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New Seat !


Bob K

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1 hour ago, Clem Fandango said:

After putting on a Cool Cover I have no arguments with the stock seat.

Please elaborate.  I've never heard of this.

 

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Another alternative I found worked well, for me anyway, was a bead seat cushion. They are available for motorcycles, but I bought a (cheaper) car unit, cut it apart, then restrung the beads on HEAVY nylon filament. That way I could tailor it to fit my saddle (V-Strom with a Corbin) but leave the front/sides bare so my little bitty legs could still touch down easily. Used this a lot during the summer months and the sub-gluteal airflow made an appreciable difference in comfort levels. When the temps dropped, it came off in 2 minutes. YMMV.

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57 minutes ago, PeterL said:

Another alternative I found worked well, for me anyway, was a bead seat cushion. They are available for motorcycles, but I bought a (cheaper) car unit, cut it apart, then restrung the beads on HEAVY nylon filament. That way I could tailor it to fit my saddle (V-Strom with a Corbin) but leave the front/sides bare so my little bitty legs could still touch down easily. Used this a lot during the summer months and the sub-gluteal airflow made an appreciable difference in comfort levels. When the temps dropped, it came off in 2 minutes. YMMV.

Several years ago I used a bead seat and was shocked at how much air flow you feel, especially with textile mesh riding pants. 

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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8 hours ago, Clem Fandango said:

After putting on a Cool Cover I have no arguments with the stock seat.

Their website shows that they have a cover for the Tracer but they don't mention the GT....and the seats appear different.  Otherwise I'd give one a try.

 

 

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2 hours ago, betoney said:

Several years ago I used a bead seat and was shocked at how much air flow you feel, especially with textile mesh riding pants. 

As an aside, several years ago 3 of us were tearing through some twisties in AR. I was behind a buddy who had a bead rider on his seat. All of a sudden the string lacing the beads together broke and for about 30 min. he slowly lost about half his beads in front of me. I found it comical, he didn't realize what was happening until his seating position changed. Beads bouncing bouncing bouncing! Funny.

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Honestly I'm ok with the seat on daily or weekend trips as long as we stop every few hours to give my but a break.  I would like to have a solution for longer trips when the timing will allow.

Has anyone tried an Airhawk, gel or sheepskin pad on top of the stock seat?

ty

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2 hours ago, joe72t said:

Honestly I'm ok with the seat on daily or weekend trips as long as we stop every few hours to give my but a break.  I would like to have a solution for longer trips when the timing will allow.

Has anyone tried an Airhawk, gel or sheepskin pad on top of the stock seat?

ty

I would advise against gel.  You want one of (or both) things out of seat improvement: air flow and/or firmness.  The reason you want firmness is you want to sit on your sit bones.  If the seat is squishy, then the soft tissue around your sit bones is compressed and that's where soreness comes from.  If the seat is firm (shop for seats with your butt, not your thumb), then you sit on your sit bones and blood flow is not impeded.  Air flow keeps the skin happy.  Airhawk, beaded seats, sheepskin all help improve air flow while aftermarket seats like the Sargent and Corbin allow you to sit on your sit bones.

To answer your actual question... I haven't tried them on the stock seat, but for me personally... the issue is equally seat shape and seat material.  I can't sit on my sit bones and the squishy part of the seat suffocates my butt, but also the cut of the seat creates two ridges that hit on the wrong sides of my sit bones.  So, while I have not tried them, I don't think they'd solve enough of the problem.  

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There is a happy medium in there somewhere.

Too soft is the worst I think, as 'butt burn' can set in way before you reach the end of the block in the most extreme cases.

SHAPE is probably next. Everyones 'sit bones' are slightly different. Many love it, but for me the Yamaha 'Comfort Seat' isn't. Full stop. 

Firmness is also somewhat subjective. But I think what some interpret as 'too hard' may have a lot to do with a poor match between their physiology and the shape of their saddle.

Best experience I've ever had was the Corbin, which definitely runs toward 'firm', which we had made for my V-Strom via a ride-in appointment at their Hollister factory. A process my wife and I will be repeating next week for my 2019 GT. They will have you sit on the bare, not-yet-covered saddle and add, remove or shape the foam until you have the best possible fit for your individual requirements and comfort, then sew and install the covering materials you select while you wait. Takes several hours overall, but it more than makes up for it over the many years it will serve and the many saddlesores it can prevent.

If you have the option to do a personal visit to the seat maker of your choice for customisation, I recommend it heartily.

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