(Cheap) Seat Solution
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,689
1st Gear Member
RE: (Cheap) Seat Solution
On my 20 minute commute to work I noticed a few things.
1. Being around an inch taller, it seemed that my helmet didn't get blown around as much. I think the spillover from the numberplate is quite turbulent and this helped put me above that. I hunkered down and the familiar bobble head feeling came back supporting the above.
2. The individual cushion panels are quite comfortable and with the pad wrapped around the seat it adds almost 1.5-2" in seat width.
3. I started to find a hard spot sitting near the tank on the right side. I may have the pad slightly offcenter and had been sitting on the edge of a cushion panel. But the cover is so slick that it's easy to scoot around and find another good spot.
4. The padding makes the rear of the seat, which has virtually no padding, useable and comfortable.
5. Even adding to the seat height I found it to actually be easier to get a foot down when stopping. Goes back to the slick cover. The gripper seat would, well, it gripped my overpants and the leg material would be tight when trying to get a foot firmly planted. Then I'd have to try and straighten out my pants after I took off. There is none of this now, just slide off the edge and drop a foot, slide back on just as easily.
6. It may have been due to #1 or just the change in ergonomics but I found I had less tension in my shoulders and across my upper back going down the road.
Some observations from KLR owners:
Over time the cover will fade from the sun.
It is not water resistant, it will soak up water in the rain or washing, however it does dry quickly.
If you use too much tension on the straps you can/will rip the mounting strap off the cover.
It might be great for some, but others really didn't like it at all, or noticed no difference.
Weather permitting I'll take the scenic route home and try for 30-40 miles or so and then get back to y'all again. For now though I'd say if you were doing a leisurely DS ride this cover is just the ticket for a few hours worth. If you were running the dirt pretty hard I'd probably leave the cover at the house because of how slick it is.
1. Being around an inch taller, it seemed that my helmet didn't get blown around as much. I think the spillover from the numberplate is quite turbulent and this helped put me above that. I hunkered down and the familiar bobble head feeling came back supporting the above.
2. The individual cushion panels are quite comfortable and with the pad wrapped around the seat it adds almost 1.5-2" in seat width.
3. I started to find a hard spot sitting near the tank on the right side. I may have the pad slightly offcenter and had been sitting on the edge of a cushion panel. But the cover is so slick that it's easy to scoot around and find another good spot.
4. The padding makes the rear of the seat, which has virtually no padding, useable and comfortable.
5. Even adding to the seat height I found it to actually be easier to get a foot down when stopping. Goes back to the slick cover. The gripper seat would, well, it gripped my overpants and the leg material would be tight when trying to get a foot firmly planted. Then I'd have to try and straighten out my pants after I took off. There is none of this now, just slide off the edge and drop a foot, slide back on just as easily.
6. It may have been due to #1 or just the change in ergonomics but I found I had less tension in my shoulders and across my upper back going down the road.
Some observations from KLR owners:
Over time the cover will fade from the sun.
It is not water resistant, it will soak up water in the rain or washing, however it does dry quickly.
If you use too much tension on the straps you can/will rip the mounting strap off the cover.
It might be great for some, but others really didn't like it at all, or noticed no difference.
Weather permitting I'll take the scenic route home and try for 30-40 miles or so and then get back to y'all again. For now though I'd say if you were doing a leisurely DS ride this cover is just the ticket for a few hours worth. If you were running the dirt pretty hard I'd probably leave the cover at the house because of how slick it is.
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,689
1st Gear Member
RE: (Cheap) Seat Solution
I did 30 miles on the way home and its an improvement over the stock seat but my **** was still kinda sore. Well not so much sore as there are still pressure points. Not the tailbone but the(****) cheekbones. And it wasn't so much as pinpoint pressure like the stock seat, just broad flat pressure. I think its from the stock seat being so narrow. It's just to the inside edge of the seat, where this outter cover starts to roll over. I'll have to give a couple days before I can make a final decision. I did ride around the yard for 20 minutes or so and didn't notice the pressure points. I think the windblast drives you down onto the seat is what creates the pressure points. I found that they go away if you lean over the tank into the wind and let the windblast support your upper body. Sitting upright your body pivots about your hands at the bars and drives you down into the seat from the wind pushing straight back.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
