Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: Logansrun on May 23, 2011, 07:39:31 PM
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There was probably a ton of great info in the old posts (now lost) on this topic... so sorry to ask. But I'm a new Connie 14 owner and hope to find a low cost option for improving a sore tailbone for long rides. Someday I'll shoot for an aftermarket seat or I'll ship my seat to http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php (http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php) for re-work.
But I've been wondering if BeadRider bead covers or sheep (or goat) skin covers are worth it? I'm more interested on the comfort side and not the heat part as I'm cold natured.
Any experiences there?
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Me too......
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I had Spenser make my seat more neutral (less lean angle into tank) and had him add the Supracor to improve the quality of the padding. I really like the modification. It added a few more hours of comfortable riding each day. I use an Alaska Leather sheep skin in cooler months and a Beadrider in the warm summer months. After months of research I found Spenser's mods and the seat covers to be the perfect combination for my needs.
If you are only going to buy one cover I'd start with the sheepskin. It provides warmth when it's cold and little bit of cooling when it's hot. The beads are great on really hot days.
I hope this helps.
Derek
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I do a few things that help. First I removed the two rear rubber bumpers on the seat pan, leave the two frount. Helps a little. I use a dence foam pad bought from a sporting goods,cut to shape,they are made for dear stands. I use it when things get bad. But what I do that helps me the most is to stand up on the pegs for a while. I use to only stand when traffic was clear, now I do not care..........blanton
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Logansrun, I have and do use the beads in the summer, never tried the sheepskin. Things that did not work out, bubble packing,sewing foot insoles onto boxer briefs,and I probaly bought the only pair of Saddleman anti monkey-but shorts.........blanton
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Logansrun, I have and do use the beads in the summer, never tried the sheepskin. Things that did not work out, bubble packing,sewing foot insoles onto boxer briefs,and I probaly bought the only pair of Saddleman anti monkey-but shorts.........blanton
:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
I just spit my beer mate
Aussie
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Aussie in Az, you know I could not make that stuff up. I saw the add for the Saddlemans and thought I could do my own. Turns out they both was duds.........blanton
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I feel your pain. I just sent mine off to Spencer. I hope it works for me because I really don't want to shell out $400+ for a new seat that may or may not work.
On my Buell the Beadrider beads worked great but on the Connie not so good >:( My butts future is in the hands of Spencer at this point.
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I feel your pain. I just sent mine off to Spencer. I hope it works for me because I really don't want to shell out $400+ for a new seat that may or may not work...
Please let us know how it turns out! I'll probably ship mine to Spencer during a week that I know I'll be out of town, etc.
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Spencer mod is definitely worth the small price tag. I've done one 400 mile day since I got mine and it still hurt, but not as quickly. Note that Spencer says it'll break in after a while--I still haven't put that many hours in the saddle since I had it done. I'd give anything to try a Russell for a long day, though.
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I have the seat beads from my Gold Wing, I don't think they help at all, I have a Baldwin seat an my 09 Concours and about 2 weeks back I was on a 6 day trip and didn't do a lot of miles per day ( slow very twisty roads) but did spend a lot of time per day on the bike it gets better each time I ride it,
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Try a sheepskin. Not perfect but they help. Padded bicycle shorts help too. However I still stand up some and I have a custom seat under the sheepskin. Apparently I was born with a bony ass.
I bought the one below, cut it roughly to shape and had my wife sew on straps so it didn't fly off.
http://www.alaskaleatheronline.com/servlet/the-30/Full-Pelt-Rally-Special/Detail (http://www.alaskaleatheronline.com/servlet/the-30/Full-Pelt-Rally-Special/Detail)
Use deadsheep as the discount code when you check out to save a few bucks.
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Thanks all, the feedback has been quite helpful.
No one has reported any experience with the AirHawk, and I still wonder if those are helpful at all.
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Thanks all, the feedback has been quite helpful.
No one has reported any experience with the AirHawk, and I still wonder if those are helpful at all.
The airhawks work quite well, but are miserable in high temperatures, at least mine was. Also, it is extremely easy to over fill an airhawk, most don't understand that the amount of air needs to only slightly more than what it takes so that you're not touching the seat, and no more....
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Spencer did mine also. Just did a 1700 mile trip down the California coast with the wife. The first day we did almost 350 mi. and the second day over 250 and we were both good to go. This was a BIG improvement over the stocker. If you want to get a HT Moto cover for looks Spencer will put it on for free.
