Getting a comfortable seat?

[cleopatraxxx]

please help, can anyone suggest what i can do about my kawasaki gpx 250 seat and how i can get it more comfortable for my long rides at a cheap rate? thanks, im sick of numbness hehe, but its worth it...

[MyGSXF]

Cajun & motogirl have a business doin bikeseats...:niceone:


http://www.trimit.co.nz/

Jen :rockon:

[Nagash]

Even cheaper then GSXF's suggestion is to just get a piece of Sheep skin wool or whatever and just secure it to your seat. Will make it much more comfortable.

[janno]

Or eat more TimTams and pies . . .

seriously, I second the sheepie for hard seats, or if you have about $150 (I think) the airhawk seat pads are fantastic.

[cleopatraxxx]

thanks but thats way out of my price range

[cleopatraxxx]

yep might go for the sheepskin, where can i get that please?

[cleopatraxxx]

they sound great too, where do i get them from?

[Waxxa]

There is a chap who works out of his home in Kinross Rd Blockhouse bay (sign out roadside) who will repad and recover your seat. Nice guy, awesome job and it was a really good price and prompt service ( had a seat repaired a little while ago). You could give him a shot.

[cleopatraxxx]

no tim tams and pies thanks i have enough takeaways

[cleopatraxxx]

thanks for that, dont suppose u know the name of the place?

[Chickadee]

DIY idea.

If you have a good staple gun and have a spotlight near you, I removed the outer on my old bike seat, put more layers of foam underneath (come in packs for seating etc) and then made a new cover with vinyl at spotlight (original seat material had seen better days), had to do a little sewing to put gussets in to fit but all went back on sweet and much easier on the arse on longer trips. What does you seat look like? PS if your original seat cover is in good knick just put that back on with the staple gun.

Sheep skins you can get at Farmers, I think The Warehouses sometimes stock them. Usually around the baby section (young Mum's love sticking sprogs on them). You could always then sew it to fit your seat or find a way to attach securely.

[cleopatraxxx]

thanks chickadee!!!

[Blackbird]

Hey don't laugh but some of the guys on the 1000 miles in 24 hour endurance events tape the large diameter bubble wrap to their seats and swear by it. More waterproof than a sheepskin, but not as elegant or quite as effective as a Rider (trimit) brand seat which I've had on since 2005. It's a really low cost option though - fitness for purpose and all that!

Geoff

[Rosie]

Have a talk to an upholsterer, they may be able to put some more comfortable foam on the seat and reshape and recover it for you.

The bargain-basement approach that I took is to buy/borrow an electric breadknife and a staplegun and reshape the foam yourself, contact-adhere on some extra layers of firmer/softer foam (depending on whether current seat is too hard or too soft), give it a bit more of a trim and then staple on a new cover.

The finish is a little uneven, and the stapling was a bitch, but it is soooo comfortable.

[cleopatraxxx]

shit thats a bloody good idea, ive got some foam downstairs, that i could wrap in bubble wrap, but how to attach it to the seat?

[Nagash]

As Chickadee said, you're gonna have to remove the outer of your current seat and then get rid of the foam that's already there and replace with your new, softer foam. Then Re staple the outer to the seat and you'll be sorted. Just gotta be careful cause if you do it yourself it will be a rough job and it could potentially make it worse. (Too soft for example or if not stapled properly, the outer of the seat could rip off mid-flight)

Ultimately it's up to you, how confident you are with DIY things, how much money you have and if the seat is really that bad.


Still recommend the sheep skin as a much safer option..

[cleopatraxxx]

thanks nagash, youve all been extremely helpful, heres to more comfortable riding yeeha!!!

[sinned]

There is more to seat comfort than softness of the foam. I only had the Speedtriple a week and didn't want to ride it - the seat was that bad and it was the same on the test bike but I thought there must be something wrong with the suspension - it was a hard jarring ride at even low speed.

There were two causes to the problem, 1) shape was pushing me forward into the tank and 2) the foam was too soft so my bum bottomed out.

I pulled the staples out and with a hacksaw blade reshaped the seat by removing foam - then did a 600ks ride to try it out. After that ride and a run in bike, I then sent the seat to Trimit and they put in a thin layer of firmer gel foam. The seat feels firm and you would think it would be hard to ride on all day, but it isn't. The right shape and firm gel is the answer.

BTW the seat looks great with the brand embroidered in.

[MyGSXF]

I have a full sized sheepskin, & I just use a couple of bungy's & my panniers to hold it down with! :2thumbsup

It also then gets used as a nice woollen underlay, on top of my self inflating air mattress, when I'm at rallies!! :shutup: (a multi tasking sheepy!!! :laugh:)

Had it for so long that I can't remember where I even got it now though.. :confused: if ya wanna cheapy.. check out op shops/ recycling station.. & Trade Me too! As mentioned Farmers & baby shops have the flash ones to use for bubs! :Punk:

Happy ridin chick! :ride:

Jen :rockon:

[cleopatraxxx]

thanks ive tried the aforementioned sponge, but it looks really bad ha ha... and i have a sheepskin, but that seems so thin, i have the flash one from when my gals were young, i was one of those mums hehe... but in tying it up, im a bit worried about the heat of the engine on it... and what about when it rains?

[MyGSXF]

in tying it up, im a bit worried about the heat of the engine on it... and what about when it rains?

You should be sweet for heat, with having all the fairings on your bike.. :yes: so the sheepskin won't be near the motor (taking that that is your bike in ya avatar pic??) never had a problem with mine getting hot, in the many years I have been using a sheepskin!! :Punk:

& when it rains.. either.. it gets wet.. :Pokey: or it ends up IN the pannier.. where my wet weather gear has just vacated a space from !!! :niceone:

[cleopatraxxx]

yes thats definately my bike in the pic, aint she cool? hehe... would some elastic be ok to hold it on do u think? and do i double it over or just single?

[MyGSXF]

yes thats definately my bike in the pic, aint she cool? hehe...

yep.. pretty cool.. :yes: but not as cool as mine... :girlfight:



would some elastic be ok to hold it on do u think? and do i double it over or just single?

elastic.. uumm..:confused: don't see why ya can't! :wait: haven't tried it myself.. but you could try.. & let us know how ya get on!! :2thumbsup

I can kinda see a pic in my head though.. :shutup: if ya got a sheepy & cut it to fit ya seat, so that there isn't a lot of excess hanging down the sides (take seat off, btw..) then wrapped a large elastic band (ends sewn to make a circle) around each end.. then ya should be able to simply fit ya seat back on again & the sheepskin is secured in place.. clear as mud??!! :blip:

Oh.. & I just use mine in a single layer.. again.. try it out for yourself.. you'll soon discover what works for you.. & what doesn't! :niceone:

edit: Have added a pic of my bike, so it will give ya some kind of idea of how I set it up.. the straps from the pannier go across the sheepskin at the back.. & I use a bungy across the front.. which I hook onto the bike frame, or the footpegs :2thumbsup

[Insanity_rules]

Hey don't laugh but some of the guys on the 1000 miles in 24 hour endurance events tape the large diameter bubble wrap to their seats and swear by it. More waterproof than a sheepskin, but not as elegant or quite as effective as a Rider (trimit) brand seat which I've had on since 2005. It's a really low cost option though - fitness for purpose and all that!

Geoff

Not to mention the hilarious sound effects you can make by shifting your weight. I met some truly twisted BMW touring freaks in a truck stop in Lubbock Texas who gave me an impromptu bubble wrap concerto to prove thats what they were sitting on. At least with that noise I HOPE thats what they were sitting on. I almost dropped my bike laughing!