The Seat, the bottom, the rear end, the butt

I've been on many 4 or 5 day rides, and after the third day my butt is hard
to sit on. I stop more often, stand up going slow, what ever I can do to releave
the pain. I have an after market seat for the R1100RT I am taking but it
doesn't seem to help. I like the original seat over the custom the best,
but my butt will rebell after a few days anyways. :eek1

Question for those who go on longer road trips. How many days does it take
for your seat to finally break in and not be the only thing you think about?

I am taking a ride out to the west coast then up 101 into Canada. Plan on
taking 2 months to photograph the parks and views of the west. I won't do
any big days except to get the NV before i melt. I will be leaving first
week in June and be back to Denver sometime around the end of July.

On another subject if any crazys want to spend some time riding 101
with me let me know. I am looking to camp and take many pictures and
then write a travel report here for Adv. Just want to give back to the people
who have helped me through some long winters here in CO

Thanks

It takes time. You need to ride more than just a few long days a month to acclimate your ass to your bike. Try to get out at least a few days a week even if it's only for an hour or two.

Sounds like your 'custom' seat is too soft. I had a Bill Mayer Sr seat on my first RT that I swapped over to my 2nd RT and put a total of about 90k on. It didn't require any break in time but he's right, you need to spend some seat time to get ready for a marathon ride. I now use Bill's son Rick's seats on my FJR and my KLR. Not cheap but they will last forever.

PS, native of Colorado (Durango), I will pass through Denver on my way to Dawson for the D2D gathering in June.

If you are like any red blooded male and have spent way too much time googling at the women on the stage, you have spent a lot of time on a bar stool. That is the shape of what your bike seat should be designed to resemble, IMHO. It also needs to be close to that hard as well. You can always soften it by using a sheep skin or a bead seat cover. You need a seat that will support you and your ass..plain and simple. A soft seat will sooner or later disappear up your ass and create mucho pain!
I made my own seat from top grade carpet under pad and had it profesionally covered after I got the shape absolutely perfect! It took hours of very carefully carving with a disc grinder and sitting on it for a few hours to finally get it right. I can and have ridden across Canada twice on that seat now and I never have thought of my ass once the whole time. Before making this seat I would ride 40 minutes away from home and would have gladly paid you to ride my bike home for me it hurt that bad!
So, think bar stool shape and hard! It works. It must be able to support the outer edges of your cheeks, not allow them to fold over the edge of the seat.

Hope this helps.

How frequently do you ride?

I mean... if I ride very frequently, I can sit on a bed of nails and be comfortable.

On the other hand, if I've been sitting at home all winter, I'm uncomfortable after 30 minutes.

Practice... it usually works for comfort too.

That said, I have been on one bike where the seat padding seemed to be too old and the bike was uncomfortable, but this doesn't sound like the case for you unless your seat is old. If it's old, the padding inside may be useless.

Most stock seats are torture devices. The average rider only rides a little over 200 miles a year and they make seats for them. I've had some after market seats that weren't much better.

A true custom seat fits your ass. It should wrap around and spread the load out over the largest area. There is a balance between too hard and too soft, but a lot of that is personal preference. Many foams will collapse after a while because all the air is pushed out with your weight. The better foams hold their shape better. Gel was developed for impact. After a while it gets hard and doesn't really form to your ass.

The most comfortable I have found is the Russell. It uses springs with foam over them. The springs always provide the right amount of support. I find mine is as comfortable as my easy chair at home. I've ridden numerous 600+ mile days including 2 up with my wife.

I totally disagree.

I ride sportbikes. My friends ride sportbikes (or supermotos, some cruisters, some advbikes) We are sitting on half an inch of padding.

We often do 500 mile days. Sometimes we do 600 mile days.

It's pretty conclusive that the people who ride regularly feel fine on these long rides. At 600 miles we get sore, but it's often the lower back, the shoulders, the legs - it's not really seat specific. And the people who come out once a year are hurting. They are hurting no matter what they do. It has nothing to do with the seat.

You put in the riding time, you will get your comfort. There is zero need to buy custom seats. That is just marketing to gadget oriented people looking to buy extra stuff for their bike as far as I can tell.

