Seat comfort

[VroomVroom]

Considering a few bike options and a lot of the decision boils down to the seat comfort.
I plan a 16,000km trip back to England and therefore need something that won't punish my asshole.
Looking at a qingqi gy250 LIGER and wondered if anyone has a decent solution to the narrow seats on dual sports.

Anybody has tried sheepskin? Gel seats? Bicycle pants?
Any imported options that won't cost an arm and a leg?

[hugemoth]

Do a Google search for something called Sweet Cheeks. It's the only way I know of to make a stock seat feel wider and also provides water storage. Atop that you could use sheep skin which makes a huge difference in comfort.

[VroomVroom]

Do a Google search for something called Sweet Cheeks. It's the only way I know of to make a stock seat feel wider and also provides water storage. Atop that you could use sheep skin which makes a huge difference in comfort.

I found that, but not able to purchase it in China. I will try fabricate this myself but was hoping for another option.

[ShuBen]

Check the X2 reports. Somewhere member MILTON has posted a Tao Bao store that modify standard seats

[VroomVroom]

Check the X2 reports. Somewhere member MILTON has posted a Tao Bao store that modify standard seats

Only x2x and lx450 seats :(

[Zorge]

I know guys who picked some cushions that suited them and then they made tearproof "slipcovers" with straps on the right places.

They rode motorcycles that have same seat on as one on the Qingqi GY 250. As they said, some 1,200 kilometers to the Adriatic coast and back were not torture for their... ahem...

[bikerdoc]

OP, I've taken a few different approaches to seat mods. Given that in PRC it is somewhat problematic to find suitable options here. If one was located in the EU, UK or USA, even Australia or NZ it would be a reasonably simple undertaking but TIC.
Here are some options that I've taken on different bikes here in PRC.

Jetmax: HOLA store. Cushion.
I managed to find a therapeutic type narrow-ish seat cover - not really a seat cushion as it isn't that thick. I think the design and possibly the manufacture was/is Japanese given that the 'cushion' has some strategically placed small magnets stitched inside. These don't cause any issue. I then added six elastic loops and sewed these onto the sides of the 'cushion'. Then I bought some smallish 4cm long 'S' type hooks from B&Q Hardware, then bent each end of the 'S' slightly out of line, and attached these onto the ends of the elastic, and then attached to the Jetmax seat. I think I posted pictures of this in one of my Jetmax threads here on MCM. The comfort level improved, but I then added under the 'cushion' a small real cushion the size of which is just a little bigger than the neck support cushions that some of the front car seat covers come with. This improved the comfort level no end. It may not look that great, but it don't matter when my arse is on the seat.

CF650TR: Taobao seller. Black elastic 'spider-web'.
The seat on the CFMoto 650TR is a typically narrow seat (not as narrow as a motocross bike mind). The seat is not helped by the seating position/angle and subsequent reach to the bars. I found just by chance a stretch 'spider-web' seat cover for the Benelli/QJ 600GT/600GS-A. I'd bought a few accessories in anticipation of buying myself the Benelli 600GT - but didn't in the end. While the two bikes seat differ, I had the seat cover on hand and fitted it to the 650TR. It's not an ideal fit, as it's obvious that the 600GT is at least wider. No matter, I have managed to fit the cover to the 650TR and the difference is noticeably better. The only down side with this type of material is that I find that if I'm not wearing proper riding trousers, and say just denim jeans, I slide forward on the seat. Otherwise it's a simple solution.

650GS: Various. Black elastic spider-web & Sheepskin.
I rode my '14 650GS from China to Thailand completing 22K km in 2 months of riding total there and back. On the ride down I completed 3900km in 48 hours (pretty much non-stop), leaving Ningbo rode to between the highway Jiande and Tonglu, via Yiwu on provincial highways and secondary roads or worse before riding onto the G60 Expressway - wahoo!

