How to improve seat comfort for long days in the saddle?

I don't want to go out and spend $400 on a Corbin seat. What are your tips for making the seat more comfortable to avoid monkey butt for rider and passenger? I am looking for low cost or DIY solutions.

The seat on my Bandit is good for about 2.5 hours and after that things start to get sore.

Monkey butt (by my definition, anyway) is specifically related to a lack of ventilation, which leads to a buildup of heat and irritation. A sheepskin helped a bit, but a beaded seat cover was a lot better for me. Either will work much better when combined with overpants that have mesh in the butt, rather than solid textile or leather which totally block airflow. For the same reason, I didn't find much improvement with bicycle shorts - the foam pad blocked any airflow and tended to hold the heat in.

If your main complaint is pain and soreness on your sit bones, distributing your weight onto a larger area of the seat will help. In other words, make the seat more butt-shaped, so that more of your butt's surface area is in contact with the seat and your weight is divided more evenly over a larger area.

You can do this to some extent with inflatable pads like the Airhawk, which will conform to the shape of your butt. They do directly increase your seat height, and the wobbly sensation of sitting on a balloon takes some getting used to.

If you are willing to pull the cover off your seat, you can reshape the foam for free. Your results will depend on how drastically you want to reshape the seat. Shave down some foam under your sit bones to reduce the pressure on those points, or add foam to build up the areas away from the sit bones, or both. In either case, try to make the seat more butt-shaped, so that no one area of the seat compresses more than another when you sit on it.

I built up a spare stock seat using spray adhesive and layers of carpet underlayment pad ($30 for a huge roll at Home Depot). I went a bit overboard, but it is super comfortable now after maybe $100 in foam, adhesive and vinyl. I used to get sore after about 45 min on the stock seat and I've done multiple 8 hour days on the built up seat without pain. I'm very happy with that.

Do a google image search on "Russell Day-Long" to get ideas on the shape. The wings along the sides can easily double the surface area that is supporting your weight, which halves the weight that each square inch of your rear end is subjected to.

Look for options other than corbin. There are good cheaper alternatives out there. :dontknow:

tip: squeeze your butt cheek and upper thigh muscles every once in a while to improve circulation.

Airhawk seat pad or seat bead will do the trick.

install a gel seat insert, have it installed, or purchase a gel seat overlay.

https://www.propoly.ca/applications/motorcycles

I can understand not wanting to spend that much for a Corbin, but I was very happy with mine. I got it some time ago, before all the Corbin customer service horror stories started surfacing though

Beadrider is least expensive...feels like it should not work. It does.

But does not do what a Daylong or Sargent or Terry Adcox seat will do ( can't speak to Corbin as have not tried it )

Beadrider available for main and passenger seat.
https://www.beadrider.com/beadrider-sizing-chart/

I did not find the Airhawk very effective or cost effective.

Careful with gels....can give you a bad burn, the suck up heat in the sun big time.

This is the shape of a good seat....like a tractor seat - this is Adcox I use on the Vstrom



this is Daylong I have on the Burgman

That backrest is fabulous

IF you are touring...spend the money ...there are used ones out there.

As mentioned above most cheap changes are bandaids. I have tried the beadrider, sheepskin, airhawk, cheap Can Tire gel car seat and then finally I ponied up for a used Corbin. Here's what I found so far:

Can Tire gel seat: Pros- Cheap. Cons- Crap

Airhawk: Pros - works, easy to add to any seat. Cons- feels weird, got to inflate it to the"sweet spot". Too little does nothing, too much feels like you're on a space hopper. Also increases seat height (which actually can be a pro if you need more leg room). ****ing expensive!

Sheepskin: Pros - works well. Keeps *** cool. Relatively cheap (buy a wheelchair pad from Shoppers..the one that sells the disability products) Cons- looks dorky, doesn't seem to work well for really long rides, doesn't work that well if your seat is already as hard as a brick.

Beadrider: Pros- works really well. Keeps *** cool. Longer rides still effective. Cons: you look like a third world cab driver. Can be slippy at the start too. This year my *** started complaining a bit with the beadrider...but also this year I am doing way more squats etc at the gym. Conversely my *** padding isn't what it was and the beadrider isn't as effective as it was. Still good though.

