Hot and Sticky

[bobframe]

Most of the discussions about riding in the heat and staying cool pertain to keeping the upper body and head cool. I get that.

However, I noticed today that the most irritating thing about my ride was where I came in contact with my seat (Russell Day-Long with leather). It felt, as the title suggests, hot and sticky. And not in a good way.

Lifting my butt periodically allowed some air to circulate in that vicinity and cooled things off. For a while.

I began to long for a pad of some type that would create an air barrier between my derri?re and the leather...allowing air to circulate in my southern region. It wouldn't need to be anything elaborate...just enough to cover the contact points and to suspend my butt over the seat.

I have a Bead Rider, but Russell suggests NOT using it on my seat. Also, I thought the Bead Rider gave too much isolation from the seat. But maybe a Bead Rider with smaller beads?? Has anyone successfully used a Bead Rider with a Russell leather seat??

Seems like I used to see El-cheapo car seat cushions that did nothing more than suspend the driver from the hot and sticky vinyl car seats. Maybe something like that?

Any suggestions?

 

[Roseknight]

http://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

 

[Rick Gibson]

Plus +1 vote for LD riding shorts.

 

[bkra13]

I'd ask them why not to use the beadrider - there is nothing else out there that'll move air under your butt as well as it does, period. If it's for shorter periods, should be fine but might leave indents in the leather if used extensively.

 

[Bigmak96]

I just went through Vegas @ 110. I had an Areostich felt collar soaked with water and a cooling vest on. I also had my Roadcrafter on. The insulation kept the heat out very well. No MB for me and I too have a leather DayLong.
The only down side to the 'Crafter in hot weather is answering all the "aren't you hot in that thing?" questions.

 

[bobframe]

I may have had a Eureka moment. Decided to stop into a Harley shop on the way home and walked straight into a store display that held a product called "Circulator Seat Pad". It's expensive ($90)...but it looks like it may be what I wanted. It is a pad that is shaped for a Harley seat (but fits reasonably well over my Russell seat which is kind of Harley, triangular shaped anyway) and is composed of a series of open air pockets. The idea is that is suspends your butt over these air pockets and should allow the air to circulate and improve the cooling process.

The item number is 51076-10.

Here's a link: http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524448774082&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374309149371&ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=2534374309149371&locale=en_US&bmUID=1311710299126&bmLocale=en_US

May try it out tomorrow...weather is Africa hot and it will be a good day to test it.

 

[bobframe]

Well I tried out the HD Circulator and I was pleased...at first. The pad seemed to provide some extra cushion and I found that it was was a bit easier to slide from side to side and forward and backward than on the Russell leather seat. I was totally comfortable until the temps got up into the mid 80's and I'd been seated for about 3-3.5 hours. At that point my butt started getting quite uncomfortable...almost like a hot spot was developing. By noon I was squirming and looking for a spot to pull over and remove the pad.

When I did stop I realized that I had my Bead Rider in the trunk and decided (in spite of the Russell people's warnings) to use it for the last 20 miles or so. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that this was the first time I'd actually used the BR. While this is not enough time to judge anything, I found it quite comfortable. It felt cool and I could slide around easily. There was no sensation at all of the individual beads....just felt like one big slippery surface. Once in the garage I pulled the BR off the seat and found that it had left dimples in the leather where each bead made contact, although these disappeared in short order. I don't know if this would become problematic after enough time lapsed, but it might. Maybe I could add something protect the leather seat from direct contact with the beads?? I do know this much...I want to give the BR another shot.

I think that part of the problem with the Circulator Pad might be that the waffle material that makes up the majority of the pad is backed with what appears to be a non-breathable fabric...almost a rubber kind of deal. I wonder if removing this would allow the pad to breath better...after all, isn't that the entire point of the thing?

 

[bkra13]

You know, with the bead rider you could put a thin foam pad on the seat, then the bead rider to protect the leather. The beads will still allow air to flow, and the foam would spread the load of the beads a bit. Just a thought..

 

[8-BALL]

I have a Bead Rider, but Russell suggests NOT using it on my seat. Also, I thought the Bead Rider gave too much isolation from the seat. But maybe a Bead Rider with smaller beads?? Has anyone successfully used a Bead Rider with a Russell leather seat??

Seems like I used to see El-cheapo car seat cushions that did nothing more than suspend the driver from the hot and sticky vinyl car seats. Maybe something like that?

Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

I didn't like bead seats in the pickup cause they yanked the hair out of my legs when I got up... but with long pants on a motorcycle I think they work better than anything I have tried. I got two bead seats at a thrift store for $2 each and cut them down for the ST and NT. The bead seat worked great on my leather Corbin saddle to and from NATSTOC (Last year). The Corbin saddle is hard like a horse saddle so the only thing I noticed was a little dust and dirt when I took the beads off.

Good luck! The humidity is a killer this year.

Dave C.

 

[bobframe]

I am beginning to think about this issue in these terms: The Russell seat does a great job of providing a wide enough support base and has a nice amount of cushioning. But (or should I say "Butt") I find the leather surface to be uncomfortable after a period of hot, humid riding. So, as 8-Ball suggests, an air circulating buffer between me and the (my choice of words here) impervious leather surface of the seat would solve the final source of discomfort. There may be no better way of doing this than a bead system. And adding a layer to protect the leather seat from the beads makes sense, although it may be too many layers to deal with.

I feel a bit like the heroine in the nursery rhyme "The Princess and the Pea"...the proud owner of a derri?re that is sensitive enough to belong to royalty.