Once on the G60 Expressway, my plan was to stay on until I was either forcibly evicted, or I could not physically continue. The riding god's were in my corner and I managed to ride the entire way on the Expressway's from near Jiande to Kunming, before finding myself a little lost trying to find my way to the other Expressway on the other side of the city that lead to Xishuangbana. I arrived in Xishuangbana very early on the morning of day 3 where I then rode round the new side of Xishaungbana and getting myself a room in a 4-5 star hotel - figuring I earned it. In those 48hrs I stopped only for petrol, and twice in the early hours at the end of day/night 1 and day/night 2 for 30-40 minute power naps which I tried to do while sitting on the motorbike at two different Expressway service centres - my arse had a serious, and I do mean serious case of saddle 'sores'. The GS had the standard seat without any cover. I knew then that I needed to remedy this certainly before the return leg - that was for sure.

Once I got to Thailand, I made it a priority to get the seat sorted. I could have fairly easily had the seat modified there, since Thailand has a higher percentage of 'craftsman' who know what the fark they are doing, or perceptibly so compared with the TIC BS I've seen in my thirteen years here. However since I was planning to ride everyday for the 2 months I was in Thailand (and pretty much did so), there was no way I could be without the seat.

Instead I had custom made, one of those elastic 'spider-web' seat covers (full cover). Once I got it and installed it, I liked it, though I think my arse still had saddle sore memories so I wanted more despite the seat cover working well. This cover stretches over the entire seat elastic round the edge, with several stretchy Velcro elastic underneath, pretty much like the seat cover for the aforementioned 600GT I fitted to the 650TR. The one I had made in Thailand is thicker, and cost substantially more.

I tried the GS seat without this seat cover, and I had to put the cover back on. It actually did make a difference.
While in Thailand, I also had the same seat cover fabricator make me an additional cover from the same elastic 'spider-web' material, that is just for the riders section of the seat, meaning it does not stretch to fit around the seat edge like the full seat cover. Instead the single seat cover has stretchy elastic attachments that connect across the underside of the seat. I may change these attachments to something else.

I bought a couple of different Sheepskin covers. One was a proper Sheepskin cover that another rider friend in Thailand had fabricated for his bikes. One he was using, the other was still new and un-used. On a ride he offered me to use his spare. I simply put this over the full 'spider-web' seat cover, and attached using a stretchy elastic thin material with hooks at either end (attached to the underside of the Sheepskin). What a difference. I bought that ship skin cover off the friend. I then bought a larger Sheepskin and cut it in half, then had 3 loops (same as what men's jeans/trousers have - the loop for the belt). The loops I've attached/sewn across the underside of the Sheepskin, through which I threaded a wide flat bungy cord that has plastic ends. These plastic ends are attached to the elastic of the bungy with small self taping screws, so are removable. This allows me to cut the elastic bungy cord to length. The Sheepskin is attached to the bike on the sides using the elastic bungy with plastic hooks. I'm able to attach these Sheepskin seat covers across different model bikes. Given I have 5 here and 3 elsewhere this seems to be a worthwhile alternative to a bike specific seat mod. YMMV.

The Sheepskin cover idea is something that I used when I was in NZ many moons ago, it worked then, and it works now.

If anyone wants I can get photos and post 'em up.

Airhawk seat cushions have a fairly loyal following. Not found in PRC. There's a few Gel seat options sold on Taobao though not necessarily bike specific.

Geez this was going to be such a short reply... LOL

[prince666]

Getting the right seat for your bum on the bike is very hard no one has the same shape bum lol IMO there is only one way have a Custom seat made that you can get shaped to suit what is best for you !
I have a Honda CRF 250L in Thailand and the seat on these bikes are notorious on being not bum friendly so as I was in Thailand doing long ride each day 500/600 km I decided to find a local tradesman who could shape the seat to my requirements , here are some pictures of work in progress and cost was 60 RMB with a new cover !


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Finish job good to ride 8 hour a day now and cheap as chips

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[prince666]

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Decided to have the seat done on the YBR for the long ride back to Hainan different bike so a different design same cost 60 RMB

Few pictures of the seat design

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[TexasAggie]

I bought an AirHawk seat cushion in the USA and threw it in my suitcase as it is very light and brought it over on one of my trips. Outstanding solution for comfort.

http://www.airhawk.net/airhawk-products.aspx