A flat seat (like sergeant) plus an Airhawk cushion with only a bit of air in it. Most dealers will let you return it if you don't like it, but you will.

Ahhh......

I ride generally 20-30 thousand kms a year and would never concider riding it on a stock seat....no way at all! Some bikes have better stock seat than others, but generally for the adventure touring bikes the seats can be made much better IMHO. Some are like 2X4's and others almost perfectly crafted works of art and both can inflict serious discomfort for thier owner. The amount of time it takes to get your ass in shape so to speak is enough to put you off riding all together sometimes imho. Why go through this discomfort if you don't have to?

Just a question and observation.....when there is a product out there designed to relieve this problem?

When I ride over 200 miles at a time, I use an Airhawk. For under $200 you solve your problem. They work great. Last year was on a 6000 mi trip and never got sore.

All motorcycle seats will leave you numb after around 100 miles. I tried gell pad and no good just a waste of money like $150. In the middle of Missouri at a gas stop met a group of older riders on BMW's and they had the solution. On my trip to Colorado from Florida I did 500 miles plus a day . Get a AIR_HAWK cushion. I have two -the large square and the smaller one. Not cheap but they both work. Here is why- they were designed for people in wheelchairs who are famous for getting severe and even bleeding sores on their butts from sitting. Feel the bottom of your butt and two bones are what you are resting on and need to be air cushioned. While riding squirm about front back and to the side and the air in the bladder goes from one chamber to another. Experiment with the air since there is a valve to adjust the amount if you are heavy light and etc. These WC's people all use air-hawks. You can find them on ebay and just google for them.

Sounds like the no concensus on tail comfort.
I put the Seat Concept seat on the thumper. Did okay- but I did fine with a high foam stocker for 130 miles at a time.
Only real advantage I see is a little wider, more firm, and better for mounting the 1-man tent across the back.

Padded bicycle shorts work for me, high quality ones with dense foam padding. I also move around quite a bit on long rides - shift the weight from one side to the other, or putting my feet on the rear pegs and kinda laying on the tank/tankbag. Might not be an option on the RT - am on a Duc Monster and do 500 a day max on twisties. Daily exercise starting 2 weeks before leaving helps a lot too - either in a gym or at home (situps, pushups and the weird looking stuff women do to fight gravity and get a firm butt...).

I have always preferred a fairly firm seat. Currently I have a Russell Day Long on my 01 GS. Multiple full days in the saddle and all fine. I do put a sheepskin on top for a little comfort. I get mine cheap from IKEA but any sheepskin will do. Also, be sure you have underwear without seams on the ass.

Moreover than the seat, it is imperative that your pegs are set up so you are not cramped. I am 6'4" and the GS was a little tight for me until I lowered the pegs about an inch. It increased the hip angle just enough that 700 mile days really are not bad. Once the bike is set up to fit you, all will be good.

I'll second the no-seam undies....after a few days in the saddle you will be in serious trouble if you use seams! Yep, ask me how I know.....augh!!!!:huh

Not only no seam underwear, but what pants you wear makes a difference because they can develope folds. I wear mesh motorcycle pants and under them I wear long johns in the cold weather and thin pants with zip off legs in warm weather. Loose fit jeans will get creases or folds that are worst the underwear seams.

Maybe it's not the seat (although most stock seats suck).
Remember that old TV ad for "BUNS OF STEEL", you either
need a tight ass, or a stiff seat.
Beads, and Gold Bond also help alot.

Funny, I haven't seen anyone mention cotton underwear and their evils. They hold on to any moisture (read sweat) they stick and, on me anyway, chafe away. I have some Dri-Wear (Underarmour like) shorts that I find work wonders. I also have an Air Hawk pad on the stock BMW seat (redone 1970-something design) and it works great. But it doesn't matter in the least if my arse is a chaffed screaming mess.

I've heard women say a thong works well. Have any of you guys tried it?

They do have seams, but I've had good luck with Exoficio boxer briefs. Many a 600+ miler with no problems.

Sent from somewhere.