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Seats

14K views 60 replies 23 participants last post by  Poseidon 
#1 · (Edited)
Sorry to be bringing this up.... again! I know there are tons of post here on seats. Trust me, I've read most of them. I think that actually caused more confusion. I'm seeing conflicting info on just about every thread on just about every seat available for our bikes. It makes it difficult to decide what to get without trying them all. That seems foolish, and rather expensive! The stock seat is comfortable for the first hour or two of riding. After that, it kills my tailbone. I could also stand to be seated a little further back on the bike.

Stock seat - some like it, some hate it, and others say you just have to give it 5-10k miles to break in. Personally, I don't think I could wait that long. Any ride over about 2 hours hurts my tailbone.

Gel Seat - Again, some love it and some hate it. I've seen lots of them sold in the classified and either returned to stock or upgraded to a Corbin. But then I've seen a few guys sell their Corbin for a Gel Seat. I realize the full cut is all that is available now. I've read where it adds 1-2 inches of extra leg room, which I could really use. (I have a 34" inseam, 6'2" and 225 pounds. I've already been considering extended forward controls) There are several posts on the gel seat that do not say if they had the standard or full cut. That makes it difficult to know if the issues posted were anything to be concerned about, or if the poster simply ordered the wrong cut. I've have also seen posts that say the gel gets hot. I'm not sure if that was on the OEM gel seat, or one of those gel pads and seat covers. I'm also not crazy about the carbon fiber pattern, but I've only seen pics. Maybe it looks better in person. Are the gel seats still available with the standard cover?

Corbin - Most say they are stiff and have to break in before they are comfortable. I've seen several that have sold theirs (not sure if it was before or after it was broken in) I've also read about fitment issues on the bike. A few people have posted where they have had to return their seats to Corbin to correct problems, but they never say what the problems where. I do like the integrated driver and passenger back rests. I do equal amounts of solo and 2-up riding. I prefer the looks of my 9 without the rear seat, so I frequently swap it back and forth with the cowl. Wife is also wanting a more comfortable rear seat, but more importantly, a back rest! I really don't want to mount a sissy bar to the bike the way the OEM and cobra ones mount. Just one more thing to remove for solo riding.

Ultimate seat - I've only seen a handful of posts on these. The ones that have them seem to like them. I'm not crazy about the seat covers for them tho.

I really like the idea of an extra inch or two of leg room with the gel seat, I'm just concerned about some of the things I've read. I really like the integrated back rests on the Corbin's, but I don't want to be having ongoing issues and have to be returning them to make them right.

Can anyone clear up some of the confusion? Any recommendations based on the info of what I'm looking for in a seat?

Thanks!
 
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#4 ·
I'm 6'8" and I have the full cut seat and I like it way more than the stock, with the stock seat I got numb riding across the city. I have bought a airhawk seat pad for my next long trip to give my bum bum a little more of a fighting chance. As far a forward controls I have house of chrome peg extensions and they work really well for me. View attachment 180498 Tire Automotive tire Automotive lighting Product Wheel
Automotive tire Tire White Light Blue
 
#53 ·
Yup, Airhawk

I'm 6'8" and I have the full cut seat and I like it way more than the stock, with the stock seat I got numb riding across the city. I have bought a airhawk seat pad for my next long trip to give my bum bum a little more of a fighting chance. As far a forward controls I have house of chrome peg extensions and they work really well for me. View attachment 180498 View attachment 180506 View attachment 180514
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
 
#5 ·
SUGGESTION

MAYBE go to a bike rally like sturgis, daytona or maybe something closer to where you live and try them out. they are at all the major events. maybe try this before you spend your money.. see what fits you before you bye. nobody can be the judge of what your butt likes.do this or buy and sell. thats the name of the game.:bigthumbsup:
 
#6 ·
I have the corbin and sent it back to get softer and now I love it, you can special order your corbin too. You can ask for more room like the gel and also ask them to make it softer than usual also the corbin is the best looking.
 
#8 ·
If at all possible see if there is anyone in your area that would be willing to swap seats with you to try out.

