Airhawk just arrived. :) Test riding shortly...

[sportsguy]

Last week I bit the bullet and laid down the cash for an Airhawk to cush my tush. (clicky for good ebay dealer) Figured if it helped extend riding time as claimed, it'd be a cheap step between a stock seat and a Russell. I did the math on stepping up to a Russell and for me, as I'd spec it, I'm looking at about $700, so.............

....the Airhawk was $140 or so (their invoice in the box listed their COST at $102. hehe)...

OK, off to ride a bit.

Sitting in the garage was super cushy and pleasant!

 

[flyball]

I looked the Airhawks over a lot but I'm pushing the limits on being vertically challenged and anything that would move me further from the ground could cause problems. But I'm sold on the idea...I took a cheap ass (pun intended) inflatable air pillow and put it on the pillion seat for my wife, after several hours of riding she said it was MUCH better. So I'm thinking a real air pad like the Airhawk must be a dream.

Interested to see how it works out for you.

 

[sportsguy]

OK, so I did a big loop about town. Roughly 15 - 17 miles.

For the first 3 miles I had the Airhawk fully inflated (not what is recommended). I noted immediately upon pulling out of the driveway that I felt I was sitting on top of the cushion. I noted that as I accelerated, I rocked back towards the rear of the seat as air moved around inside the cushion. Slightly disconcerting, but within a couple minutes, it was a non-issue.

With the bladder full, I noticed how tall I sat in the saddle, we'll call that almost 2 inches taller than normal. I still had no issue flat footing the beast (30 inch inseam).

After about 3 miles of "ridin' high", I pulled over the did what I was supposed to do in the first pace... Which is to let some of the air out to let the cushion settle a bit lower. I'll say I released roughly 1/2 of the air.

Again I noticed an immediate difference - no more rocking around on the saddle. Still comfy, though.

Back on the road, I noticed that I was also much less prone to passing the road surface jiggles along as it was when fully inflated. The cushion was indeed cushioning!

While riding I purposely looked for man hole covers to ride over - and what a dramatic difference in the comfort - virtually none of the impact reached my back side. I had no issues when carving turns, the cushion never moved and remained comfy until I hopped off the bike in the garage again.

I'll know more next week if I get some good weather for a ride.

Thus far, impressions are favorable and my butt is happy with the investment.

It's not a custom seat, but then again, it doesn't cost $400 - $500 either...

My Airhawk came with the cushion, the cover and two straps (plus patches). So far, it's money well spent. We'll see what a longer ride uncovers... The "medium" (14x14) model fits our bikes, IIRC.

 

[rockmurf]

No offense but 17 miles? Hopefully it works for you but I ended up trying them all, beads, gel, corbin, sargent, airhawk, sheepskin and then the russell. If you add up what I spent the russell would have been free twice over. If you are going to do thousands of miles save yourself the trouble and pain and get a russell on a group buy. If you do a couple hundred miles here and there you may be fine. Also you can always sell the russell for at least half of what you paid for it. Get it in vinyl, leather too maintenance intensive. just my 2 cents.

 

[sportsguy]

No offense but 17 miles?

You were expecting me to ride to Vermont last night?

A longer trip should happen next week while I'm on vacation - so long as I get one day of decent weather...

 

[LDRydr]

Back when I used one before going the Russell route I got by with very little air in it. If I moved slowly around on the cushion I could feel the air moving from front-to-back, etc. I'd say I settled on about 1/3 full.

 

[canucklehead-biker]

I put one on and rode cross-country on it... including a couple of 1000-mile days. They work well. The manufacturer (Roho) makes pads for wheelchairs that prevent sores from forming, so they know what they are doing. Much cheaper than an aftermarket saddle, although I eventually went that route because it's one less thing to worry about when on a long trip (patch kit, worrying about someone swiping it, etc).

As LDRydr said, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 inflated seems to work best.

They make one that's the perfect size for the back-seater, if you're so inclined.

Cheers,

Griff

 

[mferriter]

The best part is - and they don't advertise this - if you see an accident coming, you can slide it out from under your butt amd put it on the dash to use as an airbag. If you have enough time, you can blow it up all the way first.

 

[tesla]

I'm surprised that I don't see more talk about the Star Cushion found here...........https://longeride.com/. When I was researching cushions this one always came out on top. Highly effective but don't like the instability of sitting on top of air.

 

[sportsguy]

I'm surprised that I don't see more talk about the Star Cushion found here...........https://longeride.com/. When I was researching cushions this one always came out on top. Highly effective but don't like the instability of sitting on top of air.

Well, that's a great find, if more expensive than the Airhawk. I like the unit designed specificlaly for sport tour riders!

clicky to that product

Checked ebay and found no results for the Freedom Air Cushion, so it's literlaly an extra $40 plus shipping...

Still, it'd be great to hear from anyone who owns one. It may well be worth the extra coin.

 

[tesla]

I'm surprised that I don't see more talk about the Star Cushion found here...........https://longeride.com/. When I was researching cushions this one always came out on top. Highly effective but don't like the instability of sitting on top of air.

Well, that's a great find, if more expensive than the Airhawk. I like the unit designed specificlaly for sport tour riders!

clicky to that product

Checked ebay and found no results for the Freedom Air Cushion, so it's literlaly an extra $40 plus shipping...

Still, it'd be great to hear from anyone who owns one. It may well be worth the extra coin.

Agreed, the price is ridiculous and yet I purchased one anyway. Got a Russell Day Long on order so I might be selling mine......depends on how great this seat is. For you ultra long distance/iron butt guys on a Russell, have you ever needed additional cushioning like an Airhawk?

 

[dirttracker30]

I went a couple of summers without buying a Airhawk because of price. I took two trips to hagerstown MD from Hills Iowa and back on a weekend(3day)ride to go to the Hagerstown Grand national 1/2 Mile Dirt Track race,and we do the sunday trip home nonstop(950 miles) WHAT A ASS KILLER!!!!! Last summer I finally gave in and bought the Hawk ,and did the trip home with NO sore ass(14.5 hours). I go no where of any length without it under my arse. the trick to the AirHawk is to run it almost flat,so that your ass is just barely above the seat cover. By running it low you hardley give up any height and ,when you sit for a long stretch ,then you can just gently rock from side to side and it will change the pressure point and make it all good again. I can ride a full tank out again and again with it under me. Like I said though ,the trick is to run them low,if you over inflate,they are very uncomfortable.