Personal discomfort zone

There's probably another thread about seat comfort around here somewhere. I didn't see it.

I haven't found a truly comfortable seat yet. I have a particular issue that I suspect others may have experienced. Basically, the seat is like a balance beam. And let's face it, there's a reason the balance beam is not a men's event.

I was thinking of wearing a "cup." This could solve the Big Crunch problem---or it could be much worse. I mean, in balance beam terms, you'd be resting your entire weight on the rim of the cup. I was about to buy one but I thought I'd ask here first.

Has anyone tried this? Did it help? Too embarrassing to discuss?

I always thought I had rather normal size testicles, and have never ridden on them. I find my butt has less padding than I'd like, and gets a little annoyed after a couple of hours, but never the twins.

alanm123 said:

There's probably another thread about seat comfort around here somewhere. I didn't see it.

I haven't found a truly comfortable seat yet. I have a particular issue that I suspect others may have experienced. Basically, the seat is like a balance beam.

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Ever tried a Russell Daylong Saddle?

Maybe a spencer modded seat with his "Wedding Tackle" channel. Sounds like this guy over in the Stromtroopers forum had a simular problem...

That's gonna add some time to pit stops.

Stock seat trying forcing the rear of the front seat one click down from even on the two wire tabs. A spence mod also helps with the stock seat.
It also helps if you sit with proper (what ever that is) form. Support yourself upright with your torso and legs with no weight on your wrists.

Never had a problem with the boys on a motorcycle but I can think of a few options I would try before trying a cup... different seat (RDL, Laam, etc), seat cushion (AirHawk, Freedom Air) and beads.

To me a cup sounds really uncomfortable on a motorcycle... I even hated wearing them playing football and baseball.

Sounds like a personal problem.

I will say the Beadrider I used was a great help when I went to New Zealand. It's not a RDL by any mean (what I have on my ST1100s), but it did make the ST1300 seat a lot more comfortable for what little the thing costs.

Possibly you are wearing too tightly fitting jeans, or other less roomy pants than what your enormous boys are crying out for? Try a pair of LD Comfort underwear along with good quality riding pants.

I ride the wing more than the ST... that being said, the ST has a Travelcade Jell seat and is comfortable for a couple hundred miles, then it starts wearing on you. The wing has a Russell day long saddle and is very comfotable for about 500 miles at a time. I still will use the beadrider on the Russel just to get some air between me and the seat. I think just about any seat starts getting uncomfortable after 500 miles... YMMV.

vinny said:

I ride the wing more than the ST... that being said, the ST has a Travelcade Jell seat and is comfortable for a couple hundred miles, then it starts wearing on you. The wing has a Russell day long saddle and is very comfotable for about 500 miles at a time. I still will use the beadrider on the Russel just to get some air between me and the seat. I think just about any seat starts getting uncomfortable after 500 miles... YMMV.

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With my Russell, I've done many 800-1000 mile days and it's as comfortable when I finish as when I start. But I also have a backrest on mine which greatly improves the 'comfort equation'. ;-)

Uncle Phil said:

which greatly improves the 'comfort equation'. ;-)

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Sounds like his denominator(s) are too big for a good ratio.

Uncle Phil said:

With my Russell, I've done many 800-1000 mile days and it's as comfortable when I finish as when I start. But I also have a backrest on mine which greatly improves the 'comfort equation'. ;-)

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Anyone who has put the miles you have on three motorcycles could do 800 miles sitting on a bongo board! LOL

LD comfort shorts to get the boys up top rather than down low.


Ashley

Here's something to consider, since you did not tell us how tall you are. The ST is sized for bigger riders and if you are average sized, you might be leaning forward reaching for the handlebars. If this is the case, sitting more upright mike make the difference. A helibars or mcl spacer plate might solve your problem more cheaply than a 400 to $600 custom seat. Spencer is the cheapest way to go as far as seat mods go. Best to go to an STOC rally and sit on other guy's bikes.

First of all, a big thank you to whoever re-categorized this thread. I hadn't seen the farkles forum.

Second, a big thank you to all who have commented, without yelling at me for missing the other threads on the same topic. Thanks in particular to UnclePhil, who seems to be everywhere at once!

