I have had a gel insert put inside of my stock FLSB seat which works fine for 250 or so miles. I am leaving in a month for a 3500 mile trip and before I pump out a bunch of bucks for doubling up the pad thickness by adding a cover the seat pad I am wondering if the more economical seat pads from Walkmart will work just fine. Does anyone have any experience with their seat pads? (yes I can get HD's pad or a good one from cycle gear (but it may feel too "sloppy" since I already have waffle get inside my stock seat.)

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

I used to use an 8 inch inner tube. I found a cover for it in Walmart when I bought the tube. It was a zipped pouch for something but I do not remember what for.

I just put enough air in the inner tube so it was not flat. Then you are basically floating.

Get the center valve stem inner tube.

 

Back in the day, before all the gel pads it was popular to use a wheel barrow inner tube barely inflated as a cushion

 

Funny what we use in a pinch.

 

Not super cheap but won't break your bank either....I purchased an Airhawk many years ago for long weekend trips. At the time I had an 02 Dyna with a 15 year old Sundowner seat so the need for something was urgent. I could get by for day trips and yeah, I would be a little sore and tired. But the 500-600 mile weekends killed me.

Granted I have had that for many years and cannot remember if they come in different sizes for different bikes. You'll have to check that out. They are not real difficult to put on but it does a few minutes. Note: They do raise you up almost an inch

 

I've used a lot of pads off and on over the decades. Beads, sheepskins, bladders, springs, soda bottles, etc. They all worked, more or less, but none ever really made my heart go pitter patter. And it all depended on the seat itself to begin with.

I also slowly learned that my underwear was a crucial factor that I wasn't properly appreciating. So too my pants, but to a lesser degree than the underwear.

So let me start with the undies. Ditch the tighty whities or boxers. Get GOOD boxer briefs.
Ones that have no seams or stitching under your butt.
Ones that breath and wick sweat.
Ones that lay smooth without bunching or gathering.
The difference of how you'll feel throughout the day is huge. I cannot over state the importance of good undies for a long day riding.

These happen to be the ones I rock for riding, but there are others.

Similar your pants. Sitting on jeans pocket is not comfortable. Those folded pocket seams will have you squirming and hurting. Being cotton, they tend to pool the sweat, not breath under your butt, and give you monkey butt.

As for seat pads themselves, if the seat is comfortably shaped, I find a breathing pad can be nice. I hate being lifted up, but I know no way to get air flow under my butt without lifting it up from the seat. Luckily, it doesn't take much.

If the seat has some sort of minor shaping flaw, an air bladder of some type to get my off of that flaw can sure help. Again, it doesn't take much. Well, it takes what it takes, but hopefully it won't take much, and go only as high as necessary. Biggest thing I tend to not like about bladders is the wiggliness.

If the seat is majorly flawed, something that many an ADV type bike suffers from, either an entirely new seat or an overlay that I can stuff liter sized bottles into and sit on them instead.
This is the old and long gone Sweet Cheeks. I happen to still have mine, and they were sized seat specific. But with a bath towel you can roll your own.

 

Agreed. It sounds strange to "say it out loud" but it is so important and something to think seriously about and is certainly ok to overthink. Personally, I hate boxer briefs for every day. But learned quickly that they are absolutely the solution for a long day of riding. Basically, anything more than 10 or 15 miles LOL

As for the seat pads, as I mentioned, the Airhawk solved my problem for a long ride - 75+ miles; straight shot. That said, I didn't like it enough to leave it on for the rest of the weekend of riding. We'd usually go out with friends and do maybe 50-60 miles with bar stops maybe every 20 miles. That drove me crazy keeping the pad on so I would take it off until the trip back home on Sunday. Overall, personally, my problem kind of went away since now I only ride the Dyna for short day trips and I purchased a 19 Heritage for everything else - especially long weekend rides. In fact, I took that bike to the next level with having all the seats re-done with Mean City Cycles. Again, since the Dyna seat is over 20 years old, I will most likely have that one redone also with custom padding too.

 

foxtrapper, your link to the briefs on Amazon, why no fly?

 

I’ve run AirHawks, and Alaska Sheepskins, but this is my preference in summer.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/e...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Air Hawk is the way to go, on the cheap do a long hair lamb skin.