That seat!!!

[Bengarzy]

Yep, that seat, tried many things to be able to do the miles without pain in the bum, ended up with a hotel hand towel in my leathers
So I got an Air Hawk seat pad....... really comfy but moves about under acceleration and braking so feel uneasy riding quickly.
Today I pulled the seat cover off, carved out the moulded foam with an electric carving knife and inserted the Air Hawk, all done in an hour, extended the inflating pipe through a hole bored in the seat base with petrol pipe and can now vary the pressure to find the the best comfort.........MAGIC absolutely MAGIC, that’s me sorted for Misano and then on to Spain for the one after and as that will be more than 5k miles I had to do something...

[Prof J]

Yep, that seat...

Bengarzy, please update us when you've put some long distance/long hours on it.

[Bengarzy]

Will do, it’s GOT to be better!

[Prof J]

Will do, it’s GOT to be better!

Bengarzy, would you please share what specific model number you used?

[Zotto]

Not sure what is with peeps and the seat but i find i have np with it ?? Just did 3200KM in 4 days - most of it in 30+ c weather with serious roads at pace - i had a harder time trying to keep hydrated then anything else - and i am running with one well used body lol.

Maybe its just my ass from 40+ years of riding? O well hope you figure out your comfort fix, cause the bike is built to munch miles at pace!

[cOoTeR]

Not sure what is with peeps and the seat but i find i have np with it ?? Just did 3200KM in 4 days - most of it in 30+ c weather with serious roads at pace - i had a harder time trying to keep hydrated then anything else - and i am running with one well used body lol.

Maybe its just my ass from 40+ years of riding? O well hope you figure out your comfort fix, cause the bike is built to munch miles at pace!

I have no issues with the seat. Especially on curvy roads. I've done a 12hr day off straight highway as well.

[PhukDD]

I have only ever done a 400mile run but also have no issues with the seat. Have you guys looked at your riding pants being a possible source of the issue?

[black-k1]

I average around 15,000 to 18,000 miles per year with long range commuting and trips to mainland Europe. I do occasional 500+ mile, 12+ hour days in the saddle. I did all this previously on a BMW K1300S (two in the last 7 years) and before that a BMW K1200S, an Aprilia RST1000 Futura and a Honda VTR1000F. I normally wear a made-to-measure 2 piece, full zip, leather suit.

All of the above bikes have been comfortable and even the Honda only needed use of an AirHawk seat cushion if being used for repeated long days.

I can manage about 60 to 90 minutes on the SX SE seat before being very uncomfortable. It's not me, it's not the gear I'm wearing, it's the seat. It's rubbish!

[JustinP]

It's not me, it's not the gear I'm wearing, it's the seat. It's rubbish!

Absolutely. I've had many bikes. Many with poor stock seats. This seat takes the cake by a long margin.

[Reciprocal]

The issue of seat comfort for me went away when I stopped riding it like an upright tourer and went back to the familiar sport bike crouch. The tank tries to put you farther back in the seat, increasing the reach to the bars, putting your butt on the sloped part of the seat and weight on your wrists. But when I move forward, tummy even touching the tank, the reach to the bars is much more sport bike neutral. I can better feel the CG balance point through the balls of my feet on the pegs. My butt ends up where it should be, neutral, able to slide around, torso is balanced against the wind, the pegs, the knees, the tank, along with the seat but less; and not the bars much. I also have clear Stomp Grips on the sides of the tank for protection and knee grip. The feedback from the front and the turn-in is much more immediate and connected. Which brings up one other major improvement, I swapped the stock tall wind screen for the lowered one from the base SX. That was a big confidence boost as well because I felt the tall stock screen pushing on the bike excessively at high speed, cross winds unnerving. This takes away feedback and confidence. Now, it's my upper torso getting pushed on, preferable because I can move around with the wind to keep the bike pointed without affecting feedback, or tuck down fully behind the lower SX screen, with eyes at the proper level, where I can peek above the screen or duck below it for maximum forward drive. I've also postponed for now purchasing the panniers. Although I think they make the SX SE the absolute best looking sport tourer out there, my experience from the 2,000 mile road trip reminded me of the benefit of going minimalist, just a small backpack bungeed to the passenger pillion, far less convenient than the bags of course, but less intrusive to the wind. That along with all weather riding gear that's lightweight, Kevlar reinforced, ventilated, and lined with GoreTex for rain protection. It seems ironic that my desire for the perfect touring sport bike got better when the equation became more of the latter and less of the former.