Anyone use a seat cushion?

[PTF]

Had an NTV650 sat in the corner of the garage for a while. Not ridden it much beyond taking it for an MOT. I fancied riding it to work today but found it slightly uncomfortable over the 80 miles to the office. The seat is a bit squishy and a bit low, and i got a bit of numb butt after an hour or so.

So thinking about a seat pad/cushion to a) raise the seat height slightly, and b) to cure the numb butt.

Any experience of these?

[SAS Tom]

We sell plenty of them but I still think they are stupid and look awful.

One of the first things I do to a bike is get the seat redone with new foam and cover, makes a massive difference and doesn’t cost that much.

[Jazoli]

I bought a super duper airhawk thing, it was st, and I felt like a knob using it, so I sold it, rather than just getting the seat done I just get another bike, I'll find a comfy one one day.......

The only thing that will work is a sheepskin, but they look a bit st too.

[Felters]

+1 for a sheepskin cover. But can you deal with the social exclusion?

Had an Airhawk but couldn't feel what the bike was doing beneath me.

[black-k1]

I've used an Airhawk and found it to be superb if used correctly. It does look naff but for me, form has always trumped fashion.

I don't use it at the moment as my bike seat is 12+ hour / 650+ mile comfortable.

[bogie]

For not too much money you could have the seat recovered and a gel insert and/or higher foam.

On one bike I have the factory gel extra comfy seat and on the other a full custom seat with gel. I have hip replacements and a comfy seat really helps me last all day on the bike touring...

[RizzoTheRat]

I tried an airhawk and couldn't get on with it, I think as suggested above they do need to be set up just right.

However in the OP's case, the answer is probably do more miles. I find if I've not ridden in ages I get a numb bum after an hour or so, but if I'm riding regularly I do a fortnight of 6-8 hours a day on the bike with no problem beyond Betty Swollocks.

[PTF]

RizzoTheRat said:

I tried an airhawk and couldn't get on with it, I think as suggested above they do need to be set up just right.

However in the OP's case, the answer is probably do more miles. I find if I've not ridden in ages I get a numb bum after an hour or so, but if I'm riding regularly I do a fortnight of 6-8 hours a day on the bike with no problem beyond Betty Swollocks.

Maybe. It's a bike i've not ridden much, this was the first long ride on it. I'm used to more of a Blackbird/VFR riding position. The NTV is more upright and the emphasis is more towards my coccyx (base of spine). It's that area that's getting numb.

I was assuming that a cushion/pad would be cheaper than having the seat retrimmed with a different filling. It seems not!

Thanks for the input chaps

The ride today was a tester to see if it's comfy and good on fuel. If so i may use it a commuting hack and retire the VFR. If not (the jury is already out on comfort!) then it'll be for sale.

[anonymous-user]

Ride it more and you'll get used to it.

Every bike is uncomfortable if you've not ridden it for ages. But people forget this until they've not ridden for ages.

[evil len]

Interesting. Glad I saw this thread. Was just about to push the button on a "Wild Ass" from sportsbikeshop, but I'm not so sure now ...

[rapide]

I wear padded cycling shorts under my leathers / textiles when touring. Works a treat.

[Mr_Tickle]

I bought a Shad gel seat for my Z1000 and it's great, did almost 3,000 km on it the other week no probs. Looks better than a cushion too.

[A993LAD]

My wife bought an Airhawk for her GSXS1000 before we went on our recent 10 day tour of France, Switzerland and Italy and she thought it made a huge difference.

We were going to get the original seat rebuilt with memory foam but opted instead to try the Airhawk following the recommendation from somebody who does guided motorbike tours (London to China that sort of thing). He has to ride lots of different bikes for tens of thousands of miles and said he never goes anywhere without his Airhawk and just fits it onto whatever bike he is riding.

It has an easy to access valve so you can adjust the amount of air in the seat so it's a bit of trial and error for the first few miles and I can see how people would easily have too much air in it which could make the seating position feel a bit remote from the bike.

Adding the airhawk meant my wife was able to ride her bike for four or five hours without any problems. Whereas previously 1 to 2 hours would have given her a numb bum.

They are not hugely expensive and very easy to fit, so probably worth trying one. And provided you keep the original packaging. You could probably sell it very easily on eBay. If it doesn't work for you