One thing to keep in mind. The Ultimate seat doesn't have a passenger seat to go with it. From what I have read it is by far the most comfortable but the lack of back seat is a deal breaker for me. I'm like you and have a passenger on a regular basis. If they had a passenger seat I would seriously consider one for my long trips. I wouldn't keep it on for solo riding because of the big bulky look but I'm sure it would be great for long trips.
The Corbins built in backrest is great. I have the Corbins and my wife really likes the backrest but hates how hard the seats are. I actually bought a stock back seat (didn't get one with the bike) and she likes how soft it is but misses the backrest and doesn't feel safe when I hit the throttle.
Until you can make up your mind you can do as I did and get an AirHawk seat cushion. It helps although I don't like the look so I don't use it on a daily basis.
Good luck figuring this one out.
 
#10 ·
I had a local guy redo my stock seat.
They cupped and dished the seat and back area to allow for a better position. Shaved the edges where my legs hang so there are no pressure points. Also paid to have 3/4" cut out of the stock foam and upgraded to 3.8 dense foam. Best part was they do this all and reuse the stock seat cover to keep cost down.

Only done about 3 hrs of riding on it. It is WAY better than stock!! Very happy. See if there is a seat guy local to you and they may be able to MOD it to how you like.

As said above, everyone is different. No two seats or bums are equal.
 
#11 ·
I had a local guy redo my stock seat.
They cupped and dished the seat and back area to allow for a better position. Shaved the edges where my legs hang so there are no pressure points. Also paid to have 3/4" cut out of the stock foam and upgraded to 3.8 dense foam. Best part was they do this all and reuse the stock seat cover to keep cost down.

Only done about 3 hrs of riding on it. It is WAY better than stock!! Very happy. See if there is a seat guy local to you and they may be able to MOD it to how you like.

As said above, everyone is different. No two seats or bums are equal.
Where in Calgary did you get that done ? I'm down that way for work about once a month and wouldnt mind seeing what they could do for my stock seat.
 
#16 ·
I have the Ultimate Seat and love it. Can ride 4-5 hours on it without a prob and I have lower back issues. Couldn't get 30-40 mins on the stock one without shifting my weight all the time.

I see on their website they have a 14 day refund policy. Try it, don't like it, return it. I too didn't know what I thought about the rain covers but to tell you the truth I never had to use em yet. I keep my bikes garaged so that illuminates most of the use for the covers. I wouldn't make that a decision breaker. The comfort on them outweighs the cover issue by far.

Des at ultimate seats was awesome. It was a Tuesday when I received the seat. Went to fit it and no way it was going to fit. There was definitely something wrong. So I talked to Des and sent him a pic. He noticed right away that it was a seat for the Vstar. He apologized profusely and said he will get another one on the way. I told him I had a bike trip planned for Thursday and said it would be nice to have one by then. He overnight shipped it via courier at 128 bux on his expense and sent me a return slip to send my Vstar one back when I received the 109 seat. So his customer service was second to none.

If there is a 14 day return policy what have ya go to lose? Giver a try. Either way let us know what you go with.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for all the responses! I think I'll hold off and check out some of the seats at MAM before I make a decision, but I'm leaning toward getting a special order Corbin like Some 9. Mostly because my wife is wanting a more comfortable passenger seat and a back rest. I really like the idea of the integrated back rest on the passenger seat. One less thing for me to have to remove for solo rides! We'll see after MAM tho.

Thanks again everyone!
 
#20 ·
Poseidon I think I can help. I started out with the stock seat. New 2011 bike. Anything over an hour killed my butt. Ordered the gel, full cut. A little better about an hour and a half. Worst part about the gel is if it sets in the sun for an hour in summer you have to put a towel on it to ride. There is about a half inch of gel in there that does not cool down. It will give you first degree burns. I owned Corbin years ago, and I'm not telling you to go that way, I ordered one and love it. I think a little more room than the full cut gel. The best part is I can sit in it till I need gas. Usually about 170 to 190 miles I've had it two years and it still feels good.
 
#23 ·
That is exactly the info I was looking for! I wasn't sure if the gel was on top or under the foam and if the sun would heat it up or not. I have some local friends who have had Corbin seats and swear by them. Unfortunately, they don't currently have bikes... or Corbin seats for me to see first hand. I was all set to order from Corbin until I saw a few posts where people weren't happy with theirs. Thanks for the info Shooter!

I brought my seat in this morning to a local upholstery shop. Told the guy what I wanted to have done, and he did it.
In short, he cut down the butt area, lowering that a bit, and the rear area by the tailbone, he narrowed that a bit.
So I sit further back, and lower. Now, the back of my seat, feels like a short back rest!

