robmorg
02-22-2016, 06:04 PM
I wanted more comfort in my Comfort Seat, so today I installed Motorcycle Dave's Comformax GEL-Foam Seat Pad Kit (http://www.motorcycledave.com/custom-seats-heaters/instructions-for-motorcycle-daves-conformax-gel-foam-seat-kit/). I've been using the AirHawk R seat cushion and I really liked that, but I've been looking for more comfort without the need for a separate cushion. Custom seats are expensive, and you never know exactly what you will get until after you pay for it. Also, I have the 2013 BRP tan colored seat to go with my brown RT, and those are hard to find among after-market seat makers. Also it's hard to find an after-market seat that gives you the full extra 2" of leg room that the BRP Comfort Seat does, unless you have it specially built. (I had previously tried the Ultimate Tall Boy seat at SpyderQuest, but it did not put be as far back as my Comfort Seat.) So, for all these reasons, I thought I'd try Motorcycle Dave's gel seat cushion, that you install INSIDE the seat, rather than on top of it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3GLJy1OfmFrga7VB5R_u2KAMeAh0bO3A1Ow5yXq3ghRNvkIELI j3s4MjlMhk2UdXga0stzX08yCA7G3uQLlHNr1cmCpe8SfZakLE sY-cDJjimQPoePrrfnHWR9GfA_qKZSJygmfFsEouyJNRhjb-oul-8E6dL1hIC_GyaYyds9ilJls-3baEGShINxgL8OMHhbyUvKAXA3egmtWrBovnxQhvOaS_4D6se2 mE9N7BPwHNoJ9pDCn2R5SUaS640sJV851Wq5nXNIORZ17uF7Vg o2BwDjKBn4MFq1T4xhN7Gz8-Kx6L9_K-QUz6ciom-e4jl4j7k8DsB5QCX3dsDBG10kq_mWbZ72PCKD2snww4Z6BWHiu 2NIwwZCUzQhDfF-ydaWixJPwBpmWUwEXCralCmrnF5vj9XdeNVCh0t_Nx-tbRiCAG4sU7a0ljHM2LNbEjwCbj3SRcpv_HbMa3xNk0JpUezl8 8mzjkuhj830aK16EfkAjwmRDHmQ3YLJU8tDEacg3755LF38_1N ZTYoQBBfzoNqSLaNsK5OCS-GTk9Eb9__nfHAGO3IWytfzp3zsfNEg1H=w313-h320-no ....Pad shown upside down in this picture to show the gel.
I had previously set the pad on top of my seat to determine the "sweet spot" for me. Turned out that the perfect spot was 1.75" forward of the seat rise. (Most folks would want it a little further back, but I've got a big butt. :opps: ) Since good ol' Al Gore just blessed Pennsylvanians with two days of February temperatures in the high 50's I figured I'd tackle the job yesterday and today. So yesterday, with Dave's kit in my garage, I took the seat off the Spyder. After turning it over I found almost 200 tiny stables under there holding the cover onto the plastic base. Not having an easy way to get all those little stables out, OR back in, I "chickened out" and took my seat and Dave's gel pad to an auto seat repair guy this morning. It took him less than two hours to, take the seat apart, cut out the seat foam to position the pad exactly where I wanted it, and put my seat back together. The job cost me just $150, which I thought was well worth it.
For those DIY guys, the job is not hard to do yourself IF you have the correct tools (which is ALWAYS my problem). Dave's kit includes the medical grade gel pad, pre-matched with foam (the exact size as the pad), more thin foam for covering the pad and seat after it's installed, and a razor knife for cutting into the original foam. He also has instructions posted on his web site (http://www.motorcycledave.com/custom-seats-heaters/instructions-for-motorcycle-daves-conformax-gel-foam-seat-kit/) with pictures, and concise easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions which (I would say) are very well written.
Here is the finished job...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qwiLxbb7O3bWaE9-EKtvD2kn61yRKoC9SHbisGUSIW3JuaRy9AdkOYWSuF-7qdTa9paqJheGhIJk6xhU9uVB2iWHe0Lqmv-zvJPzR0taDD2XSM1o3lXiNeeaUzC_7NaKks1F8R8PvyTg5Y51J prg5VEGoQ_O-Sn9nIQgS_0xE5psyF9FtYVl7lAbDD3F3kOMT4TJpDGIXCc-qO8QbMprDsc6iSs_7zct6UgAIjuaZD_5JYXDyo6vVAEH2QnpO2 2SoSnGqorlqS1DyscyuKFojafRwk2RSRtxeOdQdiN7g8VORsmR Vx-btbfAHvdIFgaG7fH_rmQQUgyktXaYN-TziPYQcp1wxITNuiUg3fJ3IUIC8h2PGzmCTO3RFxKUfa-68pBrB3M14aThfuOt3MbZHQ_GmtiqCWy2ZaoL_dDz40J5XxiQw ZJgL2lGPzklPpvIclEY2xUFfGZYPRIJloFNB9OuhCVaqFcsLR3 I7bLlzJ-PAzqQ10-ZxOTqsdq-wkTQTfswLQzkQBwekW33zw3J2DxpgNSWsKlRjAOscHtGOHdP55 fLlKQ1g-hc0bpbMT6S3h93=w600-h320-no
My seat looks EXACTLY the same as it looked before the pad was installed (which is sort of the point). Dave's Comformax GEL-Foam pad may be invisible to the naked eye, but after a good long test ride today, I can tell you that MY BUTT KNOWS IT'S THERE. It feels GREAT. I cannot wait to test it on an all-day ride this Spring.
