Airhawk vs Beaded Seat Cover?

[marc11]

I've been taking some fairly long rides on my Versys, in the area of 400 - 800 mile days, several days on end.  Overall the bike is comfy and the stock seat is fine up to about 350 miles when it starts to become uncomfortable, by 450 miles it starts to hurt my "manhood".

I do not want nor do I need a custom seat, as these really long trips are few and far between to justify the ROI, plus the stock seat is just fine otherwise.  So I am thinking some sort of cover, either Airhawk or seat beads would allow the stock seat to be acceptable for an extra couple of hundred miles.


Any real world opinions either way?

[Sport-Touring]

[Lazarus]

Modding the cheap generic automotive beaded covers to fit the bike works well for me.  Cheap. easy to do, and you can paint them black if you like.  Can usually be had for under $15.

[Black Ice]

Airhawk.  Yes, they're expensive, but well worth the cost.  The difference is night and day concerning how much longer you can ride.

(Well, unless the damn thing goes flat, that is.  Mine developed cracks around the inflation tube, but everything I've heard tells me that's a one-off thing.  Liquid Stitch seems to have fixed it.)

[1KPerDay]

Airhawk. I bought a beaded cover but haven't tried it yet, nor felt the need. if it gets really hot I put a sheepskin over the airhawk.

[rockinjc]

Airhawk. I bought a beaded cover but haven't tried it yet, nor felt the need. if it gets really hot I put a sheepskin over the airhawk.

I have tried the sheepskin, but have trouble with them trying to squirm away after an hour or two.  


oh man that was baaaaaaaddddd.
j

[1KPerDay]

get some velcro gloves.

[Yankee Dog]

the bead seat cover I had was well worth the $25 bucks it cost.  The thing to remember is that it doesnt take a lot to be worth $25.  

you get what you pay for.

Yankee Dog

[awlittle]

I thought my airhawk was a good value.  Definitely extended the range on the vfr.

[Playinthestreet]

Have only used the beads.  Works ok for me.  As for the sheep, that's what "tall" boots are for.

[Kool shades]

I have a "soft bottom" seat pad from Gel-Tec. These things are absolutly amazing!! Its a gel seat in a waffle pattern. It allows for movement, and does not get hot. The company make pads for medical patients who are bedridden or in wheelchairs, so they know something about spending a long time in one position comfortably.

I tried three or four different types of covers and pads. This is by far the best I've found. Increased my seat easily 50%.

[bikerider]

Sheep skin over beads is the hot ticket for me.

[Hickey]

I recently got a bead rider cover and have experimented with it.  It is slippery.  I can definitely feel the beads as many individual pressure points.  I don't like it for short rides, especially with denim or canvas pants.  But I can see how it would relieve monkey butt on long rides in hot weather, especially if wearing proper riding pants.  I intend to keep it for that reason, using it once I get saddle sore to change the feel of the seat and give me more miles in comfort.

I haven't tried an air or gel pad, so I can't comment on them.

[Mac]

I have an airhawk. It easily doubles the milage I can ride in a day.

[steve.ski]

Airhawks are really good and better that beads IMHO, but they still don't offer the comfort of the COmfort Max Gel Pads:

http://www.amspecialtiesusa.com/gelpad.htm

I've never used a pad that's so comfy. I'd recommend buying a size large, as it really does a great job of cushioning the insides of your legs as well as the posterior. It makes my VFR literally an all day bike. Yes, I'm ranting...

If you'd like another opinion on this seat cushion, send a PM to BMW-K. His wife used my Comfort Max for the majority of WCRM after giving up on the AirHawk, and her exact quote was, "I'm in loooovvvee".

Seriously, check this thing out. It's really that good...

[marc11]

Thanks for all the advice.  I think I am going to give the gel pad a try.

[bomber]

didn't think I needed/wanted any of these things on my 07 Tiger, as the stock saddle works fine for me (with the exception of the remarkably fragile cover material, but that's another story), but tried a couple anyway . . .

gelpad -- felt a bit odd, like sitting on a slab of meat (other than my own, of course) - wasn't any more comfy than the stock saddle, so I returned to to the fella who loaned it to me, and thanked him (Yeah, I don't like it much either, sez he, and it really soaks up heat when left on the seat at lunch stops)

just for giggles and grins, I borrowed my wife's AirHawk for a recent trip -- typically, at the end of a 3-400 mile day, my parts are comfy, but I definately know I've been in the saddle most of the day. With the 'Hawk, after 500 miles, the only thing that kept me from doing another 500 was the fact that I'd reached my destination! this things is GREAT --

it took a bit to get it inflated to suit me (btw, it serves as a decent pillow while camping), and it is a little alarming in the first couple of turns on a very technical piece of pavement (is that the rear tire moving around like that, or just my a$$?), but it's easy to remove and stash when ya don't need/want it

I'm thinkin that the many, broad, whimpering hints I've dropped may have one show up on Father's Day

like the Northern Canine wrote, above, ya get what you pay for --  

[krumgrinder]

Judging from the reviews already written, I will concede that the Airhawk must be the bomb.

However, for $10 and 1/2 hour of fiddling around, I have a full coverage set of beads that allow me to ride 10 hours with no real discomfort.  Being able to move around on them easily creates a massaging effect, and the air flow underneath keeps the hottest, sweatiest part of you cool.  I got the good folks at Alaska Leather to donate a set of female clips (that match the strap for my sheepskin) to the project so I can attach/detach/swap the beads and sheepskin easily and quickly.  Add to that the heated seat and my backside is pretty much always happy.

Now, about my knees...

[Canuck]

I've ordered the Butt Buffer Pad, based largely on the review at WebBikeWorld. I'm going on a 6000 mile trip June 19 so I'll be able to provide a solid report back after that.

[Fav]

Beads work well under my ass  

[cyjo]

I have the beads and like them a lot. The gel sounds nice but I have the suzook gel seat and it is better than the stocker but gel gets hot fast here in Fl. I like the beads because I don't get that heat from parking the bike at lunch or whatever. I leave them on all the time now. I haven't tried an airhawk yet but the beads have made me stop looking at something new.