Custom seats and pads

Thanks to SCKill, I now have a Sargent seat on the bike. I did the Hampster trail the other weekend, which was two days of 8 hours in the saddle. There were a few breaks here and there, but it was a good 3-4 hours between breaks. At the end of two days, I had (and still have) a numb spot on the backs of my thighs and backside. It seems to be slowly fading but I'd rather not repeat.

The Sargent seat is definitely more comfortable than the stock seat, which leaves me with pain after just 3-4 hours total, rather than the two 8-hour days of the Sargent. But, I'm wondering if adding a pad would help even more.

So, what is the thinking on seat pads? I'm not that concerned with heat retention, so gel is not excluded. So, a gel pad, an air-based pad, sheepskin? What seems to work best?

The Mountain said:

So, what is the thinking on seat pads? I'm not that concerned with heat retention, so gel is not excluded. So, a gel pad, an air-based pad, sheepskin? What seems to work best?

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I can highly recommend a Skwoosh gel pad.
The pad fits perfectly, performs excellently regarding comfort and it is very well made:

Here is the link to the one I bought/use:

I'm a fan of gel. The ST1300's stock seat was horrible after a couple of hours on it. Huntington Beach Honda, who supplied the bike, re-did the seat using gel. Couldn't tell there was a difference, until after time in the saddle, and your butt wasn't numb. I never rode 3-4 hours at one time, but I did spend 10-12 hours a day on it. I never noticed any heat retention, but this is Texas. . . . everything gets hot, and stays hot. Our summertime lows stay in the 80s.

"My" only concern with a pad, would be slippage. But, if MFP has one. . . . he should be able to answer that.

I've had an Airhawk for about ten years and would immediately replace it if I ever lost it. It is very comfortable and ...'airy'.

I have an Airhawk. I only take it on trips where I will be riding longer than two hours. It's "ok". I spent a lot of $$$ on my previous bike (ya you guessed its an HD) and vowed I wouldn't go down that road with this bike. The Airhawk was an inexpensive attempt. It is a cheap solution to stock or a new seat.

Sierra1 said:

"My" only concern with a pad, would be slippage. But, if MFP has one. . . . he should be able to answer that.

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The gel pad does not slip at all when I am sitting on it. In addition to the attachment strap the bottom of the gel pad has a non-slip
surface that works well with the “pebbley”, coarse texture of the OEM Yammy seat.

I have used an Airhawk topped off with an Alaskan Sheepskin on a variety of bikes from a BMW R1150GS, Honda ST1300, Kawasaki Versys 1000 and a couple of others over the past 16 years for extended tour time in the saddle. I put a Sargent seat on my R1150GS which was good and a Corbin on my ST1300 but I still needed the Airhawk and Alaskan Sheepskin. One thing which I have found is it depended on what riding kit I wear. My Aerostitch Roadcrafter and my Heine Garrick leather trousers give me longer in the saddle than my Danese or my Halvarsson textile trousers. I think it depends on br but I also wear boxer shorts but you need to make sure they have flat seams and check where the seams are.

may also want to look into bicycle riding shorts with the pads
Amazon Link

I wear them under my riding pants and have had great success for several long rides/trips....I also had a Corbin seat, but the combo was great

specifically these which are also great when you stop to just wear around after to peel off the layers

Shorts

I'm spoiled for options. I have 3 seats and an Airhawk topper.

My Sargent seat is my go-to local riding seat. I get a hot spot after about 90 mins straight, but can do several hours with breaks every hour if I have to.

For long trips I have an RDL that is awesome. 8 hour days are easy. If it's over 90 degrees, my Airhawk comes out no matter what seat I am running because it allows for airflow and keeps me from developing sweaty monkey butt.

If I only had my Sargent seat, I would throw an Airhawk on it and call it good.

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I’ve got an Airhawk that I have been using for longer trips but I’m not sure how much more comfortable it is. It seems to tip me forward towards the tank a bit which I’m not keen on. So I’ll probably get the OEM seat reworked by a local guy who did the seat on my Zx14r


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Have you tried leveling your seat to see if that helps with the feeling of being tipped forward towards your tank? That's a cheap easy solution to try before taking it to an upholsterer.

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Seat leveling in combination with an Airhawk and I can pound out 1k km day rides back to back without too much discomfort. However, the single most important thing for long days in the saddle, is the ability to stand while riding for extended periods of time. I find the Super Tenere fits me perfectly in every way and I would only trade it for a newer one.

i have been happy with the seat concepts i bought from a guy. much firmer then stock and that was an immediate improvement. had to raise bars though as i was an inch higher and i caused a pain between my shoulder blades. I did pick up a used airhawk and used it for my bun burner 1500 this summer with temps 90-100 degrees. it id a good way to get some air under your butt, and i recommend it for hot days.

i stand up every 30 mins or so for a minute or so and that helps too. actually amazing how 20-30 secs on the pegs helps the butt.

Pdrhound said:

i stand up every 30 mins or so for a minute or so and that helps too. actually amazing how 20-30 secs on the pegs helps the butt.

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True enough.

The Corbin seat is my preferred seat
I had Sargent and it did not work, actually the Corbin does not move at all like the Sargent did and the quality is really nice

For short rides or off road, I prefer the stock seat. For long rides the Corbin is ok, the smooth leather is slick. I put a sheepskin on top and now it’s perfect for me.

Just use a cool cover. Not only looks cool, but stays cool on hot days and dry in the rain.
I have no interest or benefit. Just sharing my positive experience..