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Spencer did mine also. Just did a 1700 mile trip down the California coast with the wife. The first day we did almost 350 mi. and the second day over 250 and we were both good to go. This was a BIG improvement over the stocker. If you want to get a HT Moto cover for looks Spencer will put it on for free.
That's what I'm doing. I ordered my seat cover today...
Here are a couple pictures of the seat without the cover.
(http://www.oregonlan.com/zggtr/seat1.jpg)
(http://www.oregonlan.com/zggtr/seat2.jpg)
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I recommend Spencer's. Had him do a reshape for both front and rear sections to remove the forward slope, and add the Supracore LD treatment. Best $90 I've spent on the bike so far.
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The stock seat cover is almost as ugly as the potato gun ;D
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The stock seat cover is almost as ugly as the potato gun ;D
Nice!!
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Don't have the beads personally but 2 of the guys I ride with have them and love them. Cheap option to try.
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Good looking seat 2WT. 8)
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I might try cutting back mine myself. Gotta move that step back.
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The stock seat cover is almost as ugly as the potato gun ;D
If that's plain vinyl on carbon, it's the same material I picked for mine. However, I went with black thread. I wanted something neutral in case I ever repaint my bike.
FYIY, Spencer doesn't recommend the gripy vinyl for seats. Apparently it grips the clothing and gives you a massive wedgy.
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That cover looks good.......I would have gone with the silver thread myself.....
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I cut the foam myself, leveling the seat as much as possible, and then bought the Wal Mart beads.
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Wow, it's amazing how similar tastes are sometimes on this forum. 2wheel, if you change your plain vinyl to ostrich, you have my exact seat including the red thread. :chugbeer:
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For those who have the Alaska Leather buttpad, what size fits best on the C14 OEM seat?
The site application chart indicates medium for the "Concours". Same one for C10 and C14?
Also considering Silver to match, and help with heat when parked in the Texas sun.
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I just got my size-medium in the mail yesterday. I haven't had a chance to use it but I did place it on my OEM seat to check fitment and it looks good.
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I have a medium airhawk that I bought when I had my zx14. It made a huge difference in comfort but you have to make sure you have the pressure right. The negative was it lifts you off the seat higher so it put more weight on my arms and wrist. It shouldnt matter on the c14 but I havent tried.
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I checked with spencer a few days ago about doing my seat. I would like to have the supracore added, lowered and reshaped but I will be out of riding for a week and cant bring myself to do it.
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I went the whole nine yards: Baldwin seat, upon which I have the Airhawk 2, and over that i have the Alaskan sheepskin. Overkill? Maybe, but I have lots of options, depending on the length of the ride and the temperature. For extended highway riding, I put a little extra air in the 'hawk, since I don't have to shift my weight around. For a limited set of twisties, I take off the 'hawk completely.
So far, so good.
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Longest ride so far for me was a trip to Chicago about 300 miles. The stock seat was just fine for me. Guess I am blessed (or cursed) with extra meat on my butt ! ;)
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Longest ride so far for me was a trip to Chicago about 300 miles. The stock seat was just fine for me. Guess I am blessed (or cursed) with extra meat on my butt ! ;)
:-X
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Don't mean too hijack a thread , but -Blanton -what is that topcase on the bike in your avatar ? That looks Good!
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I would like to shave mine down myself, I followed a thread on another MC forum where a guy dished out the seat foam and glued in a bicycle gel seat pad (from Walmart), it turned out very good as far as looks and he claimed a large increase in comfort.
I need to find a used OEM seat to try this on so my bike is not down (gotta ride), it may take a while for me to complete a mod like this.
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who is this "spencer" you guys speak of and how does one get ahold of him?
thank you!
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Here ya go.
http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php (http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php)
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Here ya go.
http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php (http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php)
thanks man. i think that i am going to do this with the LD foam. for @$100 you cant beat it.
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thanks man. i think that i am going to do this with the LD foam. for @$100 you cant beat it.
Had it done about a month ago. Definite improvement. It is not the answer to your all day riding wishes, but it is a lot better than the factory seat. Of course, YMMV.
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well i will see! he has got a email from me in the inbox!
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I got my Alaska sheep skin cover this week (deluxe version). I like it. It brings a small improvement to butt comfort and I can tell it is cooler than the original vinyl of the factory seat. So I'm glad I got it but it's definitely not a day long ride fix. I didn't expect it to be but just wanted to pass it along.
