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Seat options and comfort on long rides

7K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  tang56 
#1 ·
OK, I have an opportunity to do an Iron Butt ride in a little less than a month. I've had the Vision for a little over a month and have put about 1000 miles on her. It seems to be a comfortable ride, though I am ready to get off the bike at the 100 mile mark. One of the guys I ride with has put together an itinerary for the 1000 miles we'd be travelling. All of the fuel stops are at the 200-215 mile distance. This means at least three hours or so without a break.

I've wanted to do the Iron Butt challenge for years, but I'm a little leery of trying it on the Vision without first getting a little feedback. My stock seat is pretty comfortable, but what's it going to feel like after 600+ miles? I know what it was like to ride the Honda VTX 500 miles in a day and I'd never do it again. It was like a torture device. It had a little bit of custom padding done through Mean City Cycles, but not enough for a ride of this magnitude. The Vision is much more comfortable, but can anyone tell me about some alternatives to help it feel even more comfortable on a very long day? A new seat is not an option right now.
 
#2 ·
Air Hawk

I do not have a Vision. One friend of mine does and does do long distance on it. He got and uses an Air Hawk seat cushion on it and seems very happy with it.
 
#3 ·
Hey stu, congrats on the new ride and glad to see your post for the IBA ride. The Vision makes it a cake walk is all I can say. My last IBA I rode an extra 300 just because I could and even hand a long lunch. The vision to me almost takes some of the challenge out of it. I'm out in Chesapeake if you want to talk specifics on the vision as I am curious why you wanted a break after a hundred. I roll up to DC on this think like some do a lunch run.

The stock seat is one of the best seats I've had, no issues or complaints. You got lowers installed?the one thing I don't have is a back rest which my TC does and I do miss that. I got hwy pegs but I'm not crazy bout them like on the TC. I do have a cup holed, nice to have on the ride.

Just to make you feel better when I bought my vision I rode it back from Tennessee the day I bought it. Most of the time I got off because I wanted to not needed to. Pressure on the shock is crucial. Shoot me a pm if you want to catch up some time.

Safe ridin. Tim
 
#4 ·
That's great, Tim. I'm a big guy, about 270, so the airhawk, which I tried on the Honda, wasn't what I had hoped it would be. I may try to put that on the Vision to see if there's any difference. 100 miles and I start to feel a little lower glute tightness (that's the best way to describe it, I guess). I'm probably going to be making a run up to Maryland in the next couple of weeks, that should give me a better test run for the IBA.
 
#9 ·
Well Rollin is my mentor (known by him or not) for IBA and while the bead rider looks interesting I'm curious as to your foot positioning and what pressure your running in the tires and your shock. May have a combo of things leading to your discomfort.
But I am checking out the beads. Dry is good. Lol
 
#10 ·
I have stock floorboards, so all I can do is stretch out for a while, though that also puts some pressure on the back, so I don't stay that way for long. I usually just have my feet resting normally, but have a need to move around a little (fidgety). I may have unintentionally been misleading with my description above. What I'm feeling on the rides I've been on thus far is not really 'pain.' It's probably more to do with being on a new bike than anything else. I gues fatigue would probably be a better way to explain it. I can't complain too much, I just have the experience with the Honda that makes me leery of an extrememly long ride. But so far, the bike has been phenomenal. I haven't messed with the shock.
 
#5 ·
#7 ·
Exactly what I was looking for, from a guy who knows! What do you use on your Vision? I looked at a couple of products, but they didn't have an idiot proof way of knowing which one to get for the Vision. A friend of mine uses a Pro Pad on his Ultraglide, but I couldn't figure out whether or not it would fit the Vision.

Do you have a part number or a link to what works best for you?
 
#12 ·
20isPlenty

You put down the passenger boards and hook your heals on them for a hundred miles to get some relief.
Don't over think your fun relax and enjoy your trip.

Rollin
like the photo of you and the "rollin" pass.
 
#16 ·
Why not do a couple of 200 to 300 miles rides this coming weekend? That will tell you just how comfortable your stock seat is. If I have no recent long rides I always get at least one in before a truly long ride. That way I can verify that I am still good to go on a long ride and if anything is not just right it gives me a chance to take care of it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I plan on a good, long ride in a couple of weeks, but I don't want to get caught short on buying some eqipment that might help me stay comfortable. My ride to the Tail of the Dragon in May of this year taught me that the Honda VTX seat is not a good fit for me. As much fun as I had that weekend, the only thing I would have changed is how much my backside hurt on the ride home. The VTX was good for a couple hundred miles, but after that, all bets are off. By the time we got to our lodging, I was beyond ready to be done with the bike for the day. The day of riding- we rode the ToD three times and the Cherahola Skyway, as well as stopping at all three HD dealers- I had recovered enough from the previous day to throroughly enjoy the rides. However, on the way back, the miles were really catching up to me and when I pulled into my driveway, I had all but decided to buy a new bike.

The backrest on the Vision was a little strange for me at first, but after a couple of days, I can't imagine riding without it. I think that in itself is going to make the long ride a lot more comfortable.
 

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#18 ·
I'll thrown my 2 cents in here. I'll start by saying I was looking to maximize ride comfort because I had a 5400 mile ride planned about a month ago. In the process of researching ideas, I, like Steve, thought the Beads were the way to go.

