Air Hawk or Beads?

[storm 64]

My FJR has a Corbin seat on it. The Corbin seat is a FIRM seat. Oh, it's still comfortable, how it molds around your butt. But, I'm thinking I need a little more something. The Air Hawk adds a little more cushion were the Beads add more circulation (air/blood)? Am I right on this assumption? If I could graft my GS 1000e seat to the FJR I would in a second! Any experience or thoughts on this is greatly appreciated. 🌞

[alke46]

Norm, take it from your old Uncle Larr. I highly endorse the Air Hawk. I have one and it is great because you can adjust the air pressure to suit your own desires. Too soft, just air it up and then let some air out until you are happy with it.

Good luck my friend.

[Steve]

I only have limited experience with either one of them, so my thoughts are pretty much just initial impressions.

I found the beads to be rather uncomfortable. The pressure points from all the beads got to hurting rather quickly. Yeah, you could shift around a bit to hit different points, but you shouldn't have to.
And, ... they made me sit higher on the bike. Might not be all that bad, but it was "different".

An Air Hawk has to be adjusted properly to do its job, and it's all too easy to adjust it wrong. Simply blowing it up and sitting on it just changes the pressure points and makes you sit higher on a squishy pillow. The proper technique is to inflated it so your butt is off the seat, then slowly deflate it until you touch the seat. Might deflate just a little more, but the idea is to let the seat carry the main load, the AH will add some support around the sides.

"Support around the sides" is pretty much how the Russell Day-Long saddle works. I had a Mayer Day-Long saddle on my KZ1300 40 years ago. I loved that seat. When I got my Voyager almost 19 years ago, I found that Mayer had retired and sold the business to Russell, so I got a Russell saddle for my Voyager. I made the mistake of getting the heavy-duty foam, so it never was as comfortable. The look is a bit different, but so is your Corbin. Any long-distance rider or any other rider that is not a snob, will know what it is and will appreciate it for it's function and comfort, rather than its looks.

If you are looking at a replacement seat, there are others who do good work and are considerably cheaper, but it's almost too late to have it done before your ride.

.

[bwringer]

The seat rebuilders are deep into the spring rush and are likely months out at this point.

I used a cheapo vinyl version of the Airhawk for years. Ugly, but the most comfy by far.

The beads are kinda nice in the summer; you get a bit more airflow around the giblets. And in rain, you're not sitting in a puddle waiting for the icy touch of water seeping past your crotch seams. But they don't make the shape any more comfortable, TBH, and they add height. Beads are cheap, though, and sometimes better than nothing.

A also have a gel pad, and I would not consider it a very good solution; it makes things a bit more comfy, but it retains an unbelievable amount of heat. I mainly used mine to raise me up a wee bit to ease a bum knee on long trips. I stopped using it when I lost some weight and my knee stopped complaining so much. And I think the last thing you need is a taller seat.


In your case, if the unholy pricing doesn't bother you too much, the Airhawk (mostly deflated as Steve describes) should bring the most joy.

A strong second contender might be a patch of sheepskin; much cheaper, and many of the same benefits with little added height.



For your amusement and edification, here's a shot of my 1983 GS850G from a few years back (2005, I think) with that hideous cheapo vinyl air cushion I mentioned. The company that made these is long gone. Mine ultimately succumbed to cat claws and deterioration from age; I couldn't even get kiddie pool patches to hold any more. Fairly comfy, but it did add a fair bit of height.

[storm 64]

Thanks for the replies fellows. I decided to give the Sheepskin seat cover a try. At a price of $65 I don't think I could go wrong. I ordered it from a company in Anchorage Alaska, Alaska Leather Company. We'll see how it works, if I don't like it, I can always just give it to someone to use as a Toupee! 😲

[salty_monk]

The sheepskin helps but it's nowhere near as good as a properly set-up airhawk. I can ride 150 - 200 mile stretches in a sitting on my KLR with the Airhawk (at least early in the day).

[decotriumph]

The success of any of those choices is probably somewhat dependent on the seat in addition to the weight and size of the rider. I tried an Airhawk once on a BMW and didn't like it at all, so I returned it for a refund and wound up putting a Corbin seat on that one. I use a good quality beaded "cushion" on my Excelsior Henderson and really like it. I used an Alaska Leather sheepskin on my Moto Guzzi Stelvio over a Corbin seat and liked that combo. I have a Mustang seat on my Road King and like it OK, but it's not 4 hours comfy, so I'm going to either try a sheepskin or the beaded one off the EH.

[Nessism]

Where I work one of our product lines is aircraft pilot seats and every one that leaves the factory have sheepskin touch surfaces on the seat and back. This is not our decision, it's driven by customer demand. Pilots spend a lot of time sitting on their butts and apparently sheepskin is the option of choice.

[Gorminrider]

saw this ad locally. Interesting...

https://comoxvalley.craigslist.org/mcy/d/campbell-river-cool-saddle-for-more/6885826269.html

Cool Saddle for More Better Riding - $25 (Campbell River)

image 5 of 5










© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap



1040 9th ave at unit 9
(google map)

cool buns

fuel: gas
transmission: other


You are riding down the road and your buns get too hot, it happens all the time. Now a miracle has arrived and it is available at The Bikesmith. As you can see in the pictures the plastic mesh is about a centimeter thick. Tested and approved and recommended by the Bikesmith. You zip tie it onto your seat and live happily ever after. Youtube "Bikesmith Send It Log".

• do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

[Steve]

As you can see in the pictures the plastic mesh is about a centimeter thick.

They must have smaller centimeters where he lives than we have here.



.

[Gorminrider]

hmm-yes. The mesh itself looks to be 1 cm square but it's hard to tell from the pictures...it might have several layers of mesh too.

[bwringer]

Over on the ADV forum, those thick meshy stuff seat covers have an avid following. And they're really cheap, so worth a try. Those particular pictures are kinda bad, but they are indeed close to 1cm thick.

"Sit & Fly" is one big brand name:

https://advrider.com/f/threads/sit-fly-seat-cover-review.1252118/

I think they first became popular in hot parts of the world; the added airflow is crucial for avoiding a swampy nethers situation. And it works well in the rain because it gives the water somewhere to go.