gel pad on seat

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818Guy

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Anyone have experience with Pro Pad and/or Travelcade (Saddlemen) gel pads that you place on top of the seat?

My Corbin is a POS. Can't handle more than 100 miles on it. Need to look into other ways to make the ride more comfortable... looking into gel pads to place on top of my Corbin.

Thanks.

 
I have a Gel Pad I used once on my Bandit, but when I tried it on the FJR, I was too high up.

I now eat more Ho Ho's and Devil Dogs to create a more natural padding.

 
This comes up a couple times a year... I've posted pics a couple times somewhere on here.

The saying I like for corbin is "as wide and hard as a church pue."

I modified mine. It went from a 250 mile saddle, to an 800 mile saddle.

For the passenger, I chopped off the top 1.5" and replaced it with 2" of appostery foam.

For the front, I hollowed out the thickness of the gel pad and used spray contact adhesive to place the gel pad.

Butt height did not change for me.

Also, just as importantly, I cut the foam to mimick the OE saddle. I cut the carmel hump off that was squishing my nads and chopped a lot off the sides at the forward part of the saddle. Making the seat narrower where your legs reach for the ground makes the seat feel lower when both feet are on the ground.

Then I used appostery batting (1/8" thick cotteny stuff) to hide the small imperfections and seam lines.

This stuff works great and makes the install look clean and not a hack job.

The "foamectomy" instructions help a lot. I did a version of this also, bringing the rider rear support forward.

Removing the skin and cleaning up the mess was 90% of the work.

Warning: this is a lot of labor, like 30+hrs. Remove the skin, foamectomy, go to softer thicker foam for the passenger, add gel up front, and reshape the whole thing.

Also, foam, batting, rivet gun, electric knife, gel; the costs add up quickly. My total cost was over $100.

 
Don't. The gel holds heat. Heat is bad for butts. I have two Travelcades (I think) for sale if you're interested.

 
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I bought a Pro-pad for my 06 last year during WFO-5 in Reno. It felt really good when I first rode on it; it makes a comfortable difference over the stock seat for about the first 6-8 hours. It does raise me up a bit, washing out the lowered seat position. Don't really notice the heat on the butt from the gel but it does seem to flatten and give less support in the hotter temps, especially after being in the sun for a while. And it does feel a bit squishy when in the corners, rather than the firm butt-planted feeling I'd prefer. Now, after a year with it, if I had to do it over again I think I might go for an airhawk. But then again I've never had an airhawk, if I did I might very well be saying the opposite.

 
I use a gel pad on my '07 and have ridden it up to 700 miles w/o issues. It's only a stop gap measure until I'm rich enough to afford a custon saddle. I don't care for the extra height from a gel, and the squirmy feeling doesn't help in the twisties. I haven't noticed a heat issue, and I tend to leave mine on the bike in the sun. I forget what brand ATM.

 
I currently have a stock '05 seat and have considered Corbin Canyon, but several here are indicating that even the Corbin is not the best. I've learned in order to increase duration comfort on a stock I ride with cycling pants and my mesh riding pants. This seems to prevent the wedgies and increase comfort by several hours (2-3hrs total). Usually my arse will conform to the seat and it is no longer an issue, but this seat is more difficult.

With that said, I too am interested in alternatives. Adding a cushion on top of the seat would probably not work as I tend to slide my butt off the seat in turns; Sooo, I'm looking for a more permanent idea...such as what quicksilver completed. This may be an option.

Being in PA, the custom Mayer seats is not possible and I don't care for the russel wings on a seat either.

Any other ideas?

Good thread.

 
Finnaly home and able to look at my pad. It's a Saddleman and with over 6k of use it's still like new. Except for the scuffs when it flew off once. Never leave your pad on the rear seat and ride off :dribble:

 
I don't own a gel pad but rode a VTX 1300 that had one on it for about 250 miles. Too hot for me... and not as comfortable as I thought it would be. Also - there's very little "natural" padding on my "rumpus" area.

 
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I had a Pro-Pad installed inside my seat on my 03 FJR. Didn't help a bit.

 
So its beginning to sound like I just need to train my arse to get use to it...No Pain No Gain I suppose :huh: :blinksmiley:

 
I used a "Butt Buffer" for a 6 day 3K trip and can't tell you that it helped at all. Did get a real nice case of monkey butt even with compression shorts and gold bond. I think the lack of breatheability from the pad aggravated the situation. I'm saving for a custom instead of another low buck fix.

 
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