I just finsihed a short trip on a 1150GS doing bout 2000km in 3 days, and am looking at going up from South Africa to Tanzania in a few weeks on a R80GS, and been wondering how I can reduce the strain I put on my rear. After the three day trip, I have to honestly say I was seriously saddle sore. I am looking at putting a sheepskin cover over the old GS to limit the strain, but is there some general advise out there that one can do to train the rear to not complain so much.

I have a similar problem when I did a 2 week trip. By the end of the trip it was painfull!

I have now bought an airhawk pad http://www.airhawk.co.uk/

Check it out

Ken

I think the seat is the worst thing on the 1150GS. I hated mine riding from the UAE to the UK. There are a lot of posts on the boards about the GS being too heavy for a RTW, maybe so, but when you’ve got to do a long distance on tar in a limited time it’s fantastic.

As for the seat, try a sheepskin, an Airhawk pad or a better seat. I swapped mine for a Sargent which is an improvement though not cheap.
http://www.sargentcycle.com/bmwwsrgs.htm
Stephan

I've been thinking about going down the sheepskin route. Does anyone have any info on the best way of fitting it and getting it to stay put?

All I did to fit the sheepskin was to cut it slightly bigger than the seat and then I had some of the wide white elastic that they use in the clothing industry sown on the inside around the edge.Remember to put some tention on the elastic when sowing it in. This sheepskin has been with me for many miles and still stays in place on the saddle. Also serves as a good pillow when required, just stuff it with some clothes.

First time round you may have to put some pressure on the seat to refit it but if you have the time just shave the sheepskin where required(At the tank and around the back of the seat on my bike).

Regards
Frank

Biggest improvement I've found is the right underwear!

Cotton really hurts, synthetic bicycling shorts are very good - so long as you get the ones without the chamois.

One of our advertisers, www.LDComfort.com, the sponsor for the "Camping Equipment and all Clothing" forum, sells some great underwear just for motorcycle riding. I just got a pair, will let you know how it turns out - I've heard a lot of rave reviews, so I'm looking forward to trying them.

Edit: - update - yep tried them - FIRST CLASS! Big improvement, so now that's all I'm gonna use.

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

My wife and I just finished what we thought would be a short, 1,100 kms,three day trip that lasted six days from Beijing to Changchun including a 12 hour, 100 kms last day over some of the worst roads I have ever seen. Two things helped to reduce fatigue. This was the first time we wore our LDComfort underware and it was terrific. No seams to dig in to the skin and while it was cold, there are still parts on my anatomy that still sweat but the LDC kept me dry.

The other thing that was really superb was a temperatery activated foam police solo seat that was custom made for the bike by Barr Enterprises in California. The form fitting foam activates at about 70F and conforms to the body so there at no hard spots, seams or other irritation causing parts. Just a really comfortable seat that provides great support.

An unbeatable combination

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On the road,

Jack & Janet

Yep, seamless cotton undies are the dog's danglies
(no pokey underwires are a must too... only relevant to some, obviously... in saying that though, I remember a deft trick by Tiffany Coates that made great use of the underwire... okay, maybe only comfy ones then)

Besides the sheepskin - which I used for sizable trip, but ended up putting out to pasture because I just started to get grossed out by it LOL - get hold of a gel pad. The ones used under horse saddles to prevent discomfort/chaffing are perfect. Nothing like a lovely cushioning for your tushy!

You could always include regular seat shuffling and clenching to get the blood flow going, if all else fails!

And on the 'tired' side of things:
Fluid intake is crucial! If you keep yourself hydrated, you are less likely to be fatigued because of dehydration (which is an automatic 10% loss of 'oomph'!... apparantly). Invest in a camel bak.

