Getting to the bottom of things.
[ Wednesday - July 30, 2014 ]
So I've been having this problem and it seems to be berneath
me. It's called, "The stock seat." Yes, the stock
seat. It's too squishy and it's been making my bum hurt.
Even on a simple 13 mile commute to work I can't help but feel
the pain. The last big trip I did (Death Valley 2014) had my
bottom screaming for help. So the debate goes... do I go to
somebody like Bill Mayer and get a custom seat or do I plunk down
money on something like the TouraTech comfort seat. I know
what the Bill Mayer seats looks like and feels like. My buddy
the Sgt went and got one. It's generally pretty wide with the
wings for support. The TT R1200GS comfort seat looks pretty
much like the stock seat with the exception that they have a
breathable version. Interesting. With Bill Mayer costing
around $900 for a 12GS seat, the TT at $600 is a bargain. In
the end, I blindly trusted TT and purchase the R1200GS comfort seat.
When I finally received the seat in the mail, I was surprised to
feel the seat being extremely firm. Being concerned, I got
back on the TT website and took a look at the description.
Sure enough, even the website said the seat needs to be firm in
order to support the rider. It sounds counter intuitive, but
I'll give it a try. If anything, I can always return it.
The weave is breathable. I've experienced
it by lifting myself just a fraction of an inch while on the
freeway.
The seat cools down really fast.
My first impression on the first ride was that the mesh fabric is
really slippery. Twisting the throttle hard had me sliding
back. Slamming on the breaks had me sliding forward.
It's a little disconcerting in the beginning, but after a while, I
got use to the action and know to prepare for it. Clamping my
legs seem to help also. After two days, my bum was still
hurting, but I think that was still the after effects of the stock
seat. After a week's worth, my poor behind was feeling
better. After a month, there is no bottom pain what so
ever. It appears the firm seat is doing its job. I'm
glad I didn't return the seat. The side effect of the firm
seat is the seat height is a bit high. This seat easily raised
the bike at least 1/2" higher. I had to put the seat in the
lowest setting, standard seat, in order to comfortably touch with
both feet.
Despite the breathable construction, when the bum is firmly planted
on the seat, it doesn't breath very well. However, if you
pickup your hide just a tad... say 1/4" to 1/2", you'll instantly
feel the air flow through the seat and cool off your backside.
On one of the hot trips, I picked myself up just a bit and my bottom
received a lot of relief.
After two months of use and approximately 600 miles, the seat feel
much better and there are even less or no hot spots.
I know that the Laam seats are pretty good also and are better
priced than Bill Mayer. It's even cheaper than the TT seat,
but so far the TT comfort seat is actually working.
Additionally, there are no wings. I'm going to stick to the TT
for now. Eventually I could also send in the stock seat to
have it customized. For now, I'm actually happy with TT.
Written on: September 29, 2014
Last modified: September 29, 2014
