lost feeling in butt.

[jasonwatkins]

Hey Guys,
After riding 250 miles yesterday I have been considering a new seat or pad or bigger butt. I have seen the double buckets at the various online parts places. Has anyone actually bought one and know if they feel any better on the backside. And if I do get one then I'll probably one really perfect seat top to sell, whatever is not used when putting on the kit.
Thanks, Jason.

[Jerry]

You might want to do a search for past threads, as this is a fairly comon topic of conversation.

To summarize. You have three options

adding a pad of some sort
recovering old seat
buying an aftermarket seat

Pads include sheepskin, gel pads, and beads. Generally the least expensive option. All have been tried, each has had favorable reports.

Some members have used the Travelcade covers from JC Whitney and other places with good luck; some have had local shops do the work.

Most expensive, but most comfortable end product, is to buy an aftermarket seat or have the orignial seat re-shaped. Russell and Diamond are the two major seat manufacturers who deal with XS/XS bikes. Corbin, the other major, won't do XS/XJ seats last I heard. Prices will range from $400 + to $600 +. Some have gone to local upholstery or leather shops and had the seat foam resculptured or replaced, then recovered. Price is considerably less than a new seat, $100 range not uncommon.

If you travel mostly less than 200 miles per trip, go with the seat pad option first. If not satisfactory, you might want to look into the recovering/reshaping options. Check with local shops to get an idea of cost. If you plan more long-distance travel, the custom seat route will give you the most comfort of all.

Other related issues, btw, include handlebar selection, extra foot rests, and clothing selection. Other threads address these topics as well. They are related to over-all comfort on your bike and should not be overlooked.

[Huron52]

The XS11 that is up and running now has a double bucket... THe sides were starting to tear so this winter I decide to have it recovered. I didn't want the foam exposed to the elements.
Canadain price to recover my seat (the bikes seat I mean) was $89 The people told me he is slow, It only took three weeks.
It looks as good as new ... LOL If I knew what new looked like.
As compared to the stock standard seat I have on the other XS11 it is very comfortable. The front bucket fits my bucket.

[REFFI]

Numb buns

On my various bikes, I tried various remedies to butt burn and numb buns. Even had a foam and water filled pad for a while. Ultimately, I didn't find them sufficient to my needs. My wife and I rode in to Russell and were measured for Day-Long saddles. Fortunately for my wife, they had a pan available and made her seat while we waited. I had to go home and mail in my seat. She was pleased from the first moment. As was I when my seat finally arrived. When I bought the XS11, the first thing I did was to ship the seat off to Russell. I have never had any kind of fatigue, burning or numbness. My longest run in a Russell Saddle in one day was just over 550 miles.

Don't skimp, let your butt enjoy the ride, too.

Ralph