Air Hawk or similar

[MIKE46]

I am suffering from numb bum syndrome, whilst at one time I could ride all day without any trouble I now have to stop regularly to ease the problem. I am thinking about getting an Air Hawk seat cover and would welcome any advice as to whether one, or something similar, would be appropriate and solve the problem. If I were to get one which size should I go for?

[wabeers]

I have the Air Hawk model Cruiser Medium on my 2008 R1200R and it really helps if I ride for more than an hour at a time.
It retails for $190 but you can get it cheaper on the Internet. It has air filled chambers that you inflate just a little to
get a very comfortable ride. I have had mine for a year and never had to add more air. It comes with a 2 year warranty.
The company makes high end inflatable pads for wheel chair bound and people confined to a bed to prevent bed sores.
It comes with a strap that you attach to the pad and then route it under the seat. I don't use the strap because it is secure
without the strap and I just store it in my saddle bag when I'm away from the bike. I have the BMW low seat and it affords
little in the way of comfort. The Air Hawk will raise the height of the seat 1/2 inch.

A friend of mine bought the Alaska sheep skin and he is very happy with it. It costs half what the Air Hawk costs. I have
not tried it myself.

[Jed]

I've been using a Thermarest "Trail Seat" cushion to take the edge off as my butt gets used to the BMW "Comfort Seat" or until I break down and get a Rick Meyer saddle. It does a surprisingly good job for short money. This self-inflating cushion has more than tripled my saddle time before discomfort. It sells for about $20.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-r ... at/product

cheers,

[deilenberger]

Mike,

I've used AirHawks - and on my R1150RS found that it caused me pain in another important part of my body. That pain did distract from the butt pain, but I'm not sure that was a good thing.

I went to "FreedomAir" - which has a cutout in it for the boyz. If you Google it you'll find it. It was designed by the same chap who designed the AirHawks (and who is now working on a completely different idea), so it's much along the same idea, but a bit more advanced in design (has two sections to the air chambers, helps prevent side to side rocking, plus the cutout for the boyz.)

I found the normal cruiser one worked fine on the stock seat. I found I prefer their sport bike one on my Sargent seat. That said - the Sargent apparently has conformed enough to my butt that the cushion was largely unnecessary during a 3,000 mile ride this summer. Or the steroid (prescription.. really) I was taking helped (although I still haven't needed the air cushion and the prescription was only for 2 weeks worth.)

[rockbottom]

Put me in the Airhawk camp. When I got my R1200R last July, I couldn't go more than a couple of hours without severe discomfort. I had an Alaska Sheepskin and it helped a bit, maybe adding an hour. Same with Beadrider. Then I broke down and got a medium cruiser Airhawk. I've done several days over 450 miles since, and could have kept going. I have a bit of heat build up after 4 or 5 hours, but standing up for 10-20 seconds fixes that.

[Rocket]

I have the Airhawk medium. It gives significant improvement in comfort. Stock seat was uncomfortable for me after about and hour. I could stretch to 2 hours but then really sore. Airhawk makes it possible to ride for 4-6 hours /day. You may still get some discomfort after a long ride, but its much less, and bearable.

[gezerbike]

Got's me an Airhawk too and it always goes on long rides with me. I don't always use it, but when my ass needs a break and I have to keep moving, it sure is nice. But I couln't ride on one all the time. Good investment though.

[staves]

+1 on the AirHawk. My girlfriend and I just went on a 400 mile weekend trip, both of us using AirHawks on the standard R12R seat - extremely comfortable and our seat time was only limited by full bladders and empty gas tanks.

- Scott

[celticus]

+1 on the AirHawk

[bajones238]

I've been using the AirHawk for about 2 years on my '07 R1200R, and am very happy with it.

[crazyhorse]

i have never needed one on my r12r but i have used them on other smaller enduro bikes when doing long haul days. helps out a brick-like seat immensely.

here is one for sale on adv.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=622261

[psycle.vt]

Another +1 for the medium Airhawk - I got the cheaper version that Whitehorse sells and have used it for most of the 11k I've put on the bike so far this year including the cross country ride with 400-750 mile days. Made the stock saddle OK (some day may spring for a Rick Mayer, but there are other things like tires that seem to come in the way).

[Hamishhog]

Another 1 for the AirHawk.
I just bought a 2009 R1200R and rode it 800 miles home from the dealer in SC.
Blue Ridge Parkway, then 221 in VA/W VA, then 220 up to PA. What a ride!

Suffered the first hour on the stock seat. Had brought an Airhawk though (smart, for once) and it saved me over the next few days. Had one 7am-7pm day (with breaks of course) and was sore in a lot of places but not my butt. Really has me thinking whether I need to upgrade the seat...

[icecave]

+1 for the Freedom Air. Nothing beats taking a break, such as getting off the bike when its stopped and walking around.

[LumpyCam]

I just pulled 6,000km in 9 days on the stock seat. Based on advice from the forum I picked up an Airhawk before the trip and never had the slightest saddle soreness. Very impressed! The Freedom Air looks like a fine product too.


My perfect touring package.