Downtown seat cushion/pad

[ScooterWolf]

I just completed an 8 day road trip from Philadelphia to the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, Canada. My bike performed flawlessly, despite needing a new front tire and it being past the time to replace the belt drive. Having a throttle assist made some of the marathon rides possible, but an unexpected problem that came up was saddle soreness on the ride back (an all day 17 hour ride).

I had purchased a neck cushion at a Service plaza as it was the only thing available in the area of seating comfort, and used it to sit on. It made a huge difference and probably without it I wouldn't have finished my ride (yeah, the discomfort was that bad).

It'll be a while before I take on another long road trip, but does anyone have any suggestions for a good seat cushion, or pad for the Downtown, or a creative fix along the lines I used, but better?

https://www.essentialaids.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/e/memory-foam-and-gel-neck-cushion.jpg

- Wolf

[john grinsel]

First on long rides where you do not stop often and get off bike----wear no underwear in summer, winter long johns do not seem to cause hurt.

Scooter, feet forward riding position seems to hurt butt.

[CROSSBOLT]

That was a great idea, Wolf! You may have started something!

[ScooterWolf]

First on long rides where you do not stop often and get off bike----wear no underwear in summer, winter long johns do not seem to cause hurt.

Scooter, feet forward riding position seems to hurt butt.

Yeah, my knees were pretty sore too. The no underwear idea is new to me. I'm not sure if it would have made a big difference. It wasn't about the heat, but just the hard contact of the seat after a while.

- Wolf

[stuo]

I bought a version of the airhawk inflatable cushion for my DT for $70 on ebay. It made the ride somewhat better but I doubt anything but a flat saddle would be comfy for an all-day ride: you gotta be able to move around to keep the blood circulating and different muscles working while others rest. Kymco doesn't understand this basic fact about saddle design. Their saddles lock you in one position, a recipe for butt and back pain. I agree with John: feet forward is bad for the back.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Airhawks are not inexpensive  - but the ride reports seem to swear by them (if properly inflated)!
Stig

[kneeslider]

What I used to when I rode superbikes was to wear those padded underware for cyclists.  The extra padding in the bum definitely helps.

[diverhap]

there is a Seat Gel Pad Shock Absorption Soft Cooling Fabric in Amazon
there are different shapes starts from 30$

[wbdvt]

This is a timely post for me as I have recently got a DT200 to ride in scooter cannonball 2020.  My comparison is the Vespa seats which are flatter and give you room to move around.  I also notice that the DT seat seems to be sloped towards the front of the scooter and when I hit some bumps, I would slide forward.

Are there aftermarket seat options available?  Are there other Kymco seats that would fit?

[ScooterWolf]

What I used to when I rode superbikes was to wear those padded underware for cyclists.  The extra padding in the bum definitely helps.

Great idea. I’ll definitely look into that as it’s hard to figure out which pad or cushion will fit my seat.

- Wolf

[dan v.]

IDK.  Its as if a lot of scoots that come from Asian countries just don't seem to fit our bodies - with us generally being heavier and having longer legs?  Lots of stories about miserable seats.

Right now I am working on my BET and Win seat.  It would give me ass pain in about 20 minutes.  Problem is a hump in the plastic seat pan that wouldn't allow me to slide back far enough to be comfortable.  I took a jiggle saw and kept cutting out sections of the hump until it was completely removed.  Much, much more comfortable.  Probably could have kept like that.

Removed the cover and foam, then make a flat metal pan to fill out the hole I made.  Took the foam to a guy that does custom auto a bike upholstery.   He trimmed the factory foam, added a harder foam where I sit and we have been working on making it fit me.  It is about ready to get a cover made.

Interesting that the foam where I sit is a higher density/harder foam than the factory foam.  As the seat was leveled out to kill the sloping forward, the foam where I sit is only about 1-1/4 thick.  I have ridden hours on it without problem.  The nose of the seat was raised a bit with foam that is more like the foam in home upholstery.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that softer foam will be more comfortable.  Not true.

[stuo]

Yowsa Dan!

You have inspired me to do likewise to my DT saddle. The damn seat is the only thing that keeps me from doing longer rides. I could ride all day on my BMW because it had a great saddle. 

My Grandvista needs help, too: I removed that lumbar support but the spot my butt sits on is a metal plate, obviously not good for long distances.

Stu

[de dee]

I just completed an 8 day road trip from Philadelphia to the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, Canada. My bike performed flawlessly, despite needing a new front tire and it being past the time to replace the belt drive. Having a throttle assist made some of the marathon rides possible, but an unexpected problem that came up was saddle soreness on the ride back (an all day 17 hour ride).

I had purchased a neck cushion at a Service plaza as it was the only thing available in the area of seating comfort, and used it to sit on. It made a huge difference and probably without it I wouldn't have finished my ride (yeah, the discomfort was that bad).

It'll be a while before I take on another long road trip, but does anyone have any suggestions for a good seat cushion, or pad for the Downtown, or a creative fix along the lines I used, but better?

https://www.essentialaids.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/e/memory-foam-and-gel-neck-cushion.jpg

- Wolf

  If you look at your first pictures   first blog   my seat is very comfortable  it has 10 lb. rebond foam in it , I rode it to east coast a few times with no discomfort, even at my age I was 83 then., I wish It would fit my piaggio, 

[wbdvt]

  If you look at your first pictures   first blog   my seat is very comfortable  it has 10 lb. rebond foam in it , I rode it to east coast a few times with no discomfort, even at my age I was 83 then., I wish It would fit my piaggio,

What pictures are you refering to?  I didn't find any on this thread?

[de dee]

the fist pictures scooter wolf did on his trip to Ottawa ,