GenI seat gave me bruises, anyone else?

[Duff]

You are close enough to do a ride-in to Bill Mayer Saddles. Those guys are great! They can add the much-needed wings for support, remove the pressure points and cut the front so that you can still get your feet down. I have more room to put my feet down now then I did with the stocker and STILL have a comfy seat. My pillion is a firm believer in these guys too. She about died on a trip to Yosemite. Her tailbone was in agony after the ride there and we still had to come home in a couple days. Made for a long trip and i never thought I would get her on the bike. Now, she will ride with me all day long and never complains about sore butt. They really know what they are doing... especially when i stopped "helping" them!

P.S. Get heat and get leather. I know, more money, but you'll regret it if you don't. :blink:

 

[droptail]

Thanks for the reply's guys.

I just brought my seat to my upholsterer to shave off the hard edges of the seat where it cuts into my leg/butt, and put a layer of soft foam in the top/middle.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[beacher]

Ya know, guys, it's STILL a mystery to me, how Yamaha went BACKWARDS in comfortable seating, between my last bike, which was an '81 XJR750 Seca, which I could ride all day long with it's stock seat, to the FJR, which, after a 500 mile trip over 2 days, sent me in a quest for a more comfortable seat! Technology wise, there's no comparison, as this bike is almost twice the size of the Seca engine wise, and gets about the same mileage as the 750, and after 2 yrs., I'm STILL astounded at the power. But holy crap, when you have to take a 10 minute butt-check after an hour in the saddle. . . Well, it's just friggin' unforgivable! Oh well, thank God my *** fits the Corbin, which set me a little bit lower, as well as being a LOT more comfy, although it's still not a couch! After listening to all the "Russell-riders", I truly wish my legs were longer, but. . .

 

[DJB]

Just go the way we all have Russell is the best.

 

[beacher]

Again, why in the world should Yamaha force us to lay out. . . what?. . . $700-1,000 for a comfortable seat on a $15,000 machine? Makes absolutely no sense to me, for a bike that is billed as a "sport touring" (read "long ride") machine. That is NOT small amount of money! I'm still happy with the FJR, but if ya don't ***** about things that can be improved, they never will be.

 

[bbdig]

Took me 6 years to bite the bullet and get a Russel. The bride and i did 2600miles at CFR and the gaspe in 7 days and she loved the new seat. her previous max was 750 miles in 2 days which almost killed her on the stock seat. :yahoo:

 

[Ignacio]

Again, why in the world should Yamaha force us to lay out. . . what?. . . $700-1,000 for a comfortable seat on a $15,000 machine? Makes absolutely no sense to me, for a bike that is billed as a "sport touring" (read "long ride") machine.

It's probably closer to $500-$600, but say spent $700 on a better seat...it still wouldn't be custom and still wouldn't fit a significant number of riders. Most "long riders" I know would MUCH rather pay $500'ish personally and get a TRULY custom seat, and have Yamaha put that money to other things like stock cruise control, better alternators, heat management, or myriad other things that aren't as individualized as a seat.

-----

On a Scale of 1-10 my experience with different seat combinations

Stock:
4


Stock + Beadrider:
5
($20)
Stock + Airhawk:
6
($150)
 
Rick Mayer Custom Seat (after two adjustments):
8
($500)
Rick Mayer Custom + Beadsrider:
9
(my current setup) ($520)
 
Bill Mayer:
9-10
(from multiple forum reports and short ride) (~$500)
Russell:
9.5-10
(from multiple forum reports and short ride) (~$500)

 

[RadioHowie]

Good points, Matt.

If I had the spare cash, which I don't, I'd probably go the "Russell Route" as well.

Instead, I work a little logic into my riding experience...

If I wanted to be seriously "butt comfortable" I'd take the car.

If I didn't want to get wet when it rains, I'd take the car.

If I didn't want to get hot/cold when it's cold/hot, I'd take the car.

Funny thing is, I haven't driven the car since getting Frankenbike back up and running last Halloween.

It's all about compromise. I'll gladly give up a little comfort in the ***, in the wet or in the cold or heat just to be piloting the Cerulean Battlecruiiser again.

Same thing goes for the many "my motorcycle buzzes" issues. For ***'s sake, the handlebars are hard mounted to the triple tree, which is hard mounted to the frame, which has a 1300cc motor hard mounted to it. Of course there's gonna be some "buzz". Inline 4s buzz. Some worse than others, but I'm sure not gonna quit riding because 4 big aluminum jackhammers are spinning away at 4000 revs per.

Also not gonna "puss out" and quit riding because of a little vibration.

Some folks shouldn't be on motorcycles.

Accept that motorcycling isn't as comfortable as driving your lace-curtain Buick and put some miles on the *****.

 

[rogdeb]

Bill Mayer + Alaska Leather sheepskin works great for us two. :yahoo:

And Duff's already said it --- you're close to Bill Mayer.

 

[mcatrophy]

...Accept that motorcycling isn't as comfortable as driving your lace-curtain Buick and put some miles on the *****.

RH speaks the truth yet again (must be the 3rd time )

I find the stock seat adequate for my use and back-side. Ok, I don't do 1000 mile days, but I do spend perhaps 6 or 8 hours on the seat with only comfort and fuel breaks (Ok, many comfort breaks at my age). And it can feel hard at times, so I wriggle a bit, shift my weight, stand on the pegs a bit, sit down and carry on.

Could Yamaha provide the "perfect" seat? Judging by the varied opinions on this forum, no they couldn't.

So, if the stock seat doesn't suit you, either get another seat that does, or get another bike with a seat that you find more comfortable.

Or take the car.

 

[Ignacio]

Accept that motorcycling isn't as comfortable as driving your lace-curtain Buick and put some miles on the *****.

Actually, I don't buy into that. After 4 years of work my FJR is FAR more comfortable than just about any car I've driven or ridden for long distances. I'm fatigued after a 600 mile drive in the Jetta, but not nearly so much with 1000 miles on the FJR.

Best I've gotten to in a car on that 1-10 scale is probably an 8.5.

 

[TestPilot]

And I've done 6,000 k's in 8 days (thats 450 miles a day), SS1000, 1,000k days on a stock Gen 1 seat with no problems; then also a 18-dat, 8,500 tour on a Gen II (stock seat, partly with, partly without airhawk) and had no problems. For everyone who complains about the stock seat, there are at least an equal number who find it fine. It it doesn't work for you, there are many recommended fixes, but for goodness sake, don't blame the manufacturer - they've got it right for over 50% of the riders! <_<