My frankenstein experiment - an Air Hawk modified Sargent seat

[flatlandor]

Ok, so I bought a Sargent seat from a guy here on the forum and while it's ok, it was not as comfy as I had hoped for. I also read here that some of the guys really like the Air Hawk seat cover.

I ordered one of those and tried it, but I didn't like how it fitted on the bike. I also didn't like the fact that it made me sit in the saddle taller - in other words - it made it a longer distance to the ground (30" inseam here).

Soooo....

I got the bright idea to install the Air Hawk INSIDE the seat. First step was to remove the seat cover and using the wife's electric knife, I cut away about a 1/2 inch of the foam to make space for the Air Hawk and then taped over it to seal it up.

After trial fittings and some shaping, I used some 3M spray adhesive in between the foam and the Air Hawk to make sure it doesn't slide around or move out of position.

Notice I have removed the little tube from the holder on the back. This was re-routed down and hangs out past the seat cover underneath. In order to add or delete air, you have to remove the seat from the bike, but I don't care. Might look a bit funny with the seat up to face, but really you don't access that tube much once you get the air level where you want it.

Next step was to re-wrap the seat cover and staple it back down. Here's the finished result:

Ok, yes, it's lumpy looking - I knew that going in. But on the flip side, I think it still looks better than the Air Hawk just strapped on. It doesn't add any to the seat height (in fact, it made it a bit easier to get my feet down) and it's EXTREMELY COMFY.

I had my stock seat re-done and it's TONS better than the original and I'm happy with it for most of my rides. But if I'm going on a multiple hour or day-long trip, I'm going to swap out for this bad boy.

I may take it back apart again and carve some more foam out of the seat and then add about a 1/4" piece of foam on TOP of the Air Hawk in order to try and smooth out the lumps. Haven't decided yet. I'm not real sure it will smooth it out much anyway. The purpose of this seat is not looks, but comfort, so I might not try it.

Anyway, thought you guys might like seeing my "Frankenstein" experiment...

 

[Justin]

Who cares what it looks like? No one can see it when your can is on it.

 

[flatlandor]

Who cares what it looks like? No one can see it when your can is on it.

That's true. And I plan to use it on those rides where my can will be on it a lot!

 

[Bounce]

Hope it works for you. It's an excellent case study of what a lot of us did... spent a lot of money trying to avoid the cost of a custom Russell.

 

[dcarver]

I love ingenuity. Give it several really long rides and report back?

 

[flatlandor]

Hope it works for you. It's an excellent case study of what a lot of us did... spent a lot of money trying to avoid the cost of a custom Russell.

Thanks to this forum I was able to know about the Russell prior to attempting anything else. But for those of us with short inseams, I've read that the Russell, although undoubtedly comfortable, is not a good option for us trying to reach the ground. I wish that was not the case or I would already have one - even though I think they are just about as ugly as my frankenstein airhawk creation...

As far as reporting back - went riding for several hours today. First hour was really not good. Uncomfortable on the thighs and my nuggets where getting squished. Too much air getting shoved to the front. So I stopped for a bit and figured I'd try letting some air out. That did it!! Wow. The key to his airhawk is like everyone says - very little air. I didn't think I had too much in, but after letting some out, it was great. No pressure points, room for the nuggets and very comfy. So maybe it's not a Russell, but both my feet still hit the ground...

 

[Warpdrv]

That looks freakin awful.... !!!! But as others have said - who gives a rats ass.....

Glad you farkled it into something that works for you.... Great Job...

 

[bgross]

Another case of adaptation & improvisation - well done. You now have a one-of-a-kind custom saddle. If it works for you, what more could you ask?

As others have said, if someone doesn't like the way it looks, they don't have to look!

 

[wheatonFJR]

Let us know how it feels after a 500 mile day...

 

[Bounce]

I guess it makes a difference learning to ride on a bike that was tall enough that I couldn't even tiptoe one foot on. I'd have to slide down one side of the bike to touch a toe. Once it's going is all that matters.

 

[flatlandor]

I guess it makes a difference learning to ride on a bike that was tall enough that I couldn't even tiptoe one foot on. I'd have to slide down one side of the bike to touch a toe. Once it's going is all that matters.

Well, I've had more bikes than I can remember over my 35+ years of riding. First street bike I had was a 500 Kawasaki. I would walk the bike up to our cistern lid in order to climb on. I'd ride the back roads without stopping and come back to that cistern lid in order to dismount. I couldn't get a toe down even sliding over. I was about 14...

Sliding to the side to get a foot down is a common thing that I have done on many a bike over the years and it's no issue by yourself. I don't buy bikes for how they feel at a stop sign. And I can ride slower than I can walk and perform the policeman motor test with ease. Even did it on a Gold Wing once. However, when taking a passenger and dealing with extra weight you can't always control, it is safer to be able to have not just one, but two feet solid on the ground. If the passenger shifts accidentally at the wrong time and opposite the foot you have "slid off the side" to get to the ground, it's difficult to shift back to the other side quick enough to catch the bike.

I bought the FJR to tour with my wife, so I'm wanting both feet firm as opposed to my Gen 2 VMax which she won't get on and is just for me so I could care less how tall it is.