And SING

Sing to yourself, take photo breaks (which will get your poor hiney out of the seat for a while) and keep your brain awake. If you spend 30 minutes looking for anything purple whilst riding (for example), you're more likely to be more alert than if you were just day dreaming about the beach you were to reach in 3 hours time (which you wouldn't be able to do anything on because of having to wait half an hour for your left butt cheek to revive... unless you're the 'make an entrance' type, and don't mind throwing yourself off your bike in order to get off )

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I did Mexico a few years back on a 1200 Triumph Trophy. The seat was a real rectal reorganizer after about a hundred miles or so. You know the story: Left cheek ho, right cheek ho, stand on the pegs, the spreadeagle strech, left leg back, right leg back, etc,etc.. I stopped for gas in Monterrey and they had line of small inflatable kiddie toys hanging up. I chose Kermit the Frog. I looked at him and said "Kermit, this is gonna hurt you more than it will me". I sat on Kermit for the duration of the trip. I got some horrified stares from kids in passing cars looking at Kermits little arms and legs and bulging eyes sticking out from under my butt. They'd give me the kid look equivalent of "Bastardo!". I'd look back with the "Oh yeah well what?" look. Anyway, I now have become a fan (already mentioned) of the Airhawk seat. It's a bit pricey but when we're talking butts, its like sitting on a cloud. Don't inflate it too much though. Do as they recommend in the instructions. Smooth riding, Smitty

I use an Airhawk which is brilliant. A recent 3500kms in five days without so much as a twinge. The negatives are the extra inch or so it adds to ride height, which can effect exposure to wind and make it more difficult to reach the ground (at least on my high Pegaso), and they don't have a very good setup for attaching to the original seat. Nevertheless, I don't hesitate to use it for long rides.

I don't think you can beat a quality custom seat, such as a Corbin, but if you don't want to invest 5 or 6 hundred bucks on a seat the Airhawk is the best cushion I've ever used.

I tie mine on using leather workboot shoelaces. Pull the laces through each of the attaching eyes on the seat and lash the two ends of the leather lace together just below the attaching eyes with(i used fine polypropolene thread) thread. Now the laces are double strength. Depending on the bike you can tie them off to the frame below. Works great, seat doesn't move, and looks good too! Being leather, the laces tie off well and don't come loose.

Easiest way to attach a sheepskin - double sided tape

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Rich
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/richardandlisa
www.youtube.com/richparkie

Dear Mr. Shark, I have tried sheep, gel, wooden balls. I even thought I had some sort of skeletal problem. Nothing fixed my discomfort on the 1100RT except a new seat. I bought it from Russell for the price of a semester's tution almost. But I recently put on 550 miles in a day and felt good at the end.

Polecat

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Polecat

The R series BMWs from the late 70s and early 80s had great touring seats, the /7 series had the very best though. Often used to see R100s with /7 seats on them. The other comfort thing I've found is the use of spoked wheels over mag wheels - for whatever reason I "feel" as though the ride is softer on spokes, probably a load of crap but then again I've never seen a spoked wheel crack through like I've seen a mag wheel.

I've met other long distance riders along the way who swear by 'x' brand seat , or sheepskins , but the single easiest thing to try is ( as Grant suggests ) the right underwear. I tried on our 3-month tour of N africa to find the best undies , I took a batch of 6 different types to try. Some were ok ,some were great and some were truly excruciating after a day in the saddle.
The best I found by far were:

1) close fitting ( but not tight) lycra-style stretchy briefs with wide waistband, similar to the sort of 'cycle shorts' , but available in the high street.
2) silk boxers.

The crucial key appears (at least for me) to be NO SEAMS anywhere where you will be experiencing pressure or rubbing. The wide waist-band helps with comfort, and the softness of the silk boxers was very welcome.
As a bonus, silk boxers are strong, harder wearing than cotton and lighter. They are also easy to clean and dry in no time.
After 7 or 8 hours in the saddle you really will appreciate the extra comfort - and it's a gain you can still have after you have bought the fancy new seat

RayT - wishing he was back on the trail again....

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The older I get, the better I was...