My bum

[PRD]

We have seen some amazing advances in bikes in the last 40 years. The r and d has been incredible. But what is the point of it when after an hour your bum aches. A bit less money spent on performance and more on comfort would be good. People would not accept a car like that so why do we bikers have to.

[O.C.]

Some times yer bum adjusts to the seat and visa versa, I had a Kawasaki Gel seat on a previous GTR and initially it was uncomfortable, I also tried a Sargent (I think) seat many moons ago but that wasn't great either

I purchased an Airhawk seat for Gill to use whilst she is pillion and she reckons it's quite good, check this link

http://www.airhawk.co.uk/

Alternatively some riders have used a sheepskin type cover which I can't comment on personally,.....it seems to me that they would be too hot  in summer and too wet in winter      

[Phill_York]

I has the Gel seat too and found it too hard (not great when I'm trying to sell it on Ebay).

Getting it re-upholstered is surprisingly cheap (approx. £60 up North) and the first thing I do when I get a new bike.

But I do agree with you that it shouldn't be necessary :-)

[snowy]

But if the manufacturer made a comfortable, user friendly seat, they wouldn't be able to sell us a "comfort" seat as an upgrade!
Same with non-essentials as centre stands, and heated grips!   Luxuries!
It may be nostalgia and "rose tinted", but me and Jen did 800 miles in a day on a 1978 R80/7 some years ago..............uncomfortable? 
My old GSX750f, ok knees suffer a bit, but seat comfort is good. Seems the art of a good seat is being lost with age!
Recent bikes....gs1200 standard seat ok for a bit, sargent brilliant, SuperTen.....rider and pillion seats poor, GTR is the best of the 3, but even then a gel pad is a bonus!
Course, could always be down to the few extra grams that come with age and the extra inches on the waist!

[Lonewolf]

I'm saying little but what I will say is that there's nothing better than on a chilly day after a 500 + mile trip in sheer comfort on a very comfortable standard seat to turn on the heated seat and thaw your trunk out whilst at the same time defrosting your bum. 

[PRD]

Is that on your Suzuki Bergman then?

[O.C.]

those wonky BMW electronics might result in riders speeding down the road crying "hells bells I think my arse is on fire"   

I have to admit that the K1300GTEE  I briefly owned had heated seats and they were very good   

[PRD]

But not good enough to stop you selling the bike! And moving on once you had learned the truth!

[O.C.]

But not good enough to stop you selling the bike! And moving on once you had learned the truth!

many true words are spoken in jest .   .......it wasn't a good bike although it did posses a very fine engine,.

[keith]

I'm saying little but what I will say is that there's nothing better than on a chilly day after a 500 + mile trip in sheer comfort on a very comfortable standard seat to turn on the heated seat and thaw your trunk out whilst at the same time defrosting your bum. 

+ one must agree this is my first bike  with heated seats ,although we have had a couple of dry days up here it has been  very cold ,but with the heated seat and the very good heated grips ,it was a pleasure to ride the gt ..getting better the more i get used to i....

[PRD]

Traitors in our midst!!

[Charlie747]

Traitors in our midst!!

As I've a foot in both camps (sides of the force) I found the gel Kawasaki seat far better than the std seat but still not as armchair as the std K16 seat. This is a very personal thing as I remember Asif saying that he did not get on with a gel seat.

The GTR std riding position is a slightly braced forward leaning position with your weight on the upper inside of your thighs. Brilliant for punching a hole through the atmosphere at warp factor 9 hour after hour whilst maintaining a focused machine control feeling every texture the road throws at you.

The K16 has a far more upright position with your weight on the back of your buttocks.  This leads to being less braced for the forces of ridding but far more comfortable when at more relaxed rates of progress.

Sporty progress = GTR.  Relaxed progress = K16