In my experience, they usually offer a big improvement in comfort, but are not necessarily the last word. The most comfortable seat I have ridden is the modified Corbin on my DR650. The dished Corbin for my KLR650 is better than stock, but not the last word. I have Corbins on a number of BMW’s and they are all much better than stock.
Mayer and Russell saddles have a reputation as the most comfortable. They are quite a bit wider than stock and offer excellent support for the thighs,while spreading your weight over a wide area.
Sargent is another popular name. Their quality is quite good. I have not tried one, but many riders prefer them to Corbin, whose quality control and customer service sometimes suffers.
Some people like the gel seat pads like the one from Travelcade, but it seems that almost as many riders or more do not like them.
The Airhawk inflated seat pad gets good recommendations, as does the very inexpensive Stearns atv seat pad from Walmart.
I have had pretty good luck with sheepskin pads, and the wooden bead seat covers like the ones the Somali taxi drivers use. They keep air circulating under your butt and keep it off the seat pan if the stock seat is too soft. Wooden beads allowed me to stretch the stock seat on my KLR from 300 miles a day to 500, not as good as the Corbin I eventually installed, but still an improvement. I have been riding for years with sheepskin on any seat, stock or aftermarket.
I have also read about places that will rebuild your seat for a fraction of the $300+ you will have to pay for most aftermarket seats. Haven’t tried them or read enough about them to remember anything.
Mustang and Corbin make really nice after market seats but they are pricey. If you are not willing to invest that much maybe check on Ebay. If your model of bike is even somewhat popular there should be some options there.
References :
You might try a gel pad or a beaded seat cushion.
http://www.saddlemen.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=169&zenid=1a1d1d9afb118b1f5f395b72fe445613
http://www.beadrider.com/
References :
Corbin is one of the big names in aftermarket seats. They make them to fit a variety of bikes, and make multiple models for some bikes. Their seats are firm, usually wider than stock, and well-shaped. In my experience, they usually offer a big improvement in comfort, but are not necessarily the last word. The most comfortable seat I have ridden is the modified Corbin on my DR650. The dished Corbin for my KLR650 is better than stock, but not the last word. I have Corbins on a number of BMW’s and they are all much better than stock.
Mayer and Russell saddles have a reputation as the most comfortable. They are quite a bit wider than stock and offer excellent support for the thighs,while spreading your weight over a wide area.
Sargent is another popular name. Their quality is quite good. I have not tried one, but many riders prefer them to Corbin, whose quality control and customer service sometimes suffers.
Some people like the gel seat pads like the one from Travelcade, but it seems that almost as many riders or more do not like them.
The Airhawk inflated seat pad gets good recommendations, as does the very inexpensive Stearns atv seat pad from Walmart.
I have had pretty good luck with sheepskin pads, and the wooden bead seat covers like the ones the Somali taxi drivers use. They keep air circulating under your butt and keep it off the seat pan if the stock seat is too soft. Wooden beads allowed me to stretch the stock seat on my KLR from 300 miles a day to 500, not as good as the Corbin I eventually installed, but still an improvement. I have been riding for years with sheepskin on any seat, stock or aftermarket.
I have also read about places that will rebuild your seat for a fraction of the $300+ you will have to pay for most aftermarket seats. Haven’t tried them or read enough about them to remember anything.
References :