I have a lot of trouble with finding a comfortable motorcycle seat. 30 minutes on most is enough to make me uncomfortable. I have found the Suzuki Gel seat to be good for about 45 minutes. The Saddleman Adventure Track good for about an hour. I have tried the Airhawk pad and don't care for the way it raises the seating position. I have an Alaska leather sheepskin pad. It definitely helps. For my Royal Star I have a Russell seat on order. If it is as wonderful as they say I'll order one for the V-Strom.

 

I think my Saddleman Adventure Track has finally broken in after about 2000-3000 miles - I find it fantastically comfortable now, as it's completely transformed from it's 'brand-new' condition.....soft, supportive, yet you can still move around on it. Bang up seat, feels like a well worn in baseball mitt right now!

 

Likewise. I tried a sheepskin, and then an Airhawk pad, which to work properly you only partially inflate - which means it moves around beneath you and you feel disconnected from the bike.
Then I bought my Saddlemens Track CF. At first a little firm but now the best I have ever owned. Firmer, flatter but far more comfortable after a few hours in the saddle, and no more locked in place by the stocker.:thumbup: Could have bought the Saddlemens with what I spent on the sheepskin and the Airhawk.

 

I am a Russell believer. Had them make a 2-up Daylong Saddle for my 2012 650. Rode it from TX to AK round trip this summer. 10,566 miles in 38 days. 2 weeks of it was 2-up across Alaska and the Yukon. No sore hineys!

 

Thanks for that.
Do they have a distributor in Japan?
I want a seat that is both 'all day' comfy and a good inch lower but more supportive than stock. I am only 5 feet 6 inches tall and have already had the dealer lower the bike a full inch.
Am willing to pay the price for a good seat.

 

You may want to do a search on this, it's been covered dozens of times, many people have issues with the stock seat. Remember that seats are very personal, what works great for one person doesn't work for someone else. You're going to have to try different things, start cheap with sheepskins, gel pads, etc, before you start buying seats. The first seat I tried was a Sargent because they have (had?) a return policy, after that I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a Corbin. The Russell seems to be the seat with the fewest negative reviews, many people end up with one.

 

I have used most of them except Saddleman over the years and bought a seat concepts kit for under 200 dollars and it is as good as any of them and better than most. There was no break in.

 

I have only used the seat concepts, but it's definitely a big improvement over the stock seat!

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I have a Seargent on my Strom, Its comfortable and works for 400 mile days in the saddle.

Sargent Seats - Suzuki VStrom 2002-11 World Sport Seat

Another option, take the seat to a local upholsterer and have then make the adjustments for you. Often this can be cheaper and the end result is a more custom seat for a good price.

 

I went with a Corbin seat and I have to say its a bit more comfortable than stock but not enough to justify what I paid for it. The seat also weighs about 5x more than the stock. Overall it's a little bit of a step up. I still get itchy in the saddle after about 150 or so miles, however this could be due to other factors besides the seat.

 

Ditto

If I was to do it over I'd try the Russell

 

Ride up to Shasta for a custom Russell.

 

Air Hawk works great have done many all day rides with no discomfort. Used one on a KLR650 tour bike in South America it had a hard old seat but the Air hawk worked good. More important my wife on the pillion used hers and it saved a marriage break up, those trail bike seats are not so comfy. Secret is to use very little air, most people pump the up too much.

 

+3 on the Saddleman's Adventure Track. Fantastic seat!

 

I am a big fan of the Beadrider. Keeps your circulation and lets air up in under you. I see no mention of it in the responses. It cost between $40 and $50 I believe depending if you go with the old wooden style or the newer acrylic style. Go acrylic if you get one ... the wood beads fade over time.

 

It burns my Butt, ( no pun intended ) when you buy a new bike you have to spend 3 or 4 hundred bucks to get a seat that you can stand more than 50 miles. I love my glee (hate that word) but the seat sucks.......td

 

I agree! My Terry Adcox seat should be arriving next week for my Wee2...


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+whatever on the Russell Day Long.

 

I have heard nothing but good reports on the Russel Day Long seats, but I have always found Corbin to work great for me. I tried, sheepskin and beads, then got a Corbin and never even think about seat issues anymore. I did an Iron Butt in June on it and the seat was never an issue, even after 1000 miles. My shoulders were a little sore though, and I was tired.

 

Seats are very personal.

That said, I just did 8160 miles in 14 riding days with the Saddleman. It was great.

 

Terry Adcox is just like the Russell Day Long seat. I have had 2 of his seats and never have had discomfort on them. They are the best seats for the money. You can find him in the group buys section of this forum. I just bought a 2012 Glee but haven't spent enough time in the saddle to see if I need another seat from Terry yet.

 

Tom Cooke is close to Russell, so he can ride up and get a custom made seat that is Just. Right. For. His. Butt.

Life doesn't get much better than that.

 

Now that my Saddlemen adventure track is broke in, its great! I was worried at first! It even said to give it a 1000 miles for break in. I think it will be even better for the long haul!

 

Does anyone know if the OEM tall seat is less prone to the "scrunching" effect of the standard seat? After two years I feel more and more like I'm sitting/sinking into the seat foam, almost like a valley. I read somewhere that the tall seat is just firmer foam on the same pan which sounds like a solution to me. The Saddleman Adv Track is also on my radar but I'm not sure about the looks...

 

Yes the 13-650 OEM tall seat is much firmer and I feel like I'm riding on it not settling into it.


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To be honest the stock seat really isn't that bad. The worst issue is having to adjust your position because after a while its rough on the testies. The Corbin seat I swapped it out is nice as far as the countour/shape however it could use more padding for the buttocks. Both seats present their own issues but as I said before the stock seat isn't a bad seat by any means.

 

>>To be honest the stock seat really isn't that bad<<

Yeah, I kinda agree. To me, the problem with most aftermarket seats is they're too danged high. The last thing I need is added seat height. Fortunately, I'm old and don't spend enough time in the saddle at one clip to really need anything too special.

 

I'm really happy with my Russell Sport seat. It's a smaller version of the Day Long but very comfortable for me even on a couple of 600 mile days. It also seems to fit the DL650 better. For reference I'm 6', 175# with a 33" inseam. Talk to Kim at Russell about the differences.

 

I bought the Russell Day Long seat. After completing 19,003 kilometres (Yukon, North West Territories and Alaska) in 6 1/2 weeks, with 13 straight CONTINUOUS days of 750-800 kilometre, the seat is OUTSTANDING!!!

 

it's the Russell all day for me.

 

I just finished a 10 day, 3700 mile trip with the stock seat. For 90% of my riding (commuting and 500-600 mile 1 day trips) the stock seat works well enough for me. But before I go on another touring vacation I'm going to look into a better seating set-up. I'll probably start with a bead rider and if that doesn't work I'll spring for a Russel. Seems to have an overwhelmingly positive reputation around here. And with the bike loaded down with luggage you won't even notice the tractor seat. The rest of the time I'll probably keep the stocker on it.