The Problem
Riding for long periods of time in the tropics can cause considerable discomfort. Especially on a stock standard seat. Soon after getting my new bike I embarked on a 350 kilometre adventure ride up the highway and down a few dirt tracks. This was a test run of my fully loaded bike for a four week outback odyssey. While this should have been a pleasant ride, I was less than comfortable. The bike was fine, it purred on and handled all sorts of terrain with ease. Unfortunately, there was a never ending pain in my butt and lower back. It felt like my butt was burning, as if small patches of hot coal were tearing at parts of my glutes and inner legs. I moved about on the seat, but no sooner had a settled into one position than other parts of my thighs and butt began to ache.
This is what a lot of riders complain about, then stock seats are generally too soft and not quite the right shape. If you listen to all the forums you will hear that one of the first modifications many touring riders do to their bikes is to change the seat.
Just as I was thinking that I would need to take a break and get some circulation back in my legs, I heard the gentle purr of a big 136 horse power motor bike as he pulled out from behind me and accelerated to over 150 kilometres per hour passing the road train in front of me seemingly effortlessly, closely followed in a similar way by his/her riding companion. I thought to myself, “I wonder if those riders are finding their seats uncomfortable”. The answer of course was “Hell No” you don’t pay $30K for a bike with an uncomfortable seat.
Shortly after that I found a small side road where I pulled over to stretch and have a quick snack. I had been riding now for three hours, one and a half of which were on dirt. I was tired but not exhausted, but more than anything I was sick of the soreness in my butt from the seat.
Three hours in a stock saddle is probably the limit for me at this stage. Unfortunately, I was in the process of planning a four week tour of Queensland and on Outback Queensland roads, three hours just doesn’t cut it.
Possible Solutions
There are four possible solutions to the sore butt. First, and the most popular approach is to replace the seat with any number of luxury offerings including “Seat Concepts”, “Corbin”, and “Sargent Seats. All three made in America. A second option is to buy a seat cover. There are four options in this space as well, they include; Air Hawks, Sheep Skin, Gel Seat and BeadRider covers.
After reading some reviews online I decided to go with the BeadRider ceramic beaded seat cover shown below. This review are my personal thought on the effectiveness of this cover based on the Swaggie Rating Scale (SRS).
BeadRider Seat Covers
BeadRider describes their seats as the best beaded seat available on the market, this may be true as I have been doing a lot of internet searches and still can’t find another one to compare it to. They claim the seat allows for dispersion of pressure, and provides cooling to the riders but while also reducing moisture build up due to sweating. There are two types of cover, the wooden beads of the Classic BeadRider Seat (CBS) and the newer ceramic beads of the Ultimate BeadRiders Seat (UBS).
The only way to evaluate this seat cover is to undertake the same ride as my previous one and see if at different stages throughout the ride there is any change in comfort levels. As the cheapest seat modification option I decided to order one directly from BeadRider in the US. It’s alway a bit hit and mis when it comes to how much you actually pay when ordering from the US because of the ever changing exchange rate and the cost of transportation. By the time it arrived at my door it cost around A$100. I quickly removed my pannier racks and seat in order to fit the little beaded cover.
Fitting the cover
The cover arrived in a neat and well presented little package about three weeks after ordering it. There were some general instructions on how to fit it, which being typical male I ignored and threw in the bin along with the packing material. Let’s face it this is not a difficult thing to fit. It’s a matter of removing the seat and looping the cords under, once the cords are fitted just pull tight on the toggles. I also tied the two loops together with the excess elastic cord just to keep it tidy.
Testing
As I was only two weeks away from my around Queensland adventure I decided to test the new seat configuration. I went from Townsville in North Queensland to the coastal town of Bowen. This was to be a full day of riding as I had business in Bowen. It was only 250 kilometres each way and all of that was highway riding. I still spent about seven hours in the saddle. I was also conscious that I still needed to get riding fit and that may be this small test was not long enough to “Harden Up”, so I decided to withhold my review comments until I had spent considerably more time in the saddle.
7000 Kilometre Test Run
It’s been a few months since I returned from my 7000 kilometre journey around Queensland and I have just ordered a Sargent’s Seat from North America. The bottom line is even with the BeadRider cover I still felt sore at different times during my ride. I never really harden up during the trip as the old fellas said. I think that regardless of seat cover the basic configuration of materials and seat shape are not mitigated by a cover.
My thoughts on the BeadRider seat cover
The seat cover was a major improvement on the stock seat, but it still did not remove the overall soreness that you experience riding with a stock seat. It does reduce the build up of heat and it improves the circulation no end, which increased the amount of distance I could do before having to pull over for a walk around. I would estimate where normally, you would start getting sore after the first one and a half hours, with the BeadRider cover that is pushed out to about three hours.
The BeadRider Seat Cover is an excellent product that does a great job. For doing small trips around town or out to the distant pub for lunch it will save you a lot of money as you will not need to buy a new seat. It definitely increases the distance you can travel before getting sore and is well worth the small sum you pay. However, for the adventure motor bike rider or touring rider the seat cover will not change the basic configuration of a stock seat that is designed a at a budget price point. Like OEM tires, it will need to be changed sooner rather than later. I’m looking forward to testing it on my Sargent’s seat, a combination of great seat design and a ceramic bead mat massaging my butt as I ride sounds like an awesome combination of products. I’ll let you know:)
I hope you enjoyed this review, if. you have any comments please provide them in the space below. Safe travels and happy adventures………Swaggie:)
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[…] Even though I had installed a Beadrider seat cover, I was starting to feel sore in the saddle. This feeling that would stay with me for the entire journey. I’ve written a product review on the bead rider seat cover: Beadrider Seat Cover […]