Corbin (and similar): Pros- get the fit right and these are magic. Cons- get the fit wrong and you'll maybe be a little better off than you were before, or worst case scenario worse off. Expensive (keep your eyes out for used-they hold their value well though!!). Sometimes they look like crap, a Russell Day long is arguably one of the comfiest seats around but they sure ain't pretty. Some of these seats are full leather (my Corbin is) which may mean extra expense with a rain cover (a King of Fleece cover is about $100 but is a good investment, mine stays on permanently but also stops me sliding on the leather).

In summary I found the airhawk and the beadrider to be pretty good solutions. The beadrider doesn't give you the same amount of disconnect with the bike that the airhawk does so maybe try that first. The beadrider is cheaper too. If you want to try the airhawk there's a firm in the UK that makes an identical product (well, slightly different enough to avoid a patent issue) that is marginally cheaper. Will see if I have the info but some Googlefu will find it. The Airhawk is good...I like mine enough to keep it even with my Corbin just in case...but like I say, it leaves you with a little disconnected feeling from the bike..only a bit though.

Lastly..I rode 800 kms in a day last season from Kingston through Algonquin park, Halliburton etc and back home using a beadrider on top of an Airhawk....and it worked, however for me...the issue isn't really one of a hard seat...it's leg position and that increased height was enough to change my leg bend and relieve pressure on my knees. That's why my Corbin works..it has changed my body geometry along with bar risers (up and back risers). So ask yourself...is it the seat...or the way you sit? (bar risers can be cheap!).

Does anyone know who sells bead rider locally?

I suffered with the stock seat, then got a gel insert, then bit the bullet and got a Russell Day Long. Dollar for dollar the best investment I've made in accessories. Did 950km in a day on the stock seat and was in major pain by the time I got home. Did the same 950 km on the Russell DL the following year and it was a long day, but not a painful one. $425 on a group buy + about $180 round trip shipping to/from California.

I've done 1400 km in 17 hours on my Suzuki Genuine Accessories Gel Seat. Best $250 investment I made in the bike. It works.

Often the cheapest solution that is easily overlooked is underwear. Cotton is not a great fabric for warm weather or long distances. Loose fitting boxers can create folds in the fabric when you sit causing friction and pressure areas. A good, fitted pair of performance underwear made of wicking fabric can help immensely.

If you're not worried about fashion, you can go the full monty and wear cycling shorts with the padded section. Sound silly, but I know distance riders who swear by them.

BusaBob said:

I've done 1400 km in 17 hours on my Suzuki Genuine Accessories Gel Seat. Best $250 investment I made in the bike. It works.

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OP, I have a Suzuki Genuine Accessory Upgrade Gel Seat for a Bandit sitting in a box. $100 and its yours. PM if interested.

7up said:

OP, I have a Suzuki Genuine Accessory Upgrade Gel Seat for a Bandit sitting in a box. $100 and its yours. PM if interested.

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I am interested. PM sent. Hopefully its for the same gen Bandit.

sounds like a deal against the silly price of an Airhawk.

••••••

If you're not worried about fashion, you can go the full monty and wear cycling shorts with the padded section. Sound silly, but I know distance riders who swear by them.

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I'm taking my armored shorts on this trip for similar reasons - mainly the compression aspect.

After reading a million threads like this, there seems to be a few standard options.

1 - New custom seat (Corbin etc)
2 - Gel pad
3 - Airhawk
4 - Sheepskin
5 - Beadrider

The #1 thing though is that nobody else's opinion really matters. One guy says the bead rider is the best, one guy says the gel pad, one guy hates Corbins, one loves them! Trial and error it seems.

I like the bead rider for long distance, use it on my sergeant seat and love it for long distance rides. Definitely the cheapest addition you can make to add some comfort.

Morrissey said:

Often the cheapest solution that is easily overlooked is underwear. Cotton is not a great fabric for warm weather or long distances. Loose fitting boxers can create folds in the fabric when you sit causing friction and pressure areas. A good, fitted pair of performance underwear made of wicking fabric can help immensely.

If you're not worried about fashion, you can go the full monty and wear cycling shorts with the padded section. Sound silly, but I know distance riders who swear by them.

Click to expand...

I just bought a pair of Sugoi cycling "briefs" with padding.
I'll be trying them out in late-June.

Cheers,

Rob

Don't forget Moto-Skivees. I have 2. A sportbike and a cruiser set. Cruiser works great when you're more upright. Combined with Beadrider I was able to increase my riding range comfort by a factor of 4 over just the OEM seat.