[JbGio]

I have been riding my AT about 600 miles in Costa Rica, mostly long rides on road. The AT (manual) is so far everything the reviews tell aboit it. There are couple issues I would like to address. First, the seat, is hard for long rides (+100miles). Second, the handlebar. For a 6" tall guy like myself the handle bar need to be lifted.
Said that, the AT is feels fantastic for the meantime. And the 2 issues I mentioned above easy to solve.

 

[PhiPhi]

Hi JbGio, thanks for the info, still waiting for my AT. I am concerned when you say the seat is hard for long rides I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions but don't feel obliged to answer. Are you used to long distance riding and how much do you weigh and did you set the suspension for your riding needs before setting out? Also if suspension is setup okay is the seat hard as in unforgiving or does it deform as the journey progresses getting more uncomfortable?

I'm 6ft also and found sitting on the bike at the dealers the handlebars were very comfortable with no problem sitting upright but when standing on the pegs another 20mm would have been nice.

 

[abj]

You are right about the seat. It is to hard for long distance riding. There's a raison to buy a nice rally seat in the future.

I'm 1.75m and the handlebars could even for me be a bit higher! But like you said this all can be easily fixed with aftermarket options!

 

[old punt]

I have done two 1000kl days on my AT and found the seat to be very good,it has plenty of room to move around on and dos'nt lock you into one nut crushing position like most stepped seats do, the front section is narrow easy to slide from side to side on and the back section is wide and flat for good support on long boring sections.I find soft seats are hot and restrict movement,I would say that after 1000k on the AT i have felt fresher and less fateaged than any bike i have done big days on.

 

[Aus AT]

I have done two 1000kl days on my AT and found the seat to be very good,it has plenty of room to move around on and dos'nt lock you into one nut crushing position like most stepped seats do, the front section is narrow easy to slide from side to side on and the back section is wide and flat for good support on long boring sections.I find soft seats are hot and restrict movement,I would say that after 1000k on the AT i have felt fresher and less fateaged than any bike i have done big days on.

......I'm with you....did a 600k day and found the seat fantastic. Mind you my previous touring bike was a MV Agusta F4 sports bike!!! so any thing is pretty much more comfortable.......

 

[BadJuju]

I too have found the seat uncomfortable on long rides.... especially in high heat and high humidity. Makes my butt sweaty and chaffed and sore.... cool days not an issue.

Also the heat from the radiators is impressive on the legs.

 

[scotsy]

I too have found the seat uncomfortable on long rides.... especially in high heat and high humidity. Makes my butt sweaty and chaffed and sore.... cool days not an issue.

no betty swollocks using one of these

 

[BadJuju]

How does that go in the rain?

 

[zarafah]

Seat in low position and an air hawk seat pad solves all those issues for me,
Z

 

[Swen]

I still don't know if the seat is too hard or my butt just too soft ;-)
Maybe it is just like on a bicycle and after more time in the saddle you get used to it.
Guess I am just too heavy for this seat (6'2" 250lbs). The weird thing is that on my rock hard CRF450 I don't have this problem even after sitting a day on the bike. Also because of the low seat position is I get the feeling that I have more weight on the seat. However I would not blame Honda for this, I think that smaller/ average weight rider would not have this seat problems, but my butt starts to hurt even after 90 minutes.
Butt implants are too expensive so I will try a different (higher) seat soon.

 

[mike5100]

I too have found the seat uncomfortable on long rides.... especially in high heat and high humidity. Makes my butt sweaty and chaffed and sore.... cool days not an issue.

Also the heat from the radiators is impressive on the legs.

I have found the seat much better than my NC750X - which I thought was good but needed an airhawk if over 3 hours riding. There is a thread on the NC forum about the Sit&Fly seat cover. If you haven't come across this, it is worthwhile checking it out. It's made of a 9mm thick plastic sprung mesh and costs about $20. They didn't make one to fit the NC and probably don't make one for the Africa Twin but people were buying the biggest one then cutting it down and fastening it underneath with zip ties. I never got the chance to try mine on a long run but I suspect the springiness of that 9mm would act like an airhawk and reduce butt soreness. What I did notice though was a howling gale blowing through the seat of my pants because the air flows through the mesh. I had to take it off because it was winter in the UK, but would have been putting it back on for the hot day in summer if it ever comes. Although the 9mm mesh compresses, it might make the seat fit too tight around the nose, if you wrap it around the nose. It could always be cut short but wouldn't look so neat.
Mike