I actually like the stock seat but it's not the best place to be for more than 2-3 hours. I'm planning a pretty long ride in a few days and decided to try the AirHawk seat cushion. There are two versions, the Airhawk and the Airhawk 2. They look identical to me except one cost $100 and the other $160?!!?!
Anyway the medium is the one recommended for the Busa. It goes on in minutes. Just unscrew the seat bolts and slip the straps around the stock seat and then put it back on. You have to blow up the air cushion (done with your breath through a valve on the back of the seat cushion). Easy enough.
The Airhawk appears really well made and it stood up to me standing on it (right at 300 lbs with gear!). There is some sticky material on the seat side of the cover so it's less slippery on the seat. So far all was well, works as promised.
Let's just say the aesthetic with this cushion is form follows function. It looks like a pillow sitting on the bike, which I guess is because that's what it is.
First thing you notice when you sit on the cushion is it's tall! Feels like an inch or more higher in the saddle. I'm a little over 6 feet and I was on my tippy toes. With stock bars, the riding position feels even more like a sport bike. At my first gas up, I let almost all of the air out of the cushion and things felt much better. The instructions say to go with the minimum amount of air and that really does make the cushion work much better.
Maybe it ain't pretty, but the AirHawk does work exceptionally well. I rode for 8 hours with a few fuel stops and my backside was dry and felt great. It really supports your backside and helps absorb those thuds from expansion joints in the road. The reason I bought this thing was because I planned to ride to my destination and take it off for more spirited riding. But it actually works sort of nice because sliding from side to side on the seat is much easier.
Overall I would say this product works as advertised but it also has quite a few compromises that most will find to bothersome (saddle height, aesthetics). It would be awesome to get one of these put into the seat though, because the concept is very effective at keeping the back side happy on those long rides.
Anyway the medium is the one recommended for the Busa. It goes on in minutes. Just unscrew the seat bolts and slip the straps around the stock seat and then put it back on. You have to blow up the air cushion (done with your breath through a valve on the back of the seat cushion). Easy enough.
The Airhawk appears really well made and it stood up to me standing on it (right at 300 lbs with gear!). There is some sticky material on the seat side of the cover so it's less slippery on the seat. So far all was well, works as promised.
Let's just say the aesthetic with this cushion is form follows function. It looks like a pillow sitting on the bike, which I guess is because that's what it is.
First thing you notice when you sit on the cushion is it's tall! Feels like an inch or more higher in the saddle. I'm a little over 6 feet and I was on my tippy toes. With stock bars, the riding position feels even more like a sport bike. At my first gas up, I let almost all of the air out of the cushion and things felt much better. The instructions say to go with the minimum amount of air and that really does make the cushion work much better.
Maybe it ain't pretty, but the AirHawk does work exceptionally well. I rode for 8 hours with a few fuel stops and my backside was dry and felt great. It really supports your backside and helps absorb those thuds from expansion joints in the road. The reason I bought this thing was because I planned to ride to my destination and take it off for more spirited riding. But it actually works sort of nice because sliding from side to side on the seat is much easier.
Overall I would say this product works as advertised but it also has quite a few compromises that most will find to bothersome (saddle height, aesthetics). It would be awesome to get one of these put into the seat though, because the concept is very effective at keeping the back side happy on those long rides.
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