UPDATE (5/2/2016): Since originally writing this report, I've had an opportunity to make several all-day rides with this cushion installed. On the first trip, I took my Airhawk along in the trunk "just in case". After that I left it at home – I don't need it anymore. This gel/foam cushion is actually a lot more comfortable on rides lasting several hours. Kudos to Motorcycle Dave for coming up with this idea, and marketing it on his site
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3GLJy1OfmFrga7VB5R_u2KAMeAh0bO3A1Ow5yXq3ghRNvkIELI j3s4MjlMhk2UdXga0stzX08yCA7G3uQLlHNr1cmCpe8SfZakLE sY-cDJjimQPoePrrfnHWR9GfA_qKZSJygmfFsEouyJNRhjb-oul-8E6dL1hIC_GyaYyds9ilJls-3baEGShINxgL8OMHhbyUvKAXA3egmtWrBovnxQhvOaS_4D6se2 mE9N7BPwHNoJ9pDCn2R5SUaS640sJV851Wq5nXNIORZ17uF7Vg o2BwDjKBn4MFq1T4xhN7Gz8-Kx6L9_K-QUz6ciom-e4jl4j7k8DsB5QCX3dsDBG10kq_mWbZ72PCKD2snww4Z6BWHiu 2NIwwZCUzQhDfF-ydaWixJPwBpmWUwEXCralCmrnF5vj9XdeNVCh0t_Nx-tbRiCAG4sU7a0ljHM2LNbEjwCbj3SRcpv_HbMa3xNk0JpUezl8 8mzjkuhj830aK16EfkAjwmRDHmQ3YLJU8tDEacg3755LF38_1N ZTYoQBBfzoNqSLaNsK5OCS-GTk9Eb9__nfHAGO3IWytfzp3zsfNEg1H=w313-h320-no ....Pad shown upside down in this picture to show the gel.
I had previously set the pad on top of my seat to determine the "sweet spot" for me. Turned out that the perfect spot was 1.75" forward of the seat rise. (Most folks would want it a little further back, but I've got a big butt. :opps: ) Since good ol' Al Gore just blessed Pennsylvanians with two days of February temperatures in the high 50's I figured I'd tackle the job yesterday and today. So yesterday, with Dave's kit in my garage, I took the seat off the Spyder. After turning it over I found almost 200 tiny stables under there holding the cover onto the plastic base. Not having an easy way to get all those little stables out, OR back in, I "chickened out" and took my seat and Dave's gel pad to an auto seat repair guy this morning. It took him less than two hours to, take the seat apart, cut out the seat foam to position the pad exactly where I wanted it, and put my seat back together. The job cost me just $150, which I thought was well worth it.
For those DIY guys, the job is not hard to do yourself IF you have the correct tools (which is ALWAYS my problem). Dave's kit includes the medical grade gel pad, pre-matched with foam (the exact size as the pad), more thin foam for covering the pad and seat after it's installed, and a razor knife for cutting into the original foam. He also has instructions posted on his web site (http://www.motorcycledave.com/custom-seats-heaters/instructions-for-motorcycle-daves-conformax-gel-foam-seat-kit/) with pictures, and concise easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions which (I would say) are very well written.
Here is the finished job...
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qwiLxbb7O3bWaE9-EKtvD2kn61yRKoC9SHbisGUSIW3JuaRy9AdkOYWSuF-7qdTa9paqJheGhIJk6xhU9uVB2iWHe0Lqmv-zvJPzR0taDD2XSM1o3lXiNeeaUzC_7NaKks1F8R8PvyTg5Y51J prg5VEGoQ_O-Sn9nIQgS_0xE5psyF9FtYVl7lAbDD3F3kOMT4TJpDGIXCc-qO8QbMprDsc6iSs_7zct6UgAIjuaZD_5JYXDyo6vVAEH2QnpO2 2SoSnGqorlqS1DyscyuKFojafRwk2RSRtxeOdQdiN7g8VORsmR Vx-btbfAHvdIFgaG7fH_rmQQUgyktXaYN-TziPYQcp1wxITNuiUg3fJ3IUIC8h2PGzmCTO3RFxKUfa-68pBrB3M14aThfuOt3MbZHQ_GmtiqCWy2ZaoL_dDz40J5XxiQw ZJgL2lGPzklPpvIclEY2xUFfGZYPRIJloFNB9OuhCVaqFcsLR3 I7bLlzJ-PAzqQ10-ZxOTqsdq-wkTQTfswLQzkQBwekW33zw3J2DxpgNSWsKlRjAOscHtGOHdP55 fLlKQ1g-hc0bpbMT6S3h93=w600-h320-no
My seat looks EXACTLY the same as it looked before the pad was installed (which is sort of the point). Dave's Comformax GEL-Foam pad may be invisible to the naked eye, but after a good long test ride today, I can tell you that MY BUTT KNOWS IT'S THERE. It feels GREAT. I cannot wait to test it on an all-day ride this Spring.
UPDATE (5/2/2016): Since originally writing this report, I've had an opportunity to make several all-day rides with this cushion installed. On the first trip, I took my Airhawk along in the trunk "just in case". After that I left it at home – I don't need it anymore. This gel/foam cushion is actually a lot more comfortable on rides lasting several hours. Kudos to Motorcycle Dave for coming up with this idea, and marketing it on his site