Air ride seat mod for long distance cruising

[Skin Mechanic]

After riding the monster 128 miles I realized that the stock seat padding was too firm for touring. This is a quick and easy mod that I've done before with other bikes.

The only part needed is a 12" bicycle inner tube. Tools required are; precision flat head screwdriver, pliers, staple gun, xacto knife, sharpie marker, duct tape, air pump.




I used the precision screwdriver and pliers to loosen and pull the staples securing the seat cover to the pan. Because of the contour at the front of the pan I did not completely remove the cover as it would've been damn near impossible to staple it back into place.




I used the sharpie to mark the area to be excised, just forward of the pillion area where the pillion cover attaches to the seat pan.




I cut along the outline with the xacto knife and began pulling out chunks of padding to make room for the inner tube, taking care not go all the way thru the seat foam.




I covered the seat pan with a layer of gorilla tape to protect the tube from any sharp edges in the plastic. Then put some air in the tube, arranged it in an "H" pattern, and secured it with thin strips of tape.




I pulled the schrader valve thru a hole in the seat pan and secured it with a piece of tape. Then stretched and stapled the seat cover back in place.




The finished project looks completely stock, but it feels like my cheeks are being caressed by a fluffy cloud Seriously though, the tube has almost no air in it. Over inflating the tube will make the seat harder than Wolverine's claws, and the tension will tear the seat cover at the staples.



Although this project was very easy, taking less than 45 minutes and costing under $3, I wouldn't waste my time and money doing it if I were only using the bike to run errands and commute to work.

[BlackBike]

Great job, ingenious for a diy. You had me UNTIL , fluffy cloud

[Weldangrind]

That's a new one on me! Thanks for sharing your project.

[wheelbender6]

Wow. Adjustable seat firmness. Great idea. Call it the "Air Jordan" seat.
Guys that ride on those thin cafe racer seats would definitely benefit from your idea.

[Skin Mechanic]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I kinda ripped off the idea from Airhawk. When I bought my Moto Guzzi Cali it had a Corbin saddle. Looked good, but it was padded with concrete, broken glass, and rusty nails. A friend suggested buying an Airhawk pad, and I balked at the idea of paying $100+ for a glorified hemorrhoid cushion. I did the inner tube mod and put over 20k miles on the seat before I turned it into a rat bike and made a cafe style seat outta multiple layers of yoga mat. Which turned out to be as comfortable as the inner tube mod.

[Weldangrind]

Thanks for the yoga mat idea!

[Skin Mechanic]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Thanks for the yoga mat idea!

IIRC, that seat had 9 layers of Golds Gym yoga mat. It looked torturous, but I did 250+ mile day rides on it with no issues. I just got back from a 103 mile ride on the monster and I'm feelin' no pain.