SMSW said:

Here's something to consider, since you did not tell us how tall you are. The ST is sized for bigger riders and if you are average sized, you might be leaning forward reaching for the handlebars. If this is the case, sitting more upright mike make the difference. A helibars or mcl spacer plate might solve your problem more cheaply than a 400 to $600 custom seat. Spencer is the cheapest way to go as far as seat mods go. Best to go to an STOC rally and sit on other guy's bikes.

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I'm 56 years old. I'm 6' 0" (okay, I'm 5' 11-1/2") with a 34" inseam. I stand over the bike very easily, but I do lean forward about 9 or 10 degrees to reach the bars and I have a slight yet chronic lower back pain. I think a more upright position would help a lot. I'm going to have to get rid of my VFR. [sniff]

I had actually already ordered a 13x13 BeadRider a few days ago and it arrived today. I can't wait to try it out because it seems to get great bang-for-the-buck reviews. Before I heard about it, I'd been thinking along the same lines. I was looking around HomeDepot for some kind of stiff mesh foam to sit on, something like the foam used as rain-gutter inserts to keep leaves out-but the stuff I found there was much too soft. I have high hopes for the BeadRider to help with the monkey butt problem.

But there's still the big crunch. Some of you younger riders, you're not there yet but take heed ... one day you will sit on your own testicles.

Next steps, in no particular order:

- Russell Day Long --- with the added back-rest, this sounds great
- Spencers mod --- this sounds like another great buck-bang
- LD Comfort Shorts --- perhaps a jock strap would do something similar?
- Other gel seats, with Wedding Tackle channel/groove ---
- Some kind of handlebar risers

It's sensible to try all those. Not being very sensible myself though, I'm inclined to play around with modifying the seat myself. I could do some tests just using styrofoam and double-sided tape to re-shape the seating area. When I got it where I want it, maybe it could be moved under the existing cover.

Another thought: fill up an appropriately-sized plastic bag with Great Stuff, wait for it to start firming up, then place it on the seat and sit on it to make a mold! I like that idea. Have to be careful not to get uncured GreatStuff on the seat. It does NOT come off.

If that works, I'll post some pictures.

Thanks again for all the great comments!

alanm123 said:

Another thought: fill up an appropriately-sized plastic bag with Great Stuff, wait for it to start firming up, then place it on the seat and sit on it to make a mold! I like that idea. Have to be careful not to get uncured GreatStuff on the seat. It does NOT come off.

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Lol... you better make sure the bag doesn't break or YOU will be glued to the bike seat forevermore....not entirely a bad thing....

SMSW said:

Lol... you better make sure the bag doesn't break or YOU will be glued to the bike seat forevermore....not entirely a bad thing....

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I know. I got that stuff on my hands once. It was there for weeks, literally. Soap and water? WD-40? Goop? Forget it. Probably don't want it smeared all over my crotch.

alanm123 said:

I know. I got that stuff on my hands once. It was there for weeks, literally. Soap and water? WD-40? Goop? Forget it. Probably don't want it smeared all over my crotch.

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Great Stuff really will come off - I think ordinary paint thinner does it - but you have to get to it before it hardens and cures. Not sure about this, you will have to read the label. Also, this is not a good use for this product because it will readily collapse into a very thin layer of very hard goop. I was on a job once and a 'high end' toilet seat arrived. The plumber said it cost $850. Now, the nickel plated brass hardware looked sculpted, but the seat was more or less, plain old stained and varnished (catalyzed lacquer?) oak. I joked for that kind of money it should have been custom made. A technician arrives, the client bends over, and a mold is made of her bottom. The factory then uses the mold and a pantograph router to faithfully make a toilet seat that fits this particular person. That's custom made.

Seriously, many years ago some local artists were into casting body parts in plaster, trimming and staining said mold and simply hanging it on the wall. Sometimes the mold was used to make a faithful repro of that persons arm, hand, or chest (latter was usually a woman's, of course). A releasing agent was used to ease removal from the subject's body, and fibers or long grass was embedded in the plaster to reinforce it. This might work for you if you want to make a mold - the only problem will be finding an accomplice to help you......

Airhawk makes a seat cushion exactly for this problem....it's called the Airhawk R. There is a channel and a cutout so that this problem is reduced/eliminated. Haven't tried it but I did try the regular Airhawk and loved it....this looks even better. http://www.airhawk.net/airhawk-r.aspx