wordsmith Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 LUIMOTO GOLD GEL SEAT INSERT INSTALLATION Great excitement in the old homestead today as the Gold Gel seat insert arrived all the way from Vancouver, Canada, by DHL, in only six days! I guess I paid plenty for the express service, but it’s worth it as I only have a few days in which to install the gel. I’ve started the process with a couple of very close looks at the installation video on Luimoto’s website. This excellent ten-minute video is crystal-clear and about the best of its kind I’ve ever seen – simple but detailed, very clearly illustrated in words and pix, and should make the task relatively straightforward. Note the words should, relatively, straightforward! And even the accompanying jaunty music seemed in keeping – I expected a stripper to appear at any moment! Inside the DHL pack the Gold Gel was very tastefully packaged in a tasty black and gold carton, which looked as if it would be more at home at Louis Vuitton than Luimoto! I’m going to start right away…. and will detail the process here in due course. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicanuck Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 All the best and take it nice and slow and I really hope it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted August 1, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted August 1, 2017 Are you adding the gel to the standard Seat Concepts foam or the stock OEM foam? ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duhs10 Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Are you adding the gel to the standard Seat Concepts foam or the stock OEM foam? ...or the SC touring foam? '15 FJ-09 w/ lots of extras... Fayetteville, GA, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Part two - LUIMOTO GOLD GEL SEAT INSERT INSTALLATION Well, some 3½ hours after I started the job I have reached the stage of glueing-down the foam-and-felt ‘smoother’ layer over the now-fitted Gold Gel, and will leave it until tomorrow before fitting the OE seat cover. To answer a question here, I decided to put the Gold Gel insert into the OE seat foam and not the Seat Concepts Touring seat. Two reasons for that – I am still trying to get satisfaction from either or both of the vendor here in Oz and/ or Seat Concepts themselves, and have made an offer to swap the Touring kit for SC’s ‘standard’ replacement seat kit. I must say that the silence from both is not only discourteous but not reflecting well on either business. Secondly, the SC Touring seat is a little too tall for me, so the lower OE seat height is much preferred. Luimoto stresses that their Gold Gel insert does not increase seat height. Back to the job, and one minor criticism. Although the installation video is excellent, it would have been very useful if Luimoto had put paper instructions as well in with the kit. They say somewhere that they don’t do so because of ‘environmental considerations’, but that seems a bit mealy-mouthed when considering the extravagant packaging of the product in its upmarket box. It became very tedious as well as time-consuming have to dart back inside – where the computer is – to view the ‘next steps’ instalment each time. Possibly the trickiest part was finding where my ‘sitting bones’ are, as if they are not sited correctly over the Gold Gel insert it simply won’t work. The video says to ‘locate your sitting bones with your fingers': well, after prodding and feeling around that area ‘down there’ I have to say that I’m very glad to be heterosexual! Still, overall it went fairly well I thought. I took my time and followed the instructions faithfully, for this must be right if my next trip is not to be both uncomfortable and disappointing. I won’t burden readers here with too many pix as the video is the best illustrator of the process, but it must be said that cutting out all the tiny cubes of foam to produce the ‘ditch’ (as Luimoto calls it) into which to drop the Gold Gel is a very tedious process! Anyone who is adept at boning-out a carcass, or filleting fish, or – if a Kiwi – shearing sheep will find it easy, but… I had to cut out 129 1cm cubes of foam (yes! - I counted ‘em: “gedda life” did someone say?), and it is best done very carefully and precisely so that you don’t have to go all over the ‘ditch’ a second time to get the depth just right. But again, the video shows how it’s best done, and I followed those steps. The OE foam is so thin in parts that I almost went through it at a couple of spots, although not where it counts, but that won’t matter once it’s on the seat pan. The Gold Gel itself is extremely sticky, like toffee or well-chewed gum, and dropping it into the ‘ditch’ needs to be done carefully as it does not take well to being pulled around. This job is messy! Getting the underlying foam in the ‘ditch’ to a correct level creates a large amount of foam ‘crumb’, and it’s best not done in your lounge room or wife’s boudoir – I did it outdoors. I’d be happy to give pointers and tips via PM here if anyone needs some guidance. It’s not a difficult job but does require considerable care and patience, IMHO. Pix: Gold Gel on seat, marking-out: outline of ‘ditch’ to be excavated: cubes of foam to be cut out and removed: 129 cubes: Gold Gel finally laid-in. The 'smoothing layer' - self-explanatory - goes on top of this, under the OE seat cover. Stay tuned for more later. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angrygirafe Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Hope it works out for you. End of the month I have a 5 day, 1500-2000 mile trip back home, and after the ride out here on the stock seat, I'm watching all these seating threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicanuck Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 If you have a air compressor I highly recommend the arrow t50 stapler at around $40 USA. Also use Stanless steel staples, cost a little more but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 If you have a air compressor I highly recommend the arrow t50 stapler at around $40 USA. Also use Stanless steel staples, cost a little more but worth it.Thanks, kiwi. I don't have an air-compressor. I hired for $22 a very precise-looking electric upholstery stapler - the brand and origin being Maestri, Milano, Italy. Did an excellent job and was light to handle. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 Hope it works out for you. End of the month I have a 5 day, 1500-2000 mile trip back home, and after the ride out here on the stock seat, I'm watching all these seating threads. Tomorrow (Friday Aug 3) I'll be posting a report on my intended ~200km non-stop circuit designed to test the new Gold Gel insert. Stay tuned! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 OE seat covers re-fitted today after yesterday's installation of the LUIMOTO Gold Gel seat insert. I'm happy with the finished job, but proof of pudding and all that - tomorrow will see a ~200km (120mi) non-stop circuit to get the feel of everything. Stay tuned for a report! Later edit - I very carefully and accurately measured seat heights, and the OE height is now (only) 1cm, about 3/8", lower than the SC item, but I do expect to be able to flat-foot when out. Pic below is OE seat foam and covers back on the bike, invisible LUIMOTO Gold Gel insert under rider seat cover. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted August 2, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted August 2, 2017 Good luck to you, I hope you find something that satisfies your sitting bones. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 In warm but cloudy weather I took a decent 202km/ 120mi ride today, deliberately non-stop from home and back. Time on-seat was 2hrs 49mins (2’49”) as registered on the bike’s TIME display. Therefore – a good workout prior to my intended ~5000km/ 13 day tour next week, where 500+km days will be the norm over some very indifferent outback roads. Reason: to check the effectiveness or otherwise of the newly-fitted LUIMOTO Gold Gel seat insert (fitted into the OE seat foam), since the Seat Concepts Touring seat was a let-down for me, despite high hopes. VERDICT: Sad to say, disappointing. When I rolled out of the garage the Gold Gel seat felt firm but somewhat yielding, rather like the desired qualities in a new girl-friend. But before long the old familiar pressure points became evident and eventually uncomfortable. After an hour’s riding the discomfort was quite pronounced, much like the OE seat. At the two hour mark, the discomfort became actual pain – not screaming out loud pain, but unpleasant enough to require a lot of squirming around on the seat to try and find a non-existent sweet spot. At that point I was desperate to get home and get off. In other words, both the SC Touring seat and this GOLD GEL insert seat about doubled the acute discomfort time threshold of the OE seat, but not much more. Thinking about it at great length I am convinced that the real problem lies with me and my bony butt, but having said that I found excellent comfort on the BAGSTER unit that I had on my last Tracer, and on many past BMW seats that unfortunately are attached to very expensive machines. I also wondered why the undersides of motorcycle seat pans are not made with some kind of tough yet moderately flexible ‘net’ securely attached to the sides of the ‘frame’, rather than the base of a seat being hard unyielding plastic. An idea maybe for someone to take up. Anyway, as a result I have cancelled my planned ~5000km/ 13-day trip north that was due to start in a few days time. I simply couldn’t face several long consecutive days on this seat. I’m not sure where I go from here. This Gel insert seat will suffice for shorter outings, as would have the OE seat and the SC Touring kit, but longer trips are out of the question. I can certainly afford another BAGSTER seat (just!) but I don’t want to afford it, if you know what I mean! The best affordable option that I have previously tried was Seat Concept’s ‘standard’ replacement seat kit (foam + covers) that was a good, albeit not perfect, advance over the OE seat, and I think with recent experience was better suited to me than their Touring seat. I do like their 'gripper' seat upper surface too. It’s all a bit like helmets and screens, isn’t it – what suits one perfectly is horrible for another, but eventually we run out of money! Aaarrrgggghhhhhh! Back to the drawing board. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madeuce216 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 You may find some ideas here http://diymotorcycleseat.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted August 3, 2017 Supporting Member Share Posted August 3, 2017 Wow, thats really unfortunate to hear. So uncomfortable that you had to completely cancel your trip? If the only thing that worked for you was the Bagster seat, then I think you have your answer. For me, the Seat Concepts Sport Touring foam is an improvement, but it still isn't all day comfortable, I still squirm and re-position, stand on the pegs and take breaks to walk around to help alleviate the eventual discomfort. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 I find that no seat is perfect on the 1st go around... after having my new seat concepts seat for over a week, its comfort is improving each ride it seems... I am a skinny athletic 155# guy, I can understand the OEM seat putting the pressure right around the "sitting bones"... too soft of a seat feel for me, the material just wants to ram its material up the rear end... maybe lower the foot pegs to drop your overall thigh height to put more meat back around the sitting bones? 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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