Best $86.26 I ever spent! He redid it with the stock covering, so it looks bone stock!
Same day turn around is impressive! I'll have to check into some local upholstery shops and see what they can do. That would help me out, but it doesn't really help with the passenger seat or the sissy bar. I'll still check into it tho. Thanks SouthernFattie!

Great choice as you weill see about every mod out there at the MAM.
That is my plan! I'm going to look like one of those HD guys checking out all the 9's! Hahahaha
 
#21 ·
I brought my seat in this morning to a local upholstery shop. Told the guy what I wanted to have done, and he did it.
In short, he cut down the butt area, lowering that a bit, and the rear area by the tailbone, he narrowed that a bit.
So I sit further back, and lower. Now, the back of my seat, feels like a short back rest!

Best $86.26 I ever spent! He redid it with the stock covering, so it looks bone stock!
 
#36 ·
For the right price I'll give it a shot. Can't be that hard to do, it's only the spine!!
I'm going to need a van, and alley, and a no-refunds form for you to sign.
 
#37 ·
Another seat that most have not heard of is the Russell day-long.

I bought the seat from Peregrin this June at MAM, wasn't too sure about it because of the look of it, but he let me try it for the day, man is it comfy.

I just rode 13 hours from Sturgis, KY to Toronto and my but was never sore. I have done the ride a few times on my C109, had had to move around, etc.
 
#42 ·
My Corbin seats came in today. I put them on and went for a ride as soon as I got home. Didn't have a lot of time, so I only rode for a little over an hour. I can already tell these are going to be a lot better than the OEM seats. The shape of the seat is perfect. The back of it is like a very short back rest and it is curved from side to side to keep pressure off of your tailbone. Whereas, the stock seat is more the shape of a curved ski jump from front to back, if that make sense. I figured out that with the stock seat, I was trying to sit to far back in order to gain a little leg room. I think I was basically sitting on the "ski jump" and it was causing the pain in my tailbone.

Now, because I was sitting so far back on the OEM seat, The Corbin makes it feel like I'm sitting just slightly forward from what I'm used to. If you sit where you are supposed to on the OEM seat, I would say there is no difference in leg room from one to the other. The front of the Corbin is definitely more narrow, and it doesn't cover as much of the back of the tank as the stocker did either. I'm almost certain that I'm going to be ordering forward controls now. I really don't think I need extended risers tho. The bars feel pretty comfortable right where they are. I'm going to try to get some more seat time (pun intended) in this weekend if the weather cooperates, just to be sure before I place my order for the FC's.

I had a hell of a time getting the driver seat locked down. I had to put my knee on top of it and force my weight into it to get it to finally lock down. Then to release it, I had to push down on the back of it while holding the key in the unlock position. I'm sure, like others have said on here, it will loosen up over time.

And before you say, "without pictures it never happened", I got those too. I'll get them posted up later tonight.
 
#44 ·
Looks good bro:bigthumbsup:
 
#49 ·
Looks good Sean. I am going to have to come check this seat out. I am so ready for something more comfortable.
 
#51 ·
Yup, Airhawk

Sorry to be bringing this up.... again! I know there are tons of post here on seats. Trust me, I've read most of them. I think that actually caused more confusion. I'm seeing conflicting info on just about every thread on just about every seat available for our bikes. It makes it difficult to decide what to get without trying them all. That seems foolish, and rather expensive! The stock seat is comfortable for the first hour or two of riding. After that, it kills my tailbone. I could also stand to be seated a little further back on the bike.

Stock seat - some like it, some hate it, and others say you just have to give it 5-10k miles to break in. Personally, I don't think I could wait that long. Any ride over about 2 hours hurts my tailbone.

Gel Seat - Again, some love it and some hate it. I've seen lots of them sold in the classified and either returned to stock or upgraded to a Corbin. But then I've seen a few guys sell their Corbin for a Gel Seat. I realize the full cut is all that is available now. I've read where it adds 1-2 inches of extra leg room, which I could really use. (I have a 34" inseam, 6'2" and 225 pounds. I've already been considering extended forward controls) There are several posts on the gel seat that do not say if they had the standard or full cut. That makes it difficult to know if the issues posted were anything to be concerned about, or if the poster simply ordered the wrong cut. I've have also seen posts that say the gel gets hot. I'm not sure if that was on the OEM gel seat, or one of those gel pads and seat covers. I'm also not crazy about the carbon fiber pattern, but I've only seen pics. Maybe it looks better in person. Are the gel seats still available with the standard cover?