I have both a Ness seat and a stock heated Vision seat. Between those two they are just as comfy as each other, just different.

The stock heated seat sits a little higher and therefore has more padding.

The Ness seat is quite lower and is cut deeper than the regular seat. My size make the Ness overall as comy as the stocker because of the seating position it gives me.

With that being said, I chatted with Steve and decided on getting the 13x13 beads.

I used them on a day trip. What I found amazing was the air flow that the beads provided. I could actually feel the air flow and therefore provide a nice "cooling" affect. The comfort, in my opinion, wasn't an improvement.

I was at this Iron Butt thingy in Denver about a month ago....just before my big trip. While there I talked at great length to the folks selling the Air Hawks.

I was skeptical at best on this contraption. $200 for a seat cushion??? I have a friend I work with that does lots of long distance riding on his VTX800 and he swears by his Airhawk. Because of his insistance I decided to grab one of these pads and try in in the parking lot.

The model I grabed was the new Airhark R. This looks like it is designed for our seats. Same shape and size as our butt pad. The lady explained to me how to properly set it up (which is instrumental in proper function) so out to the parking lot I went.

A few moments later I thought....WHAT THE HELL?!?! This is awesome. A little while later I've bought one and off I went.

I will say this...this thing is friggen amazing. 5300 miles over 8 days of riding and I never once had any discomfort whatsoever. NOTHING!!

It was such a great trip that after I got home I imediately planned my first official Iron Butt ride. I did that 2 days ago. And, like the big 5300 mile ride, the IBA ride was perfect.

I would, without any hesitation whatsoever, recommend the Airhawk R for our Visions. WAY over the beads. Steve, you got to try one of these things man! Seriously.

So, there's my 2 cents worth. That's how I made my seat perfect for any ride. ANY RIDE!
 
#21 ·
I never liked the beads either. My experience has been a worse ride wilth the beads. The best thing I've done so far that improved comfort is my adjustabe back rest, its made by Utopia. Once I got it dialed in all my neck and shoulder pain went away. And I do like the stock seat.
 
#19 ·
I started with a $200 air-hawk, and then had a Russell day-log built! Best seat money can buy!! I have an air-hawk R for sale 1/2 price!
 

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#22 ·
Couple of things.

First, it helps a lot if you build up to it.
Take as many trips as possible and pre plan your gas stops so you have to maximize your time as in the saddle.
Try and let your body heal between the longest trips.

When you get off do actual stretches to maximize the benefits of being off the bike. The concrete or pipe barriers that are often protecting the pump island are great for throwing a leg up on and stretching the lower back muscles that take such a beating while riding. Start at home using a staircase. Stand at the bottom and put your leg up to the tallest step you can reach then lean forward.
Don't lock either knee. Don't over do it. Lean forward gently more gently after you feel the muscles start to release. Don't over do it you definitely can. If the stretch is less than 30 seconds it only makes the muscles shorter not longer, so try to hold your stretches 30 sec and use a watch.

Like VJ said the sheep skins are really low tech and really high tech as far as comfort. Let's hope that sheep never learn to ride motorcycles, they come naturally equipped for it and will soon be the dominant force in long distance riding.
 
#23 ·
For most of my riding on the Vision I have nothing on the seat.

When it's hot or raining I use the Bead Rider seat cover. When I did the 1600+ miles in less than 24 hours in April it was cold and dry so I didn't need anything on the seat. On the ride to Death Valley I was using the Bead Rider.
 
#24 ·
I have a stock seat and before I went to the darkside I got the dreaded monkey but at about 250 miles. After I installed the car tire things changed drastically in comfort. I now ride all day and never get monkey butt. I went 810 miles from Tulsa to Estes park only stopping for fuel and food. I enjoyed the stops to stretch but my ass and my wife says the same our ass is alot happier.
 
#25 ·
I may have to break down and try a car tire.
I've never heard as many good things about them till I joined this forum. Good to know
 
#26 ·
#29 · (Edited)
Well, I finally isolated the trouble with the long rides. I noticed that the pain was located in my tailbone after a couple of hours in the saddle. I already have an Airhawk left over from my Honda years (luckily, no one offered to buy it when I put it on Craigslist). It isn't the right one for the Vision, I agree, but I thought that maybe if I placed the pad a little more forward, creating a gap where my tailbone meets the seat, it would take some of the pressure off. This seems to work. I made an impromptu trip last weekend of 185 mile (each way). My plan was to see if I could make it the entire trip without getting off the bike, which I am convinced would have been possible. I made it about 120 miles on the way down before stopping for a quick bite and some coffee (I never travel without my Stanley thermos full of my coffee), but I felt like I could have made the last 60 or so miles without much discomfort. I have been playing around with the amount of air in the Airhawk to find the right pressure for me, but so far this seems to be the answer I'm looking for. By the way, I have to say that this particular road trip was the most enjoyable ride I think I'd ever been on. Comfortable, perfect weather, got to buy some cigars at my destination and spent some time with a great friend who I hadn't seen in a long time. Even the rain I went through on the way home did little to 'dampen' my spirits.

OK, I just checked out the Airhawk R. It seems to address the exact problems I've been talking about. I may have to look into getting one.
 
#30 ·
I've got an Air-Hawk R I'll sell for 100 bucks. That's 1/2 new. PM me of you want it. It's a great pad, but it's not a Russell day long!
 
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