Gel seats

Oh yeah, I forgot you were in that other country.

JL

 

Get yourself a dead sheep, Betty. Pretty soon afterwards you'll form
a bond, and you'll never want to ride alone again... ;-)


BTH

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sat, 9 Aug 2008 17:14:02 +1000

In my moderately humble experience....

A dead sheep can help most seats.

Seat shape is important - a seat that's too wide can be worse with a
sheepskin and a seat that has sharp corners isn't helped all that much[1]
by one. If you get a skin and the seat already feels a little wide,
don't have the skin cover the sides of the seat.

I think sheepskins help because they have some very small amount of
spring and some very small amount of ventilation. I'd go a
short-but-springy haired sheepskin before spending money on gel. You
can try car seat cover places to buy a scrap big enough to fit over
the bit of your seat you actually sit on to test it.

The seat on the Norge had gel inserts which felt odd as they sort of
poked me. Plus something about the seat angles made my hips sore. The
cut down seat doesn't have gel as far as I know but is mind (and backside)
bogglingly comfortable despite that because it is beautifully shaped.

Several Norge owners have noted the low seat option is more
comfortable, I think you get a better angle of leg with it even if you
are longish legged.

Meaning that it isn't just lack of cushioning that makes a seat hurt.

Zebee

[1] and in the case of that horrible bloody Guzzi/Benelli 250/4, the
only thing that would help that seat is to get a sculptor to chisel
the edges off....

 

who manufactures them?

mh

 

Horses ?
well you get this mumma horsie and this ....

 

Ohhhh! Horrible flashback to me in 1975 at age 21.

N/

 

If you're a bit short in the leg, a sheep is going to make that worse.

I think the Le Mans 850 seat was like that. Vinyl-covered plank!

Theo

 

Hi Betty

once upon a time in my previous job we used to use gel pads (same gel) in
the operating rooms for positioning patients. I thought a gel seat would be
a good idea as the bike I had at the time had a seat like a piece of guard
rail... anyway I tested it out by putting a gel pad on a chair and sitting
on it. After about 5 minutes I couldn't wait to stand up. I ended up
buying a lambskin instead, and we managed to 'custom fit' 3 bike seats out
of the pelt. It was fantastic, I still have mine and it fits over most bike
seats that I've had since then.

Cheers luvvie!
j

 

You'll need to look carefully at the fleece before you buy . . . the fibres
need to be tighly crimped to give the springiness needed. A poor quality
fleece has quite straight fibres and will be nowhere near as helpful.
You might have to ask for one to be ordered in as most punters don't
know the difference! And be prepared to pay a bit more.
So look for a waviness in the fibres "short-but-springy haired sheepskin" as
suggested by zebee.

Downside is - they are not much fun when wet!

Cheers,

Jim

 

Thanks heaps everybody - seems to me that the poor dead lambie is the
"best of the rest" re comfy seat options.

I was hoping for something that might substitute for (or be better
than) the AirHawk, but it seems to me that maybe the AirHawk provides
the best of all possible worlds - doesn't add any appreciable height
to the seat, but negates the pointy bits of the SV's horror-seat, and
doesn't get sopping wet and gloopy in the rain. Have seen bikes with
their sheepie seats "wrapped" in garbage bags in the parking area,
which always makes me giggle a bit.

betty

 

Thanks heaps everybody - seems to me that the poor dead lambie is the
"best of the rest" re comfy seat options.

I was hoping for something that might substitute for (or be better
than) the AirHawk, but it seems to me that maybe the AirHawk provides
the best of all possible worlds - doesn't add any appreciable height
to the seat, but negates the pointy bits of the SV's horror-seat, and
doesn't get sopping wet and gloopy in the rain. Have seen bikes with
their sheepie seats "wrapped" in garbage bags in the parking area,
which always makes me giggle a bit.

betty


Betty I would recommend a custom saddle, I have one done for all my bikes as
standard seats just do not cut it.

http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~maddoggy/

John Moorehouse has done about 8 seats for me, R1100S, K1100LT, R100GSPD x
2, R1200GSA x2, K100RS, K100RT.

These are very confortable and he can make a low version for those of us
with shorter legs.

Boxer

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:38:31 -0700 (PDT)

Sheep get wet and smelly in the rain too you know.

I haven't had fitted sheepskin covers, I've always just used a piece
as a throwover. A small occy strap to hold it on if need be.

Take it off, throw it in the gearsack/topbox/backpack and never need
to worry about wet bum again.

Unless you are riding it in the rain of course and your wetgear deals
with that.

Mostly.

Zebee

 

Whassamatter; you've never seen a lunchbox before?!!?

 

After riding the GOR in a 20 knot gale I really hate windy roads.