Seat inner material

[fbenach]

Hello folks, how is it going?

Today I went out for a quick lunch/ride with a friend that has a beautiful ´61 R60 completely restored... on the way back, we exchanged bikes so I can feel driving such a beauty on the road... great!!
Anyways, he told me that my seat was really hard and that he thought it might need some extra stuff on the inside...

The seat cover is in perfect shape (OEM I think), but he rang a bell, as long as I´ve been having a little pain on the lower back everytime I ride the bike for more than 2 hours (which doesn´t happen to me on any other bike) and actually, I feel is a little flat...

Well, I really don´t know what kind of material is on the inside but, is there any suggestion/tip you can give me before opening the seat and having it stuffed again?

Thank you as always!!!
Regards,
Fernando

[bruce_launceston]

All I can say is that doesn't look like a genuine BMW seat cover. A previous owner may have recovered the factory foam or he may have added, removed or completely changed the original foam.

You will have to catch up with another R65 of similar vintage and have a look at (and feel of) theirs.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

All I can say is that doesn't look like a genuine BMW seat cover.

Yeah!  I know what is wrong with it - it is black.  They were brown until the 1981 model year.

Yes, the foam breaks down and makes for a VERY uncomfortable ride.
SueinCanada and I both tried foam from this source: http://www.seatfoam.com/products.htm

I don't know about skinny Sue, but I didn't care for mine at all.  I don't remember which two densities I chose, but it wasn't enough.

I found satisfaction by throwing big bucks at a new reproduction seat from this place:
http://www.meyer-bikes.com/ersatz3.php?cat=32

Actually, I have bought two different solo seats from S. Meyer, and they have both been quite comfortable.  But I am going back to a standard bench seat (but upgrading to the 2nd gen. style - nicer under-seat storage!) as soon as I sell my solo seat/luggage rack set-up.


Compare S. Meyer's 1st gen seat.  It doesn't really show the brown very well, but you can see the faux stitching is much more subdued than on your seat.



Here is my old original seat:


click for larger

You can see I have a nearly $100 Butt Buffer (gel pad) that did absolutely nothing (nor did beads, or sheepskin...) and the gel pad's straps were collapsing the NEW foam!    

[Barry]

The  profile of that re-covered seat cover is not quite right so it seems likely the foam was changed or the cover was stretched too tight.  When I recovered my brown seat and kept the original foam it didn't change the feel of the seat as far as I could tell. The early seats are also reckoned to be the most comfortable which I suppose should have made up for the browness but I couldn't live with it. They look so much better in black.

[nhmaf]

Seats can be quite a challenge -what works great for some who ride mostly short distances is terrible for others who ride long distances in hot weather, etc.   I think in general, most people don't realize that you do want a fairly firm/dense foam, with possibly just a small amount of softer material on the top/middle.   You don't want to feel like sinking into the seat deeply, as that creates pressure points that can cause nerve damage on long rides, and is hot and uncomfortable (due to lack of air circulation).  IT is also important to have some support on the inner thighs/lower buttocks to help take some of the weight off the base of your spine.   A too-hard seat is not good either, but I've found that seats like my Corbin - which isn't all that nice for short trips to the corner store, REALLY helps to make 600+ mile days in the saddle much more tolerable than the stock seat on my KAwasaki Concours.   Say what you will about the ugly day-long Russell seats you see on so many airheads - they may not look great, but one could ride all day long on those things!

[tvrla]

The owner of my first R65 had the seat redone with softer foam. I would have taken it on my cross country trip six years ago except the seat was so uncomfortable - it would wedge up my butt and would kill me after an hour or two. But the PO loved it - of course, she was a light weight girl.

I've also found that a fairly hard seat is the most comfortable. The Corbins seem to be rock hard, but for some reason they're comfortable. Just wish they could make em about a ton lighter. I'm also one of the oddballs who finds the stock seats comfortable.  8-)

[montmil]

...it would wedge up my butt and would kill me after an hour or two. But the PO loved it - of course, she was a light weight girl...

They also wear those thong thingys.

[marcmax]

I had a Russell Daylong that came on one of my LS's. The seat itself was shot with every seam coming apart but it had a good seat pan and tail piece. When I took it apart to build a normal bench seat on the pan I was amazed at the different foam used. There were at least 4 different types and densities of foam, a softer central rib, firm outer sides, medium at the vary edge and a variety of density "bumps" strategically placed around the saddle. It was a real work of art. I rebuilt the bench with three different densities of foam and although I have had friends tell me they think it is too hard I find it comfortable. I have done a 600 mile day and felt fine at the end.

[Bob_Roller]

If by chance you decide to put a gel pad in there, I have had gel inserts put in three of the bikes by a local independent shop, really a one man operation .

He showed me the get pads or inserts that are commonly used by the commercial type seat shops .

Usually it's at the most, .25 inches (6 mm) thick , the material he uses, is .75 inches thick (20mm) .

The .25 inch (6mm) thick pad is useless, not worth the effort and cost .

I don't do much long distance riding, at best a 3-4 hour ride on the weekend, so I can't say how it fares on a daylong  or days long ride, a lot better than the stock foam .

[fbenach]

Well... it seems not as easy as I thought... I will unmount the seat and take it to a guy down here that has been fixing liners for helmets... I had a couple of Buco helmets done with him using certified materials to assure the DOT standards...
He has done seats as well, but we will look around for tech info on how to redo the seat...
I´ll let you know the results!!

Thank you guys again, you are great!!