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Airhawk or sheepskin Airhawk or sheepskin
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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 19 Aug 2013
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Airhawk or sheepskin
Hi all i have bought myself a Kawasaki Versys
The seat is ok for small trips, doubtfull for long ones.
Which is best? airhawk or sheepskin? or custom seat
atb Floyd
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  #2  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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Pros and cons of each.

If you are interested in saving money, first double check to see if your stock seat really doesn't cut it. Seats fit people differently and some seats which are commonly dissed by most, can actually fit others quite well. Only way to tell is to do a mutli ride and you'll know for sure.

If you have the money, custom can be a good solution. It can take some work to get one that fits you. Nice way is to try to borrow one off a fellow rider to see if it fits and also useful to do a back to back comparison to see if the incremental comfort is worth the cost.

Airhawk works well, can be a bit of a hassle to remember to not leave it in the hot sun.
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  #3  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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I may be a cheap bugger but I find a pair of padded biking shorts is ideal. Pretty hard to lose too!
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  #4  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roger2002 View Post
I may be a cheap bugger but I find a pair of padded biking shorts is ideal. Pretty hard to lose too!
What about betty swollocks though!!!!!!!
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  #5  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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What about the sheepskin?
Or is it another betty swollocks?
The seat is tilted forward. So you end up with nads on the tank.
So therefore you are using the narrowest part.
I have not been on a long run yet to see how it fares.
I am doubtfull comfort will be any good
Thanks for the replies
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  #6  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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My shorts are nylon and the pads are some sort of sponge so when I stand up every hundred kilometers or so I get some nice evaporative cooling effect so I haven't really had the Betty swollocks effect. I did splurge and bought the factory gel seat which is the 1000 seat with a gel pad. It's an inch taller and much flatter and wider at the front. The combination works perfectly for me. I'm 6'2" with a dodgy knee so the extra height was appreciated. I've ridden 800 km days with little discomfort and 1000 km days with minimal.

I've used a sheepskin and it wasn't as good for long term comfort. I actually tried a beaded pad as well and found it better than a sheepskin but after 4-5 days started to get pretty tender. I ended up alternating the sheepskin and beaded pad that trip. The next trip I used the shorts and the gel seat and IMHO it was superior.
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Old 20 Aug 2013
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Hi
i use a sheepskin
cool in the heat , no sweaty bits
warm in the cold , toasty bits
all to do with air circulation
sheepskin has a natural thermostat
also the lanolin gives it a natural lubrication this prevents pressure points

more miles more smiles
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  #8  
Old 20 Aug 2013
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I have an Airhawk and although they are expensive I think they are excellent. And it doubles as a pillow at night. My wife has one on the back but on our current trip ( We're in Scandinaviaa) she bought a small Reindeer skin. she says it's very comfy but hot.

So I can recommend the Airhawk.
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Old 21 Aug 2013
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Can't go wrong with a bit of old sheep. Done 23000kms on mine, and it hasn't worn out, is infinintely adjustable, keeps the betty''s warm and comfy, and washes beautifully to give it back it's inbuilt springiness... mines on a seat which is normally like sitting on the side of a concrete block ( i'm not naturally very well padded), but with the sheep I can comfortably ride 300k's without a break. Wouldn't be without it!
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Old 27 Aug 2013
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DR 650 rider here, so i know all about uncomfy seats. I took mine to a local upholsterer and they put an inch of foam in and used the same seat cover. He told me, any more than an inch and they would have to make a new cover. cost $40 and is EQUALLY as comfy as using my Airhawk.
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  #11  
Old 27 Aug 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by floyd View Post
Hi all i have bought myself a Kawasaki Versys
The seat is ok for small trips, doubtfull for long ones.
Which is best? airhawk or sheepskin? or custom seat
atb Floyd

If you do end up deciding on getting an airhawk let me know we have not one but two for sale here. The hubby and I were going to use them for our trip, but me being vertically challenged was not happy with the extra height it gave my seat and he decided he didn't want his after all. We went down the custom seat route in the end. I think it is all down to personal preference. If you are looking to have a custom seat made I highly recommend Digger Custom Motorcycle Seats , really reasonably priced and Dave is a really nice guy too.
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  #12  
Old 1 Sep 2013
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I have been riding 6 months and 34'000km with an airhawk on a R100GS. Without it, i start to feel my ass after 150km. With the airhawk, I was riding everyday 400 to 600km withour problem.

It cheaper than a custom seat, but there are some disadvantages.

-you always have to remove it, especially it it's raining otherwise next day you will have a wet ass if you ride in jean like me.

-the straps are not that good and quite weak

-my zipper broke, because of the sand in mongolia.

But I haven't found a better and cheaper solution yet. So I bought myself a new one after the trip.
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  #13  
Old 1 Sep 2013
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Prefer the sheepskin.
IMHO though. dont get one from a furniture store. They have cleaned and sterilized for rugs and baby covers. All the lanolin has been stripped out, when they then get wet they hold the water and start to rot.
I got mine from a German company; [url=http://www.schaffellhandel.de/pi10/index-6.htm]SCHN
They dont have a great selection at the moment due to the season, but check back when they sort the ewes for breeding.
They sell "seconds", they're the fleeces that dont make the grade for further processing, mainly scarred or with dye stains from medicines. They've been cured but there's enough lanolin inside to keep them weatherproof. After a downpour I can shake most of the water off mine. It's 5 years old and I still use it as a pillow.
try and get a sheepskin instead of a lambskin, thicker under-felt.
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  #14  
Old 1 Sep 2013
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I bought a sheepskin 12 years ago from a local butchers shop. It is the full skin and fits the entire length of my old AT's seat and the full length of my GS seat. When off the bike it makes an excellent bed mat, fits the length from head to arse perfectly, comfy and warm.
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  #15  
Old 2 Sep 2013
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My vote goes to the Airhawk. Tried sheepskin and only added an extra 30 minutes before I got monkey butt

Been using one for the last 250,000km and it has done from sea level to over 5,000m

Because of security, I know people who have had them stolen, plus the wet weather factor, I removed all the foam from under my seat, placed the inside Airhawk bladder there instead and had the seat recovered.

Result- cannot be stolen and the weather is not an issue. There is a Velcro section on the cover to access the inflation tube

Cheers
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