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well i will see! he has got a email from me in the inbox!
Don't be surprised when he answers back very quickly. He's great to deal with.
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Don't be surprised when he answers back very quickly. He's great to deal with.
+1
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kdm, thanks for noticing. It is a $19. Walmart suitcace with a bicycle seat backrest. It looks worse the closer you get......blanton
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kdm, thanks for noticing. It is a $19. Walmart suitcace with a bicycle seat backrest. It looks worse the closer you get......blanton
Does the backrest help? If so, I really don't care how it looks--I want one!
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It realy does CrashGordon. The new seat was a bit firm(bicycle seat) so cut off the pad and installed a cheap gell pad, that is when I thought I would copy the logo from the display, it just stapeles on. After the backrest and forward pegs I don't think about my but as much.........blanton BTW since the photo I darken the case (shoe polish)
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Drivers back rest and extra storage to boot? Sold!
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I emailed Spencer about my seat as well and got an almost immediate response. I am going to order a cover from HT Moto and send averything to him when he gets back from vacation. I ordered some free material swatches from HT so that I could get a better look at them before I decide on which one.
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how much did the cover run you?? i might do that as well!
and if he is on vacation i might not get a response for a little bit .
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Would you guys quit emailing Spencer, he's supposed to be finishing mine up! All this emailing and questions might distract him! Really, I have been VERY impressed with his speedy responses to email. As soon as mine gets back, it's going on and then off to Alaska! I'll report on my comfort as I travel (and have internet access).
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how much did the cover run you?? i might do that as well!
and if he is on vacation i might not get a response for a little bit .
I havent ordered the cover yet. I ordered some free material swatches so that I can decide what material I want the cover to be made in.
Specer's web site says that he will be on vaction the last week of June and first week of July.
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how much did the cover run you?? i might do that as well!
and if he is on vacation i might not get a response for a little bit .
HT Moto covers are $85. Spencer will install it for free if you send it to him with your seat for a seat mod.
Here's HT Moto's C14 cover:
http://www.htmoto.us/store/c/77-All-Products.aspx?Attribs=65+238+75 (http://www.htmoto.us/store/c/77-All-Products.aspx?Attribs=65+238+75)
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kdm, thanks for noticing. It is a $19. Walmart suitcace with a bicycle seat backrest. It looks worse the closer you get......blanton
I see it better now -do like the shape better than any of the tall cases -too bad nobody makes a hard topcase that shape. Like the red on the wheels ,too.Is that one of those stripe kits from ebay ?
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For anyone interested I have my seat at Mayers now, today was my build date. If all goes well I will be selling my Spencerized seat with the HT Moto cover.
photos here: http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=421.msg14684#msg14684 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=421.msg14684#msg14684)
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For anyone interested I have my seat at Mayers now, today was my build date. If all goes well I will be selling my Spencerized seat with the HT Moto cover.
photos here: http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=421.msg14684#msg14684 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=421.msg14684#msg14684)
Am interested, if the price is right. I already have a Spencer and I'm looking for a second seat to send to Russell.
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kdm, yes. Enstalled during last tire change........blanton
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Ok, i've had my spencerized seat on for a couple weeks now and the butt is still adjusting to the new shape. Spencer says to allow 3 tanks of gas for the break-in. So I'm still in the break-in. I have no long days yet to report, but general commuting to work I would say it was $90 well spent. The real story will reveal itself after a long day in the saddle.
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Ok, i've had my spencerized seat on for a couple weeks now and the butt is still adjusting to the new shape. Spencer says to allow 3 tanks of gas for the break-in. So I'm still in the break-in. I have no long days yet to report, but general commuting to work I would say it was $90 well spent. The real story will reveal itself after a long day in the saddle.
this is good to hear, looking forward to a long day report from you. 8)
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As far as the spencer mod, I can tell you that after a couple thousand miles including a 400 mile day and back-to-back-to-back three hundred mile days that the seat is an improvement on distance. You can go farther before your butt starts to hurt, but eventually your butt still starts to hurt. In my experience, it's an improvement over stock but not the cure for unlimited miles. I really want a Russell for traveling.
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Where do you guys get the beads for the seat and how do you attach it?
Thanks
Jeff
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nxtdoor, got mine at walmart, it was for a cage so it was large. Held together with what looks like fishing line. Cut to shape and tie loose ends. I just set on it. Some paint them but I thought red might be a bit much..........blanton