Corbin - Most say they are stiff and have to break in before they are comfortable. I've seen several that have sold theirs (not sure if it was before or after it was broken in) I've also read about fitment issues on the bike. A few people have posted where they have had to return their seats to Corbin to correct problems, but they never say what the problems where. I do like the integrated driver and passenger back rests. I do equal amounts of solo and 2-up riding. I prefer the looks of my 9 without the rear seat, so I frequently swap it back and forth with the cowl. Wife is also wanting a more comfortable rear seat, but more importantly, a back rest! I really don't want to mount a sissy bar to the bike the way the OEM and cobra ones mount. Just one more thing to remove for solo riding.

Ultimate seat - I've only seen a handful of posts on these. The ones that have them seem to like them. I'm not crazy about the seat covers for them tho.

I really like the idea of an extra inch or two of leg room with the gel seat, I'm just concerned about some of the things I've read. I really like the integrated back rests on the Corbin's, but I don't want to be having ongoing issues and have to be returning them to make them right.

Can anyone clear up some of the confusion? Any recommendations based on the info of what I'm looking for in a seat?

Thanks!
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
 
#54 ·
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
OK,,,,,,I think we got it..............
 
#52 ·
Yup, Airhawk

Sorry to be bringing this up.... again! I know there are tons of post here on seats. Trust me, I've read most of them. I think that actually caused more confusion. I'm seeing conflicting info on just about every thread on just about every seat available for our bikes. It makes it difficult to decide what to get without trying them all. That seems foolish, and rather expensive! The stock seat is comfortable for the first hour or two of riding. After that, it kills my tailbone. I could also stand to be seated a little further back on the bike.

Stock seat - some like it, some hate it, and others say you just have to give it 5-10k miles to break in. Personally, I don't think I could wait that long. Any ride over about 2 hours hurts my tailbone.

Gel Seat - Again, some love it and some hate it. I've seen lots of them sold in the classified and either returned to stock or upgraded to a Corbin. But then I've seen a few guys sell their Corbin for a Gel Seat. I realize the full cut is all that is available now. I've read where it adds 1-2 inches of extra leg room, which I could really use. (I have a 34" inseam, 6'2" and 225 pounds. I've already been considering extended forward controls) There are several posts on the gel seat that do not say if they had the standard or full cut. That makes it difficult to know if the issues posted were anything to be concerned about, or if the poster simply ordered the wrong cut. I've have also seen posts that say the gel gets hot. I'm not sure if that was on the OEM gel seat, or one of those gel pads and seat covers. I'm also not crazy about the carbon fiber pattern, but I've only seen pics. Maybe it looks better in person. Are the gel seats still available with the standard cover?

Corbin - Most say they are stiff and have to break in before they are comfortable. I've seen several that have sold theirs (not sure if it was before or after it was broken in) I've also read about fitment issues on the bike. A few people have posted where they have had to return their seats to Corbin to correct problems, but they never say what the problems where. I do like the integrated driver and passenger back rests. I do equal amounts of solo and 2-up riding. I prefer the looks of my 9 without the rear seat, so I frequently swap it back and forth with the cowl. Wife is also wanting a more comfortable rear seat, but more importantly, a back rest! I really don't want to mount a sissy bar to the bike the way the OEM and cobra ones mount. Just one more thing to remove for solo riding.

Ultimate seat - I've only seen a handful of posts on these. The ones that have them seem to like them. I'm not crazy about the seat covers for them tho.

I really like the idea of an extra inch or two of leg room with the gel seat, I'm just concerned about some of the things I've read. I really like the integrated back rests on the Corbin's, but I don't want to be having ongoing issues and have to be returning them to make them right.

Can anyone clear up some of the confusion? Any recommendations based on the info of what I'm looking for in a seat?

Thanks!
I went from being comfortable for one hour to being comfortable all day long. For me the Airhawk was the answer for motorcycle touring. The secret is to put as little air as possible in the pad. The only complaint I have had is that when you change altitude the seat expands becoming less comfortable. You then have to stop and deflate the seat a bit and then get on again hoping you got the level right. I found an aftermarket hand pump designed for the Airhawk at www.bettermotorcyclestuff.tictail.com. Now I can adjust while riding. Made a great product perfect!
 
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